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with Leighton Levy
Well, there goes my Christmas. Yeah, it looks as if we're going to have another December election now that Andrew Holness is the prime minister- designate and the entire Jamaica Labour Party throwing their full support - some reluctantly - behind the 39-year-old former student of St Catherine High.
Politics has never been my game. To me it represents all that is wrong with the world, at least the way the game is played these days. Take, for example, what is happening in the USA between the Government and the Grand Ole Party. Ever since Barack Obama became president all the GOP has done is say no to everything he has proposed, and not all of the opposition is because of ideology. A lot of it has to do with the colour of the man's skin.
Anyway, I digress. Here in Jamaica, politics is a dirty game played between men who, if left alone, would pretty much share up the Consolidated Fund between themselves and their friends while telling you that this is what's best for the country.
This week, however, politics, specifically Audley Shaw, made me laugh a little as the drama over who would become the prime minister-designate of Jamaica came to a climax.
Andrew Holness, the man set to replace Bruce Golding, who recently announced that he was stepping down soon, is set to become the next prime minister, at least until December. On Sunday last, Golding told Jamaica the reasons why he was stepping down - Dudus and all that mess - and expressed hope that whoever was chosen to replace him would be young and capable. From the minute he said that Andrew Holness became the front-runner. He also has a shot at becoming prime minister of this mess called Jamaica for about four more years if he can win the general election that many believe will be held before the end of the year.
Last week this time, it wasn't clear-cut as there were at least six members of the JLP who were mulling throwing their hats into the ring. Among them was Audley Shaw, the minister of finance, who has in many ways redeemed himself over the past four years despite what the supposed 'brighter minds' of the People's National Party would have us believe. To be fair, I never thought Shaw could cut it as minister of finance but he has done a fair job so far. Buoyed by his own success, Shaw perhaps thought he was in with a good shot of becoming prime minister, but from what I gather, a behind-the-scenes intervention killed that dream. So it was kind of funny this week when the JLP staged a press briefing where all the prospective candidates announced that they were withdrawing their bids and throwing their support behind Holness.
First to speak was Minister of Agriculture Bobby Montague, who was followed by Deputy Prime Minister Kenneth Baugh, then Dr Christopher Tufton, and finally, Minister of Finance Audley Shaw. When Shaw went to the podium, his face flushed, his eyes looking downward, one got the sense that he was still battling with whatever was said that 'convinced' him to pull out and support Holness. So when he finally looked up and opened his mouth to speak I was convinced he was going to say something like "You know what, to hell with you all, I am going run!" What a prekeh that would have been had he said that? I would have been on the floor had that happened.
Somehow, I don't think he would have managed to get the words out though. Was I the only one who noticed how closely the finance minister was being watched by Bobby Montague? It almost seemed like he was ready to tackle Shaw should the wrong words start to come forth from his mouth.
There were tears in my eyes from laughter as I was watching this unfold. And, after he 'reluctantly' threw in with the crowd, Shaw made it known that at 59 he was nowhere close to being over the hill, contradicting weeklong public conversation about the merits of the older folk stepping aside and allowing someone younger to lead the party and the country into a new era of leadership.
It may have been nothing but the perception of what may have been that certainly made this week a little more interesting than usual, and truth be told, I live for moments like these.
