Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness’s strident statement that, “We really don’t need an Opposition, because our supporters hold us to account,” has to be an outlier, as the Americans like to say.

Others might simply describe it as Mr Holness misspeaking.

Addressing his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Hanover Eastern workers meeting on Sunday, Dr Holness was being as typical as politicians come. On the hustings, in full campaign heat, they seem not to worry too much about being serious.

“That is the nature of the Jamaica Labour Party supporters. We really don’t need an Opposition, because our supporters hold us to account. In fact, our supporters are our staunch, constructive critics, and I have grown to understand and respect that about the party that I lead. So I listened carefully to what my workers are saying, because if they are not happy, they are not going to be silent,” Dr Holness waxed warm.

Of course, the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has jumped on the statement, describing it as a sign that the prime minister is showing an authoritarian slip and non-respect for Jamaica’s democracy.

In an equally strident press release, PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell declared: “The JLP leadership’s rhetoric and conduct are no longer ambiguous; they reveal a dangerous contempt for Jamaica’s democratic foundations…”

Dr Campbell referred to the statements by the prime minister and one by Deputy Leader Desmond McKenzie, saying the JLP will “never surrender Jamaica” to the PNP as “framing the Opposition not as a legitimate competitor but as an existential enemy — it signals an intent for permanent rule, not democratic governance”.

“The PNP will relentlessly challenge this autocratic trajectory using every constitutional means. We urge civil society, the media, and every Jamaican committed to fairness and accountability to recognise this clear and present danger. The Holness Cabinet’s actions are an assault on the pillars of our free society. Jamaica’s democracy must be defended,” he thundered.

In the same way we see Mr Holness’s statement as an outlier and misspeaking, we suggest to the PNP that, “The lady doth protest too much,” if we can be allowed a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

It’s called the political silly season for a reason. The politicians are allowed to wallow in a drunken stupor of mindless utterances that usually elicit laughter from the party faithful or are quickly dismissed by the rest of the electorate.

No serious Jamaican is going to accept for one moment that the prime minister believes that Jamaica does not need an Opposition, or that it can be left up to party supporters to hold a Government or party leadership accountable.

For he would have to go further and tear up the constitution and rid us of the Westminster parliamentary model of governance.

Moreover, Dr Holness is well aware that the insistence on collective decision-making does not allow for party supporters to hold any Government accountable.

The diehards who are running up their blood pressure over this unserious occurrence will naturally accuse us of taking Miss Lou’s “bad sinting mek laugh”. But far be it from us. There are way more serious things to contemplate in these uncertain times.