Unless there's something to hide, let the political debates go on

Sunday, November 20, 2011

We, too, are very disappointed that the political parties have not reached agreement to debate the issues which are germane to the impending general election.

This is despite the yeoman efforts of the Jamaica Debates Commission (JDC) which has been trying to steer the election campaign away from frivolities and empty promises to a cerebral showdown that will assist the electorate to make up its mind in an informed way.

Both parties have a duty, we believe, to have their positions on the various issues tested in the cauldron of debate where not all answers can be vetted by scriptwriters before they are delivered.

The days when empty rhetoric from the campaign platform was sufficient are long gone. It is true that the Jamaican electorate has been growing in sophistication.

The JDC now appears to be in dismay that in 2011 the two major political parties cannot agree on what format a debate should take.

Regrettably, the perception is rife that it is the Opposition People's National Party (PNP), and in particular its leader, who does not wish to participate in televised debates. This remains despite assertions to the contrary by the party that it is ready and willing to debate.

If we were in the position of the PNP, we would grab the debate opportunity with both hands, because we suspect that it is the PNP which has more to gain from debating the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

All the latest public opinion surveys show the JLP gaining ground and coming at the PNP like an unstoppable freight train, since the appointment of Mr Andrew Holness as prime minister and JLP leader-designate.

The likely scenario is that once the election date is announced and the campaign takes full flight, the JLP will move further ahead, unless some unforeseen disaster should strike the party.

So far, Mr Holness has been proving himself equal to the task and winning over sceptics who had doubts about his relative youthfulness. He quickly agreed to ensure that 40,000 new electors will be given the franchise and decisively took control of the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP), resulting in the resignation of the head of the National Works Agency (NWA), Mr Patrick Wong.

The PNP has not been able to benefit much, if any, from the JDIP scandal because the old Trafigura sore has been reopened at the wrong time, as if to remind Jamaicans that no one is in a position to cast the first stone.

It therefore behoves the PNP to tackle the JLP in debate, hoping to show the country which party has the better programme.

The party need not fear that it will be put on the spot with its Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme, the much-debated JEEP. The JLP will not have enough time between then and elections to "steal the idea", as the party leader fears.

In any event, it should not matter where ideas to develop Jamaica come from, since we are all working towards the same goal.

On the matter of format, we have had from past debates, a tried and proven structure which pitted the party leaders against each other as well as other key ministers, including the finance minister and his opposition counterpart. We see nothing wrong in continuing this format.

Unless, of course, someone one has something to hide.

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Unless there's something to hide, let the political debates go on