Phillips says ‘fit and ready to go’
Published:Wednesday | August 19, 2020 | 12:27 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Staff Reporter
Dismissing notions that he was too ill and lethargic to lead the country, Dr Peter Phillips, the 70-year-old People’s National Party (PNP) president, declared on Tuesday that he was “fit and ready to go”.
Having completed surgery for Stage Three colon cancer in April, Phillips sought to put to rest lingering questions about his physical health.
Phillips fielded questions from journalists on Tuesday after being nominated at the Tarrant Baptist Church on Molynes Road in St Andrew. The PNP leader is seeking to continue the party’s unbroken 53-year stranglehold on the St Andrew East Central constituency, which was created in 1967.
His challenger, the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Jodian Myrie, has different ideas.
The opposition leader said he was not contemplating defeat to the Andrew Holness-led JLP.
But that bubble of confidence may have popped since the publication of the latest RJRGLEANER-Don Anderson poll showing that the majority of registered voters (57 per cent) believe the Holness administration is doing a good or very good job. Just over 31 per cent rate the performance as average, while less than 13 per cent score the Government as poor or very poor.
What’s worse, Dr Christopher Tufton has been heavily criticised by the Opposition for his management of the health ministry, but almost six out of every 10 Jamaicans believe he is the best-performing minister.
The poll was conducted between July 24 and August 3 and surveyed 1,071 respondents. The margin of error is plus or minus three.
FAILURE TO TACKLE CRIME
Phillips gave some insight into some of the issues that may take centre stage when he goes up against Holness in a leadership debate later this month.
He highlighted the failure by the governing party to effectively tackle violent crime, particularly murders. He said that for the period 2016 to 2020, more than 1,000 more murders occurred as a result of violent crimes when compared with the PNP’s previous term in office that ended in February 2016.
Phillips said that he was also surprised that the Holness administration had not made any real movement towards establishing a digital economy.
Meanwhile, Myrie told reporters on Tuesday that she has been encouraged by the support she has received in the constituency to date.
“I do look forward to shocking him,” said Myrie when asked if she believed she could pull off a surprise win.
The JLP MP aspirant is not perturbed by Phillips’ status as PNP president, nor is she mindful that she lost in her bid to become the councillor for the Hagley Park division in the 2016 local government elections.
“I am far more confident, far more experienced than I was in 2016, and I believe that the people have got a lot more time to see me in a light of leadership,” she said.
Phillips became a member of parliament in 1994 after scoring victory in a by-election to succeed Arthur Jones. Since that time, he has won five successive elections to maintain the PNP’s unbroken record of wins in the St Andrew East Central seat.
In the 2016 general election, Phillips brushed aside his challenger Beverley Prince who secured 4,774 votes to the incumbent’s 7,017.