Daviot Kelly

So there I was, standing in my living room last Sunday night, watching the news, when I felt the jolt.

Like other Jamaicans, I felt the earthquake and figured that it would have registered a decent number on the Richter scale. How ironic it should happen on the same night that Dr Peter Phillips made his own tremors by announcing he would be running for the post of president of the People's National Party. Talk about shaking things up!

Cosmically linked

In some ways, it's appropriate that both events happened within minutes of each other. You see, like the declaration, some people expected an earthquake. The time was just waaaayyy too hot and based on experience living on Jamrock, some felt that there would be a tremor or two as a result.

Now, the second reason that the speech and the quake are cosmically linked is that some people perceive both will bring ... disaster.

A nuh me alone seh so! Listen before you crucify me. When we start the summer with intense heat and quakes, ol' time people seh wi gettin' storm! Yuh neva hear dat yet? Exactly! And some political analysts/commentators think Dr Phillips' declaration is a storm waiting to happen within the party. After the last leadership race they had, that would cause some concern, too; wouldn't it? I'm not praying for a party punch-up and not hoping for torrential rain. Far from it! With everything going sky-high (price-wise), the last thing we want is a hurricane or a messy leadership battle.

A lot of displeasure

In the event we have one or both, it is going to cause a whole lot of displeasure. Those who won't be directly affected by the actual storms will definitely feel it with the aftermath. There will be appeals for any aid to people flooded out (again) of their homes, and there will be squabbles over the delivery speed of disaster-relief supplies. On the political side, imagine a disjoined opposition party! I think Jamrock would go back to a situation where the governing party just has to show up at election time because the opposition was so mucked up, its members couldn't see or think straight. Neither scenario is beneficial for a country that, though still young (46 independent years), is getting older.

But, hopefully for all Jamaicans, the hurricane season will pass us by relatively quietly, and the race for leadership of the PNP will be civilised and democratic, giving us a vibrant opposition, which is essential for a democracy. But call me a pessimist (or worse, if you feel like it), I see dark clouds forming. Pass mi umbrella an' wata boot! Later.

Prepare for rain (or not) at daviot.kelly@gleanerjm.com.