The People’s National Party (PNP) leadership on Sunday admitted that former party president and prime minister, P J Patterson, is playing an important role in the current election campaign.

However, they denied that Patterson’s involvement became necessary due to fears about the party losing the next general election.

“It is traditional that we bring all hands on deck at certain times and, of course, the former party leader would be headed back to insert himself in the campaign,” said campaign director Dr Paul Robertson.

Patterson had signalled many times that he was ready to help, Robertson explained. “He has been helping now, for sometime, and it has nothing to do with any report about the PNP losing ground.”

Patterson and his successor, Portia Simpson Miller, were the main speakers at Saturday’s meeting with the PNP’s 60 candidates and their campaign managers at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

There was also a media session at which representatives of the media advised the candidates and campaign managers how to deal with the media during the campaign.

According to PNP chairman Robert Pickersgill, Patterson has been speaking to the party and the candidates on the issue of media relations, based on his experiences in the field.

Pickersgill said that among the advice Patterson gave the candidates was that it was “futile” to engage in a fight with the media, an apparent reference to the current row in which the party and the Press are engaged.

Pickersgill also noted that one of Patterson’s favourite comments is that silence cannot be misquoted.