Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KINGSTON640
2005-03-07 21:15:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kingston
Cable title:  

A "NEW VISION" FOR THE JLP

Tags:  JM PGOV PREL 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 000640 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT)
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD AND J7 (RHANNAN)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2015
TAGS: JM PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: A "NEW VISION" FOR THE JLP

REF: A. KINGSTON 00386

B. KINGSTON 00253

Classified By: P/E Geoffrey Siebengartner, Reason 1.4(d)

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 000640

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT)
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD AND J7 (RHANNAN)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2015
TAGS: JM PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: A "NEW VISION" FOR THE JLP

REF: A. KINGSTON 00386

B. KINGSTON 00253

Classified By: P/E Geoffrey Siebengartner, Reason 1.4(d)

Summary
--------------


1. (U) Emboffs met on February 24 with James Robertson,
Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP),and jointly
on February 25 with Ken Baugh, Leader of the Opposition, and
Karl Samuda, JLP General Secretary. Robertson shared his
thoughts on the outgoing leader, Edward Seaga, and the JLP,s
plans to close the chapter on the man who led the party for
30 years. Baugh and Samuda laid out the JLP,s vision for
the future, and the platform they will take into the upcoming
general election.

Robertson on Seaga: The King is Dead
--------------


2. (C) Poloff, Pol/Econ Chief, and visiting INR analyst met
with James Robertson, Deputy Chairman of the JLP, on February

24. Robertson opened the conversation by reflecting on the
previous weekend,s JLP annual conference at the National
Arena, during which Bruce Golding was elected to lead the
party (septel). Robertson shared his frustration with, and
even disdain for, Seaga,s actions surrounding the
conference, which he characterized as childish. Robertson
offered that Seaga had originally announced that he would
boycott the conference when he was deeply offended by its
theme: "New Leadership, New Vision." Following that
announcement, however, Seaga made a surprise appearance at
the event. Robertson was clearly angered by the decision,
which he called selfish and dangerous. While he professed
concern that the aged leader might have been injured in the
standing room-only crowd of thousands of unruly supporters
(many of whom appeared intoxicated),it was clear that
Robertson's primary objection was to Seaga's showmanship at
the event. Robertson added that Seaga,s timing, which had
him arrive after Golding, was intended to undermine the newly
elected leader,s authority. Robertson continued that Seaga
did not want to step aside, but had been forced out by
factions within the party. As such, Seaga's appearance at
the conference was not entirely unexpected, according to
Robertson.


3. (C) Robertson, who was a leading member of the reformist

pro-Golding faction that pushed for Seaga,s departure, said
that he once enjoyed a good relationship with the former
leader. However, the two have fallen out due to what
Robertson described as his tendency to disagree with Seaga in
a very direct manner, which caused confrontations of a sort
to which the former leader was not accustomed. Said
Robertson, Seaga had come to expect more &respect8 in his
dealings with party members. (Note: &Disrespect8 allegedly
shown to him by the JLP members has often been the subject of
public comments made by Seaga. End Note.)


4. (C) On a more respectful note, Robertson admitted that
very few leaders would ever achieve the kind of admiration
and fierce loyalty that Seaga commanded from his West
Kingston constituents in the 43 years during which he
represented them as a Member of Parliament. However,
although they very much admire him as a father figure,
Robertson insisted, Seaga's supporters would almost certainly
not vote for him again if Seaga wished to stay on as MP.
Robertson made the analogy of a child who reveres but does
not obey a parent.


5. (C) When asked about the overwhelmingly enthusiastic
reception that Seaga received when he entered the arena at
the annual conference (Note: cheers for the former leader
were much louder than for the new leader, Golding. End
Note.),Robertson offered two observations. First, he said
that most of the people in the National Arena were the
general public, many from Seaga's West Kingston constituency,
and not voting delegates. Second, he likened the event to a
"Circus Maximus," where spectators cheer the loudest just
before the gladiator is killed. Robertson added, "the king
is dead, long live the king."

Waging a Campaign without Money
--------------


6. (C) Robertson described Golding's candidacy and rise to
power as an opportunity created entirely by Golding's
supporters. As a result, Golding has used up so much
political capital that his supporters now hold him
&captive.8 The next 18 months, Robertson continued, will
be Golding's only chance to win an election to lead the JLP.
Robertson added that, while he and his team supported
Golding's ascent, they are not in Golding's "kitchen
cabinet," because the new leader fears them. (Note:
Robertson is part of a pro-Golding JLP faction, which
includes Senator Horace Chang, commonly referred to as the
"Young Turks." End Note.) Robertson explained Prime Minister
Patterson's historical record of timing general elections so
that opposition candidates would deplete their campaign
funding entirely, to be left with an unsustainable campaign
in the crucial last leg of the effort. Robertson continued
to say that the JLP is currently "broke," and will have a
particularly difficult time waging a sustainable campaign
against the PNP. As a result, Robertson said, his party is
planning a very conservative and grassroots effort to keep
Golding in the public view as much as possible over the next
18 months.

The JLP Platform Defined
--------------


8. (C) On February 25, Poloff, Pol/Econ Chief, and visiting
INR analyst met with Ken Baugh, Opposition Leader, and Karl
Samuda, JLP General Secretary. In a discussion of the timing
of the upcoming general election, which must be called by the
Prime Minister by October 2007, Baugh and Samuda said they
would be happy if the People,s National Party (PNP)
government called an election right now, but ideally they
would like six months to prepare Golding and strengthen his
position. In coming months, Samuda explained, Golding will
present his platform as he tables discussions on structural
reform in government, including republicanism, term limits,
and fixed election dates. The initiatives, all of which
Golding championed when he separated from the JLP to form his
own National Democratic Movement (NDM) party in 1995, are
designed to wrest some power from the sitting government.
Baugh pointed out that the small size of Jamaica's government
causes the Westminster system of Parliament not to work very
well. It favors the incumbent because the executive is such
a large part of the House of Representatives and can easily
dominate debates and win votes.


9. (C) Samuda continued by describing the JLP as very much
aligned with the U.S. Republican Party, favoring smaller
government and business-friendly policy. He asserted that
the PNP government has grown from 70,000 to 120,000 employees
during its reign. Samuda added that he modeled the party,s
annual conference after the 2004 U.S. Republican National
Convention. In addition to structural reform, Samuda spoke
passionately about pro-business policies that would stimulate
community-level business as the key to ending poverty and
crime. When asked about the promise of Chinese investment in
the region (ref A),Samuda replied that there is a lot of
opportunity in such a relationship. However, he is not as
enthusiastic as many of his countrymen, and believes that it
will take some work for Jamaica to benefit from the
relationship. He thinks that the real value to Jamaica will
be to learn the value of Chinese productivity.

Comment
--------------


10. (C) Following a raucous but generally positive annual
conference, and with a new leader in place, the JLP seems to
be presenting a unified front and exploring a &new vision.8
In each discussion, our interlocutors contrasted the
party,s current forward momentum with its backsliding in
2004, caused by internal wranglings that were made public in
the news media (ref B). It was clear from our meetings with
these top party officials that, despite the obstacle of
financing, the JLP is encouraged by its new direction in 2005
and is looking forward to a competitive campaign in the
run-up to the general election. On the issue of the Young
Turks, some JLP insiders, including Seaga himself, have told
us privately that Robertson and Chang are of concern less for
their acknowledged political savvy and ruthlessness than for
their strongly suspected involvement in illicit activities.
This may be part of why Golding wants to keep them at arm's
length. End Comment.
ROBINSON