Ambassador to Washington

THE DEPUTY Prime Minister, Mr. Seymour Mullings, is a very affable man who has served the country well for a good many years. He has been Member of Parliament for South East St. Ann since 1969, and has held several Ministerial portfolios including Agriculture, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Health. His stint as Deputy Prime Minister has been for eight years.

Mr. Mullings is 70. Prime Minister Patterson is reported to have offered him the post of Ambassador to Washington to replace Dr. Richard Bernal who is to become Chief Technical Adviser with the Regional Negotiating Machinery at the CARICOM Secretariat.

Dr. Bernal will be a tough act to follow. In his 10 years as Ambassador to Washington Dr. Bernal has earned a reputation as an outstanding negotiator for the Caribbean on trade and other issues. In the post-Cold War era, with the United States as the sole superpower, diplomatic representation in Washington has assumed added importance. It is no longer possible to play off one power bloc against the other therefore the influence that a country is able to exert and the impression that it makes in Washington are critical elements to its foreign affairs.

In the age of globalisation with trade as the major determinant of the relations between countries, the post of Ambassador to Washington demands a great deal more than traditional diplomacy. Dr. Bernal with his academic background in economics and his grounding in the new global realities was able to fill the position admirably.

While we have no doubts as to Mr. Mullings' abilities as a Parliamentarian, we question the wisdom of his new assignment, in this the autumn of his years.

To put it bluntly we consider it unfair to the country and to Mr. Mullings to ask him at this stage to take on the rigours of the most important diplomatic posting in the world. The Prime Minister should rethink and place the interests of the country before the political needs of his party.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.

Back to Commentary