The Jamaica Labour Party is in the middle of a leadership race, one that has caused some amount of division among the party faithful.

Some of the party's supporters are of the view that Holness is the man to transform the party and lead it to victory over the People's National Party (PNP) at the next general election due in two years. Others believe that Holness has been too silent on critical issues given the myriad challenges facing the people and feel that Audley Shaw, the man challenging Holness for the leadership of the party, is right for the job.

From where I sit, it doesn't make one iota of difference who is leader of the party. Neither man is particularly dynamic. Shaw has a bigger mouth and is more dramatic, but that's about it. I was never particularly impressed with Holness since he allowed the prime minister to battle him to a technical draw during the debates leading up to the last general election. Why? He was supposed to be the smart one. The brilliant young mind that would lead Jamaica's charge towards a brighter future but in what was to be his moment in the sun, he fizzled and fell flat.

Be that as it may, I do believe that Shaw has a right to challenge for the leadership. This against the background that I believe it was Karl Samuda who said that the plan was to allow the ruling party two years to dig a hole for themselves and then take it to them aggressively. But here is my question. Does it really matter who leads the party when-ever the time comes to take on the PNP? Whether it is Shaw or Holness it would still be the JLP, right? So what's the problem?

A little shake up

Going back to the original thought however, I don't know if Shaw is going to make any major difference to the JLP. Yes, I will agree that Holness has been very quiet but sometimes it's not about how often you speak, it is about the substance of the conversation. That being said, there is nothing wrong with a little shake up now and then to keep everyone on their toes.

My greatest distress however, is in the candidates that are put before us as members of the electorate. I don't buy into this delegate thing where they get to choose who we the people vote for. A choice been Holness and Shaw is the same thing as a choice between either and the current prime minister. It's not an impressive pair to select from.

What I would love to see is someone emerge who is really different, someone who can rally and motivate the people regardless of their political persuasion. Jamaica needs leadership that is transformational in deeds rather than words. Leadership that pushes through changes that will benefit the people and have them believe in their country once more.

Right now, if you give the average Jamaican the opportunity to leave for another country, they're out the door before you can say, 'pack'. How many of us would stay if Andrew, Audley or Portia gave us that option?

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