Dear Editor,

After her successful vice-presidential campaign, Kingston Mayor Senator Dr Angela Brown Burke expressed that those lobbying for party renewal should channel this energy into other areas of the party, since the delegates had spoken and given the mandate to those in whom they believe will best serve the party.

It seems to me that the People’s National Party’s (PNP) hierarchy is unable to agree on its way forward, as in contrast Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern Lisa Hanna unsuccessfully tried to gain the delegates’ support campaigning under the banner of ‘renewal’ .

Similarly, former Prime Minister P J Patterson echoed calls for party renewal during the recent annual conference. Without this renewal, I believe the current Opposition will continue to slide into the abyss of irrelevance and political extinction.

I believe the echoes of ‘renewal’ should be listened to. Whenever a modern political party failed in selling its manifesto to the electorates the party’s leadership should then be dismantled and the way paved for others to fill the void and offer new insights and inspiration to the electorate.

Therefore, I believe the delegates had erred in their decision to keep the same old lieutenants in charge, notably after a disappointing general election campaign in which their policies and leadership were rejected. The PNP has now lost, in my view, their opportunity of finding a political panacea.

Zavier Simpson

Netherlands Antilles

zavier_simpson@hotmail.com