Mark Wignall | Made into fools

A new report from the Integrity Commission alleges that a company linked to Prime Minister (PM) Andrew Holness has breached building permits. But according to the PM, he is not a director of the company that is a subject of the report, he is not a shareholder in it, and he does not own the property in question. He goes on to state that it is a puzzle to him why he is the subject of the report.

Well, prime minister, if you who are supposed to be in the thick and thin in this matter, whichever side you fall on, are puzzled, what about us? Should we assume that the Integrity Commission (IC) was correct in its assessment of its own investigation, and PM Holness has an urgent need to supply public answers to private matters. Or must we err on the side of believing that the PM is 100 per cent correct in saying that he feels targeted.

If we should believe that the ‘targeted’ accusation has some credulity attached to it then we have to push the envelope a few more crucial inches. Is Prime Minister Holness saying that key members of the IC - or all - are acting on behalf of the People’s National Party (PNP), or they have strong notional attachment to that party to the point where they would interfere with national matters? Plus, if it is not political, what exactly is the PM saying.

The idea that the PM was just pacing the floor of his office, mulling over a certain constitutional provision or having a late-night hot cup of chocolate at home when out of the tropical air the IC hit him with a whopper is quite hard to swallow, and until the words are fully supported by documentation and dates, most of us are doomed to remain in a state of puzzlement. Much more so than the PM says he is.

Until this is fully fleshed out, the state of how the overall IC allegations against the PM is likely to fall into certain slots. First, we ought to bear in mind that political tendencies tend to have international flavours long before we see them. We know, of course, that incumbent political parties are having a tougher time than opposition parties worldwide.

In addition, we should never assume that Prime minister Holness cannot score a sympathy vote on this matter. And, of course, if more people believe he is coming up short with the truth and not even trying to give his argument credibility, then matters may turn out quite negative for him.

Recently, Donald Trump scored a big sympathy vote in November as he was able to effectively see himself as operating outside of the machinery of big government. I have not seen where PM Holness has been able to carve out a special spot for himself that insulates him from that attachment. In other words, he may be seen as too tightly wound up with government to make himself into government’s anti-hero.

NOTHING ABOUT ELECTIONS

Both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the PNP are trapped in the race with each other even as the people they would love to lead to the political nuptials are quite lukewarm on that formality. Social media occupied much time at street level last week although the discussions were segmented by geographical areas.

Quite troubling, however, was the fact that even while discussing the various sites, the individuals involved and the controversy generated, those who were relating the stories in bars and shops were themselves generating more verbal venom.

When the matter of gunplay in Spalding came up, my memory of two decades ago saw a quiet but bustling country town that was more known for early morning mist than gunplay at high noon. From the centre of Spalding, there are three main roads providing exits for gunmen needing to quickly bolt. There are two other routes, but those are known mostly by residents.

In a perverse way, gunplay in Spalding points to the fact that business is not dead in the bustling little town. The very fact that for years now, the passage of traffic through Spalding has been a bother tells you that economic activity in and around Spalding is healthy. And like all life, when the rain falls, we have to deal with the mud.

The young men and women in bars and shops throughout Jamaica are deeply taken up with the gore and blood of social media and somehow find pleasure in spreading this unpleasantness. I have given up on trying to speak against this. Frankly, I feel like a fool while doing so.

But at the beginning of next year as the JLP and the PNP begin to lay out its candidates and formulate their latest versions of new beginnings either through genuine new finds or the latest retreads, the likely candidates will have to operate within the social media landscape or be blown away.

“Who, me, vote?’ said a 34-year-old man to me. “No, sah! Absolutely no!”

During the long run of P. J. Patterson, one of the perennial reasons given for voting for him was, ‘He’s trying’ and ‘deserves another chance.’ Nothing big and bold and impressive. Just a ‘he’s trying’ plus which could be taken to the bank and counted as an effective vote.’

Prime Minister Andrew Holness needs a significant batch of ‘he’s trying’ and ‘deserves another chance’ before Mark Golding pushes to score big on ‘Deserves a try.’ The IC allegations may play out over the next three months to mean nothing political if enough people buy into the Holness ‘deserving another chance’.

Mark Wignall is a political and public affairs analyst. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mawigsr@gmail.com