Political leaders must work to win back favour with Jamaicans, commentators say

 

Commentators say the leaders of both major political parties have a lot of work to do following the results of the latest RJRGLEANER Don Anderson poll which shows that they have lost favour with the Jamaican public.

 

Attorney-at-law Kenyatta Powell and former president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica Howard Mitchell agree with pollster Don Anderson that voters are moving away from leader-centric politics.

 

Mr. Powell argues that charismatic leaders only appeal to die-hard supporters but other electorates are interested in policies. 

 

"So far as we're engaging with the two-party system that's dominant in the country, what we're looking for is that we're looking at the political programmes and we're looking at the policy programmes of the parties. And so as I said, as I started, I would say to the People's National Party that what they really need to be doing is to focus on those two groups, outlining a clear vision as to where they will take Jamaica if they're brought back into power."

 

Still, Mr. Powell warned that Prime Minister Andrew Holness should not be underestimated as a political leader. 

 

Former PSOJ president Howard Mitchell believes Mr. Holness will be able to increase his likeability in time for a general election. 

 

"The job of Prime Minister ties you down sometimes to the point where you cannot show yourself one, and when you show yourself, it is many times making unpleasant decisions. So I think Golding should not be patting himself on the back that he is tying with the Prime Minister at this time. What he should be doing is paying attention to defining his policies, refining his policies and defining his profile," Mr. Mitchell suggested. 

 

Both men were guests Wednesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106FM.

 

Jamaica Labour Party leader Andrew Holness has seen a 6.8 percentage point decline in his average to positive performance rating from 73 per cent in another Don Anderson poll commissioned by the RJRGLEANER Communications Group.

 

Similarly, Opposition Leader Mark Golding's average to positive performance rating also declined, dropping 8.3 percentage points from 61 per cent.

 

 

Replace PNP General Secretary                                                  

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Powell believes the People's National Party (PNP) should replace Dr. Dayton Campbell as general secretary.

 

He argued that Dr. Campbell has created a lot of controversy in that position.

 

He said if Dr. Campbell remains in the position, then the PNP should rethink the role of a general secretary. 

 

"The role of a general secretary is supposed to be there in the background tending to the political machinery, and if Dr. Campbell has those skills, fine. What I'm saying is that in terms of the public interface where this particular general secretary is concerned, it's just resulted in distraction more than anything else. And I don't think that is good for any political party," he contended.