When Portia speaks today

Ian Boyne, Contributor

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has been coming under increasing fire for allegedly being missing in action, disconnected, disengaged and acting as a detached, ceremonial head of state. Mark Wignall has been characteristically caustic, but even columnist Chris Burns, no Portia detractor, has been complaining loudly about the Motivator-in-Chief's dereliction of duty.

And The Gleaner has kept up its pressure on the prime minister to lead and show she is in charge, especially of the country's economic management. When most persons did not even remember that the People's National Party (PNP) was having a conference this weekend, The Gleaner, last Sunday, in an editorial titled 'The PM's obligation', demanded that today's public session of the first post-victory annual conference should see the prime minister using this occasion to "clarify and bring coherence to, and put political muscle behind, the economic agenda".

It has been The Gleaner's contention for months that Finance Minister Peter Phillips has been left all on his own to carry the burden of the austerity message, while the prime minister has been protecting her popularity by dodging the hard issues and cold realities. She has, the argument goes, happily left Austerity Apostle Peter to deliver the bad news while she speaks, when she does, about the Gospel of Populism.

Opined The Sunday Gleaner editorial: "Part of the problem, we suspect, is that the governing party and its administration have got themselves into such a populist twist that they are fearful to talk frankly to Jamaicans about the sacrifices they will have to make. Communicating the requirements is not merely an economic discussion that is the preserve of the finance ministry. It is also a big political discourse that demands that the governing party's most able communicator speak to the larger constituency that must be reached about the necessity of reform."

Ronnie Mason, on Nationwide, has been
flogging the same issue, which has now gained momentum: It seems
everybody is talking about Portia not talking. But today, Portia will
talk - and many will be listening. PNP General Secretary Peter Bunting,
in response to the media's question about her alleged silence, has said
she will say more than enough today. Party Chairman Bobby Pickersgill,
in a press conference last Thursday, said after the leader speaks today,
"hope will be kept alive" and there will be "meaningful" talk about
"jobs, housing and other prospects."

But what
The Gleaner and others have been clamouring for is
not just some feel-good announcements about goodies and promises. They
are calling for the articulation of a vision, a road map and some
concrete, measureable timeline-oriented steps to be taken along the
path. The Gleaner complained last Sunday that while there has been
general enunciation of the trinitarian mantra of tax, pension and
public-sector reform, "up to now this project, in so far as most
Jamaicans can tell, is largely ethereal, ephemeral even. It lacks
substance and specifics - what, when, where, how ... . The point is that
the reforms the Government has spoken about ought not to be policy
abstractions."

The country is getting impatient of
broad outlines. People want specifics, things against which a measuring
stick can be placed. Importantly also, people want to know why an
International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement has taken so long to be
implemented. Especially in light of the urgency that the PNP itself
attached to the conclusion of an IMF deal when it was in
Opposition.

Deepen concerns

Finance
Minister Phillips' statement in Parliament last week only served to
deepen concerns about the lack of specifics about the "delayed IMF
deal", with Ronnie Mason saying Phillips had said essentially what we
all knew before. But be careful what you ask for, fellows, especially
the Opposition.

For Peter Bunting has hinted that the
PNP might be finally prepared to say more about this whole IMF
relationship than the JLP would have us hear. In a
Gleaner story last Thursday, we read that Bunting
warned, "There would be no hiding of the facts of what the PNP inherited
when it was elected to form the Government in December
2011."

After all, he reiterated, quoting Pickersgill's
memorable quip about Shaw's having "more nerve than a bad tooth", the
opposition finance spokesman should be the last one urging this
Government to conclude an IMF deal. Government spokespersons have
suggested, without being specific, that things were much worse when they
took over than they had imagined. Some persons have said that, up to
now, Peter Phillips has been restrained in revealing some things which
took place under Audley's tenure, especially as it related to the
IMF.

But if there is important information which bears
relevance to the current state of affairs, that should be revealed once
appropriate protocols are observed. As a country, we should take a
non-partisan approach to the management of the country's affairs. It is
in the interest of Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters to know what
really did take place with their party's and Government's relationship
with the IMF why we had no agreement for so long before the last general
election.

