EDWARD Seaga, saying that he was clarifying any misunderstanding over his remarks in Montego Bay on Monday, yesterday said he was “very hopeful” of having the services of Bruce Golding in a future Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government.

His former heir-apparent, Seaga said, was “too valuable an asset to be excluded from public life”.

But last night, while declaring his willingness to serve a future Jamaican government that was consistent with his principles, Golding insisted that philosophical differences on how to transform the country remained between himself and the JLP.

“There are fundamental differences between myself and the JLP on the political framework in which this country can move forward,” Golding, a former JLP chairman told the Observer. “That is the reason why I left in 1995 and those reasons still remain.”

Golding last week shared a platform with his former boss at a forum on corruption organised by G2K, the JLP affiliate of young intellectuals, intensifying speculation that he was taking the first tentative step back to the party of which he was a member for a quarter of a century. Golding’s acceptance of the G2K invitation came at a time when there were rumours in political circles that there was, in fact, an active effort by members of the group to woo him back to the party.

But asked at the press conference on Monday whether Golding would be an asset to the JLP ahead of elections to be held this year, Seaga said “No”.

He went on to explain that his party’s campaign was already formulated and that there would have to be a “a lot of restructuring” to accommodate his former protégé.

At the same time, too, Seaga suggested that Golding would first have to signal a wish to return to the JLP before he was given an opportunity to rebuff his former colleagues.

“I’m not going to open a door to have somebody slam it,” Seaga said at the Montego Bay press conference. “If I see somebody going to walk through a door I’d open it, but we’re not talking about opening or closing doors right now.”

But last night, Seaga issued a statement declaring the Observer headline “Seaga Xs Golding” on the story about his Montego Bay remarks to be misleading.

Said Seaga: “This may give the impression that I do not consider Bruce Golding an asset to me. The relationship between Bruce Golding and myself is not based on any political arrangement of re-entering politics.

“However, I consider Bruce Golding to be too valuable an asset to be excluded from public life and I am very hopeful that his services will be available to a future JLP government.”

Although Golding left the JLP at the time of a major split in the party over Seaga’s alleged authoritarian leadership style, for him there were other fundamental issues. He had become disenchanted with the deep divisiveness in Jamaican politics and the violence it had engendered and had argued that reform required a fundamental overhaul of the Jamaican constitution, with US-style separation of powers.

Golding formed the National Democratic Movement to push for his ideals, but stepped down as its president a year ago, taking responsibility for its inability to take firm hold with the electorate. He argued that he was carrying too much baggage.

But even as leader of the NDM, public opinion surveys showed a strong sentiment for his return to the JLP, with the latest Observer/Stone poll in February indicating 31 per cent of the people saying that it was a good thing.

Last night, however, Golding insisted that he was in no talks with the JLP, that he remained a member of the NDM and that he would only serve in a government once he did not have to violate his principles.

“I remain prepared to serve my country in any capacity, provided it is consistent with the principles that I have articulated from time to time,” he said. “I would be available to a future Jamaican government consistent with my principles.”

On the possibility of his rejoining the JLP, Golding said: “I have not been involved in any discussions about seeking membership in the JLP. I am a member of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) and remain committed to its principles and policies.”

He had accepted the G2K invitation, he said, after consultation with NDM leader, Hyacinth Bennett and because he believed the topic of the forum to be in the public interest.

“I took into consideration the fact that non-JLP persons such as D K Duncan and Ronnie Thwaites had addressed them in the past,” Golding said. “… I did not think that there would be this level of misunderstanding.”

Last night, a JLP deputy leader, Olivia “Babsy” Grange, now the parliamentary representative for Golding’s old Central St Catherine constituency, said she thought the timing of the G2K invitation to Golding inopportune.

It had resulted, she said on the Power 106 programme, Nationwide, in a distraction for the JLP from its central campaign issue.

“The timing has given you an issue to discuss and shifted attention from the work that is taking place on the ground,” she told the show’s host.