Mark Wignall | Smooth sailing for Seiveright

Not too long after Delano Seiveright stepped into various spaces making up the political constituency of North Central St Andrew, he found common ground in talking with the people and in trying to navigate many complicated parts of their future.

Once he made it known that he had political ambitions, those 40 and over saw him as ‘the man’. Younger ones who were pulled to the politics of the moment spoke of Seiveright as the perfect person to replace Karl Samuda as the longest-serving member of parliament in Kingston and St Andrew.

It must be remembered that the PM saw in Seiveright much more than special adviser to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the tourism ministry. It soon followed – senator and state minister.

The Jamaica Labour Party seems to be at its best place politically. According to the Blue Dot polls on Nationwide, a significant number of those who responded to a recent poll jumped way out in front in supporting Andrew Holness if it were possible to vote for him directly to become prime minister. It is hard to see this position meaning anything else than Holness enjoying a wave of popularity that is likely to grow as the time headed to September or before walks alongside him.

Over the last few months, the party has made significant errors, and in many instances it appeared that the structure of the JLP was a bit wobbly. Now that the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) is getting smaller in the rear-view mirror, the JLP must forget those negatives and push hard on those factors being spoken of by many people – construction, roadwork in the east, jobs in various BPOs, and summer work.

There are many candidates whose modus operandi in politics is to send out troops to sniff out the votes. Seiveright is not the sort. He maintains social mobility in the constituency. All the better to express his unique grass-roots and uptown appeal. North Central St Andrew is built to appeal to that sort of a person although individuals like that are quite rare.

Seiveright knows that internal politicking can be quite nasty. Often, those who are most civil are likely to cut and bleed the easiest.

TAVARES-FINSON’S UPHILL BATTLE

The rumours of Christian Tavares-Finson’s plan to replace Karl Samuda travelled much faster than the physical Tavares-Finson stepping into North Central St Andrew. Even with his credentials as a criminal attorney Christian had little reach among the areas in the respective communities.

To stem the tide of division, Seiveright officially applied for the post long after many knew it was always his. In fact, the JLP was in the perfect position to fix what was long due on the repair table.

Many Jamaicans who are stuck in Kingston and maintain rigidity in St Andrew have no idea what sort of physical infrastructural development is taking place in the east and way over in the western part of the island. The JLP has this as a big plus in its push towards the next elections. A drive either to the east or west next weekend will be more than worth it if you doubt me.

It is of the utmost importance that many young candidates in both political parties show up themselves like young Seiveright while stamping their type of politics as examples to follow.

When the prime minister made political chess moves by shifting Seiveright into the Senate and as a minister, this could have been a strategic move to both recognise Seiveright and create space for Tavares-Finson to build a base.

The problem was, across bars, raucous inner-city pockets, and affluent parts of the constituency I ventured into, Christian was notably unpopular. At the other end of the spectrum, Seiveright held the pot of gold.

It is plain that the PM likes the young minister of state-senator. Whenever it is sensed that such a relationship exists, one can expect that poison-tipped barbs will be hurled from outside. It will come with the territory and, most certainly, with time.

Some may not know that the leader of both political parties has those who are considered ‘favourites’. They are favourites not because their smiles light up a room or because the cut of their suits are strictly from bespoke tailors.

Usually it is because they are bright, are fully in touch with party policy, the political machinery, personnel, and international affairs, and can step in at important meetings and sub for the Office of the Prime Minister.

CAN WE GET THERE SOON?

The mentality of unaccountability transcends throughout Jamaican society. If elected officials are not accountable, why should other citizens be? If elected officials engage in shady matters involving millions of dollars, why should other citizens not do so? If elected officials are corrupt, why should other citizens not be corrupt? Strong, moral, and good leadership sets the tone for a society to be moral and ethical and not corrupt.

Jamaica needs a chance at good governance, little or no significant, illicit enrichment, a big reduction in corruption, a big reduction in influence peddling, and leaders who are trustworthy. Yes, stupid, eh!

Mark Wignall is a political and public affairs analyst. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mawigsr@gmail.com.