The best strategist for the People’s National Party (PNP) could not have crafted a better script to make the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) look like it belongs to the far distant past — a time when we could not read or write, when so many of us weren’t well-trained lawyers, doctors, journalists, and other educated professional who should know how to sit around a table, lay all the issues bare, talk until we arrive at a solution, and come out with a prepared statement assuring an anxious public that they have agreed on a way forward.

This would not be just a public relations effort, but an honest-to-goodness understanding of what needs to be done to solve the multiple crises facing the party and a commitment to act accordingly. That seems to be too much to expect of the JLP; they insist on making all of us look like we are just a few weeks off the plantation or at least as Third World as Zimbabwe.

Opposition Leader Andrew Holness, after first apologising for his role in the pre-signed letters of resignation, last week decided to appeal the Constitutional Court’s finding that the undated letters of resignation, which he used to oust Senators Arthur Williams and Christopher Tufton, are null and void, and for that he is taking a beating. His actions are perceived as resurrecting the issue rather than putting them to bed, and by so doing, prolonging the party’s current status as national laughing stock.

Put it down to this bruising US winter, but I am with the mad few who believe that, painful as it may be, Holness has to go through with the appeal process. His belligerence or vindictiveness would truly be without bounds if he is willing to submit himself to what he knows would create even more political fallout and set him up for greater public ridicule, merely for the sake of what can never amount to anything better than a pyrrhic victory. If he is not so negatively motivated, perhaps his appeal is an act of humility, courage or renewed patriotism, and he is genuinely seeking to clarify aspects of the court’s ruling that he, in consultation with his legal advisers, deem in need of clarification. He has a right to; this is the purpose of the appeal court.

While Holness takes more public beating, his senators seems to be mostly underground, waiting out the proverbial nine days. Williams and Tufton have disappeared following the court’s ruling in their favour and initially returning to the Senate, February 13. That is understandable in light of Senate President Floyd Morris’s indication that he would seek further clarification from the court. Nigel Clarke and Ruel Reid, the senators appointed to replace Williams and Tufton, have maintained tremendous dignity and professionalism throughout the fiasco; they have no need to do otherwise. Tom Tavares-Finson, Marlene Malahoo-Forte, Kamina Johnson-Smith, Robert Montague, Alexander Williams, and Kavan Gayle, all of whom reportedly signed the offending letters, have had nothing to say in their defence. Critics say they all have questions to answer about their complicity in the process, which has brought the Senate into disrepute, as well as the legal profession, in the case of Arthur Williams, Malahoo-Forte, Tavares-Finson, and Johnson-Smith, all of whom are attorneys.

Despite much criticism and being at the centre of the imbroglio, a recent Jamaica Observer Online poll showed that seven out of 10, among more than 9,000 respondents, believe Holness should remain in his position as leader of the Opposition. His support has remained strong, I believe, out of a recognition that our political processes have been corrupt for a long time; it is so normalised that it is what people expect. In fact, Holness’s actions seem tame when measured against some of what is out there about many of our politicians. I believe, too, that there is some sympathy for his situation: the fact that although he recommended these senators for appointment, he has no ability to rescind it.

Holness’s actions must be seen in the context of our national politics, including the unending power struggle in the JLP. The organisation, I find, is unique in this regard. Most mature organisations are able to respect their leadership cycles and rally behind their duly elected leader unless something egregious is done to warrant his/her dislocation. In the JLP, they all seem to want their turn, and they want it now. Consequently, Holness presents a particular challenge for those with leadership ambition in the party with some being so close to him in age.

His ascendancy to leadership, following the resignation of Bruce Golding, interrupted whatever pecking order may have existed. And, for that reason, he will never have genuine support from some quarters. With someone like Audley Shaw in charge, however, some kind of hierarchy would be restored, giving reasonable chance to those around Holness’s age. I believe this is a significant part of the problems.

It is a real shame that there is so little respect for country and so little commitment to service for its own sake. Lance Neita’s The Agenda piece in the Sunday Observer outlined why, for example, the Senate needs to be reengineered to accommodate people of independent minds “who can evaluate, assess, recommend, and provide a check and balance so that laws are passed on merit and not on a partisan basis”. The Jamaican Senate, he said, has become an extension of the House of Representatives made up largely of recycled politicians and other loyalists determined only to carry the party line.

Given the complexity of the socio-political environment, the weakness of our public policy structure, and the need for an enhanced democratic process, it is in the interest of the entire country that the JLP finds workable solutions to its problems, without the so-called “monied class” stepping in to buy out the process. The thought alone is insulting to the Jamaican people. The JLP needs solutions informed by due regard to legal framework, but with a good dose of Solomonic wisdom as well.

Grace Virtue, PhD, is a social justice advocate.