Dr Phillips, the boat is unsteady

THE Opposition People’s National Party is a shadow of itself, 80 years after its formation.

In every democracy, you always want to see a vibrant and organised Opposition that will keep the Government on its toes. But for a few news releases here, there and everywhere sometimes, the PNP appears to be sleeping.

There is a glaring lack of energy at the level of the leadership of the party and it is clear as a bright July morning that the combination of Phillips as president and Julian Robinson as general secretary is operating at cross purposes.

It is sad to see the decline of a party that has delivered so much, and which has produced so many outstanding politicians, most of whom have left the scene.

The coming of Portia Simpson Miller as party president set the organisation back by a decade. It is not impossible for all that to be corrected, but based upon what has been happening of late, it seems as if we are all in for a long wait to see the turnaround of a party that Michael Manley and his father, Norman, must be weeping so much about from the comfort of their graves.

Dr Phillips has proven that he is a brilliant public servant, perhaps the best of the current lot. He now needs to surround himself with the people who can make things happen for his party, and ultimately for Jamaica. Those relics of the 1970s who ignore the power of social media, do so at the Dr Peter Phillips risk of the party. They need to move with the times and stop saying that social media does not matter. Alas, despite the chronological ages of some, they remain petty and refuse to grow up.

There have been too many instances where the JLP has messed up and the PNP has failed to deliver the knockout punch.

The JLP’S Generation 2000 (G2K) seems to have outmuscled the PNP where research is concerned — once the bosom of the PNP.

More of the PNP’S shadow ministers, with the exception of Phillip Paulwell, Peter Bunting, and Dr Dayton Campbell, need to be heard.

The PNP does not behave like a Government in waiting... not showing the people that it is ready to reclaim State power. There is no plan, and without one, the electorate will jusy say, let’s stick with the evil that we know.

Dr Phillips, the water is rising. You need several buckets to keep that vessel