Dr Phillips has contended - and the IMF
itself has confirmed - that there were certain things which should have
been implemented - which were agreed to - that were not done and that
caused a breakdown of trust between the Fund and Jamaica. It is this
that has resulted in a reluctance on the part of the Fund to give any
leniency now.

In other words, the Fund is saying that
"you guys in Jamaica" -for they don't recognise political parties - "did
not do what you were supposed to do in our last agreement. You signed
an agreement and undertook to do certain things; you took our money,
which we gave in good faith, and you breached our agreed timetable. Now
if we are to lend to you, you have to do certain things, not just
promise certain things." If this is so, let it all hang out today and
let the public judge.

For my part, I can understand
the JLP's reluctance to go the whole hog with the IMF austerity
programme. Some of what was being demanded - the 'sticking points' -
would not stick easily with the Jamaican people. Clearly, the JLP felt
that with its razor-thin majority in Parliament, it did not have the
political clout to carry out the pace of economic reforms being demanded
by the IMF. So it did the right thing by telling the country honestly
that bitter medicine was being required and then called an
election.

PNP's decisive mandate

The
argument being made by The Gleaner - as well as by
Opposition Leader Andrew Holness - is that the PNP has a strong majority
in Parliament; it has a decisive mandate from the people; it has time
on its hands; and it has a charismatic, well-loved, highly inspirational
leader, and yet it is not harnessing all of that to rally the country
together to take its bitter medicine. This is The
Gleaner's frustration with the PNP and its leader in
particular.

In another biting editorial on Thursday
('Rescuing Simpson Miller's premiership') - The
Gleaner knows how to campaign, note its Dudus advocacy and the
results - the paper says: "The fact is there is a deep sense among
Jamaicans that the country is adrift, with no one at the helm, or of a
leadership that is distracted and uncertain." Further, it speaks of the
prime minister, "whose obligation it is and who in the Government has
the skill to explain to and gain buy-in from the majority of Jamaicans
for the sacrifices that must precede the rewards".

I
agree with The Gleaner that the prime minister must
lead the charge for our game-changing economic transformation programme.
She has to explain why some form of austerity and fiscal consolidation
is necessary. But The Gleaner should not stop there.
The Gleaner must invite the opposition leader to join
her in a united national effort to sell this austerity programme. If I
were Portia today, I would invite Andrew to join me in a national
economic literacy campaign to get Jamaicans to see that there is no
alternative to sacrifice and pain in the short
term.

Portia should capitalise on the fact that Andrew
has publicly supported "bitter medicine" and austerity measures and, in
fact, he did again in a Gleaner interview published
last Thursday, asking why the Government won't just do it. So when she
starts to talk about tough times and banding our bellies, Andrew can't
go round the corner and say, "See mi yah, mi we mek tings
easier."

Portia should say to the JLP, since you are
so eager for us to take the tough decisions; since as you have said, mi
son, Andrew, in that Thursday Gleaner interview, "We
must understand it is not the IMF that is refusing to give Jamaica a
deal ... it is Jamaica that is ... [not] willing to address the
fundamental issues", then join me. Andrew knows what those fundamental
issues are. He knows the sticking points. Portia must ask him to join
her in a joint campaign against populism, political bribery and
one-upmanship. He is young and different. Show it.

I
believe Andrew Holness has the interest of Jamaica at heart, and I
believe firmly that he is committed to see a change in our politics of
expediency. I believe that it is the old diehards, the so-called
political realists, who would push him not to "be a fool and support
Portia on no national campaign". But, Andrew, it is not Portia you would
be supporting. You would be supporting Jamaica - a Jamaica in which
your children and ours would want to live, work and do business
in.

Portia must resist the temptation today to
lambaste critics, worst of all those in media. She can't win any war
with the media. So don't even try that one. Portia should take on no
one, but, like Bill Clinton at the Democratic National Convention, just
surgically and systematically unpack the narrative of her opponents.
Don't focus on the immediate frenzied crowd before you, Portia. (Though
many might not have much to be ecstatic about.)

Portia
must today justify the mandate the people gave her on December 29,
2011. Reaffirm that you are compassionate, caring and
courageous.

Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist. Email
feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and
ianboyne1@yahoo.com.