THE hurling of nasty insults by supporters of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) at Members of Parliament (MPs) of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and journalists yesterday put a blotch on the customarily cheerful environment that prevails outside Gordon House during the swearing in of members of the Houses of Parliament.

Government MPs Fayval Williams, Alando Terrelonge, Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte, Juliet Holness — wife of Prime Minister Andrew Holness — Daryl Vaz, and James Robertson were the targets of the nastiest insults as they stood outside the Parliament building.

The insults, too lewd for print, ranged from derogatory name-calling to criticisms about the MPs’ attire and their personal lives, and were done in the earshot of several PNP officials.

The orange-clad PNP supporters, who cheered on party president and Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller and other MPs as they arrived, did not mince words — apparently still fuming from the party’s shocking loss in the February 25 General Election. The JLP won 32 seats to the PNP’s 31 in the 63-seat Parliament.

The angry PNP supporters also accused a prominent businessman of bankrolling the JLP’s election campaign.

“A Portia wi seh, Andrew Cabinet nuh good,” one supporter shouted.

“When Portia was in power wi go up, up, up, and now is like wi a go 20 steps backward,” another said.

Party Chairman Robert Pickersgill, when questioned about the conduct of the Comrades, said he did not hear the offensive remarks but made it clear that he would not condone such behaviour.

Supporters of both parties had assembled behind barricades on opposite ends of Duke Street.

JLP supporter ‘Shaka’, who brought along her dog, Biscuit — clad in a green T-shirt — was among the crowd of enthusiastic supporters, most of whom where clad in green shirts.

Shaka told the

Jamaica Observer that she was last in the vicinity of Gordon House in 2007 when Bruce Golding was being sworn in, and had to be present for Holness.

“This is the second time now him a come, him always come. Every march weh wi do, him deh deh,” the Fletcher’s Land, Kingston, resident said about the dog.

Biscuit, which was the centre of attention on the north end of the Parliament building where the JLP supporters were assembled, wandered over to the south end of Parliament where the PNP supporters were and was greeted with anger, stones and other objects and was forced to make a hasty retreat.

Meanwhile, the jubilant JLP supporters, who included several senior citizens and wheelchair-bound men who had travelled from near and far, greeted their political representatives with rousing cheers, words of encouragement, bell-ringing, and the blowing of vuvuzelas.

The noisiest welcome was reserved for Holness and his wife as they arrived with police escort.

“Andrew! Andrew! Andrew!” the supporters shouted, some running past the barricade. However, they were ordered back to their designated spot by Vaz and the police.

An 83-year-old supporter, who had travelled from Portmore, said she did not know who her MP was, but that she was there to offer support to the prime minister.

“Give the young man a chance, now is the time for children to go to school, mek old people go one side,” she said. “Portia must step aside now and put in the young people. A time now for the old people to go home, she must give politics a break.”