Politics is certainly a dynamic sport and politicians cannot take anything for granted, lest they become so inebriated by the feeling of invincibility that they overlook the need to course-correct the silly hubris that usually engulfs them. Hence, political strategists and tacticians who help politicians to develop political algorithms must not only understand the step-by-step process by which loops and linkages are formed, but they must also know how and when to connect the links to make the chain unbreakably strong.

For, as it is said, “A chain is as strong as its weakest link”, and a political chain could have many weak links. Undoubtedly, though, finding the weak links can be quite daunting, especially if the links are made from freshly coated corrosive ore. Yet, if the chain is to be worth even a farthing, then finding, eliminating useless links, preparing, and recalibrating all the knots are absolutely essential to the viability and durability of the chain.

And speaking of weak links, it now appears that the Jamaica Labour Party might have committed a cardinal political sin by either omitting or overlooking several steps in the construct of its political algorithm when its officers and financiers hastily and unanimously chose the Prince, instead of opening up the process to a full-fledged leadership contest. By disallowing the holding of an internal contest, the JLP demonstrated that it did not understand the concept that “peace is not the absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means”. Clearly, it did not understand that “peaceful means” is different from dodging and peace can come through democratic means, however politically scabrous.

Perhaps an internal contest would have caused a slight delay in the holding of the general election. So what? Maybe, it would have bruised a few super egos, but it would have given Jamaicans the opportunity to observe the various candidates in their “natural” environment and allow us to hear first-hand from their colleagues about their competencies. Obviously, the JLP’s political algorithm timidly presupposed that the effects from a hard-fought internal contest would negatively affect its chances at the polls, but what the party might have completely missed is that if you have a sore for which there is no cure, the sore will remain.

Information swirling around is that despite the JLP’s best efforts to showcase itself as a united party, disappointments run deep, and open wounds exist over the so-called seamless transition. Allegations are rife that many senior JLP officers are of the view that the Prince was impulsively enthroned and the much-heralded coronation could eventually produce enough negative unintended political consequences that no amount of money may be able to fix; JDIP gratis, notwithstanding.

For one, like some voters, they are incensed that the Crown Prince does not seem willing or able to let go of his uncle’s coat-tails, and they cannot fathom why he keeps touching the hem of his garment as if it will cleanse his soul and make him whole. Unfortunately, every time he does it he is reminding a very sceptical voter of his uncle’s reputation, all-encompassing influence and patently strong inseparability. None of this is good for the Prince if he continues to present himself as new, particularly in a toxic political environment where believability means a whole lot to voters.

And the Prince’s performance at last Sunday’s mass meeting in Mandeville, where he announced nomination and election dates, gave voters enough to begin to second-guess his authenticity and leadership credentials. Lest we forget, political doubt is never a good thing to create this close to an election, and with the huge number of undecided voters that currently exist – one bad move and it’s over. Never mind the deafening sound of vuvuzelas, the ubiquitous shades of green, the inharmonious ringing of bells – some even without tongues – and the destruction of hibiscus trees; voters across the length and breadth of Jamaica weighed the Prince’s every word, as they looked for accuracy and searched for credibility.

Understandably, there was a great disconnect between the Prince’s words and the electorates’ reality, especially as he confidently reminded them of the foreign exchange rate in 2007, job losses and zero economic growth during the PNP’s tenure, all of which turned out to be embarrassingly wrong. Sadly, it was with more than a Freudian slip and a show of boyish braggadocio that the Prince told the multitude gathered before him, as well as those tuned in via the internet that “no jobs were lost under the JLP during the worse economic turmoil in modern times”. As I see it, the impreciseness of his declarations ought to earn him a medal of a certain kind.

And he did not acquit himself well either with that story about meeting a PNP supporter who told him all he wanted to hear about how terrible the PNP has been and continues to be for Jamaica. I found the story more than a little bizarre. It was a rather interesting contradiction because the Prince had already prefaced that segment of his speech with a caveat in which he strongly registered his repudiation of “carry go, bring come”, but still could not help becoming the rally’s sole raconteur of extraordinary repute.

Well, the meeting is now history, but as frog is wont to say, “What is joke to you is death to me.” By the next afternoon, the Prince’s entire Mandeville homily was subjected to “fact-checking”, and sadly the “truth-o-meter” scored his utterances on economic growth, exchange rate and unemployment as incorrect. More than anything else, the Prince, through his Mandeville declaration, has single-handedly confirmed that the JLP’s political algorithm may be seriously flawed. The good thing, however, was that at the end of the Mandeville declaration, the Prince prayed. He prayed for “vision, prosperity and wisdom” but not for forgiveness; one could infer, therefore, that the Prince was unrepentantly convinced about the correctness of his every word.

Burnscg@aol.com