Vernon Daley

The Prime Minister has been telling us she wants her own mandate but up to now she hasn't said what she will do for the country if she gets it.

I find myself in a desperate struggle to determine what clear plans Mrs. Simpson Miller has for Jamaica. If there's anybody reading this column who happens to know, I'd love it if you could share them with me.

People have been saying they are not hearing the issues from the leadership of the two major parties, but I think if we are honest, as commentators, we would have to say that Mrs. Simpson Miller is more deserving of that criticism than Opposition Leader Bruce Golding.

STRAYING FROM THE PROBLEM

When I see the Prime Minister on the television, she seems more interested in staging political side-shows than telling the people of the country how she would go about improving Jamaica, so it can deliver on its potential as a true paradise. She attacks everything that crosses her path, including the media.

These days she's focused on 'special interests' and insists her People's National Party (PNP) will not sell out the country to them. That's a nice scare tactic, which might catch a few votes but we all know that when we fall out of favour with our friends we can sometimes be very harsh in how we portray them.

But, back to the real issues. I'm frankly tired of hearing what is going to happen when Portia "hits the road". Just get on with the business, now! We need to hear her plans for critical areas of national life if she gets that mandate.

The Prime Minister had presented herself as a change agent when she assumed office a year ago but she hasn't done much since to sustain that image. In fact, it's this fuzziness about how she is going to be new and different which to my mind lends some credence to the political ads the Opposition has been running.

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has been far from ideal on the campaign trail but its leader has tried to articulate some of what he plans to do for education, health and governance if his party is elected. I'm still interested in some specifics in terms of the funding for the plans but at least there is something on the table to work with in determining whether the party has a credible platform.

We still have some time before the election to hear more from both parties about what their plans are, but my eyes are more firmly fixed on the Prime Minister because we need to start getting some substance from her. I hope her speech in Half-Way-Tree will signal a new direction.

The agony of political defeat

If the JLP loses the next election I cannot see how its members could possibly find the motivation to carry on their duties seriously as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

The party has been rejected in the past four general elections, leaving it in the political wilderness for some 18 years. If Labourites are to suffer the agony of political defeat one more time, their hearts will be broken beyond mending.

This is the best the country has seen the JLP in a long time. It has a leader that is far more palatable to the media than his predecessor; reports are the party has been working hard in the trenches; and it does not suffer from the deep divisions that dogged it in the past. Yet, after nearly two decades of PNP rule, there doesn't seem to be that groundswell of support out there for the Opposition.

If the JLP can't pull it off, then it might just confirm the mantra of the Comrades that Jamaica is PNP country.