WATCH: Crawford still wants to be prime minister, explains relative silence under Golding-led PNP
Opposition Senator Damion Crawford has never shied away from stating his ambition of one day leading the People’s National Party (PNP) and Jamaica as prime minister. Despite his relative silence the last couple years, since taking a hiatus from representational politics, the desire remains.
“I would love to have the opportunity to be (prime minister)… I have always wanted that opportunity that I am the chief decision maker of where we go,” Crawford told OBSERVER ONLINE in an exclusive interview earlier this week.
“If I get the opportunity to decide for education or health or housing, or wherever, I will be able to do more… The role of the prime minister, I believe if I had the opportunity, I would make some serious changes,” he added.
Crawford, who is also Opposition Spokesperson on Education, has been keeping a relatively low profile the last couple of years. Asked about his relative silence, he said it is because he has less influence under the current Mark Golding-led PNP compared to when Portia Simpson-Miller or Dr Peter Phillips was at the helm of the party.
“One of the worst things I think can happen is to be perceived as a liar. If I don’t have the influence over the direction of the party, I can’t be the main speaker or voice of the party, because I don’t have the influence to guarantee that the things that I am proposing will be done,” Crawford said.
“Because I have much less influence now than I had under (Dr) Peter Phillips or under Portia Simpson (Miller), I don’t find it comfortable to be an announcer of my opinions,” he said.
WATCH: Crawford announces desire to represent St Catherine North West
Still, Crawford has expressed a desire to return to representational politics, declaring his interest in becoming the PNP standard-bearer in the St Catherine North West constituency if the seat becomes available.
The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is the PNP’s Hugh Graham, who has had an uneasy relationship with the party and resigned from the Opposition shadow cabinet earlier this year.
