In my first column this month I, among other things, opined that the Opposition leader and People’s National Party (PNP) president, Mark Golding, should have followed the precedents of his predecessors — former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Dr Peter Phillips, the first leader of one of our of our two major political parties not to have become prime minister — and resigned following the PNP’s last general election defeat, its third-straight.

Since the mentioned piece some of my readers who nail their colours to the mast, meaning they are open and candid about their unflinching support for 89 Old Hope Road, which I have absolutely no difficult with, have sent me some very, very strong responses, most of which cannot be published in this, a family newspaper. Anyway, among those brawny replies, one in particular got my attention. It was a lengthy response, but with a central message.

The devotee voiced that Golding enjoys the “full confidence” of the PNP. He reminded that after the official count in the general election was done, 27 of 28 candidates who had won their seats signed a letter supporting Golding’s presidency of the party.

The Jamaica Observer news item of September 12, 2025 was entitled ‘Mark stands firm — Golding says PNP’s successful parliamentary candidates support his presidency’. The rest of the devotee’s defence was interesting.

He protested that my reasoning about precedents “was not only selective but also incomplete”

He noted that when Portia Simpson Miller was defeated by Bruce Golding in the September 2007 General Election, she did not resign. He averred that when the PNP “pummelled” the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the December 2011 General Election and Andrew Holness remained as the leader of the JLP.

To buttress his case he inserted this comment from their general secretary, Dr Dayton Campbell: “He [Andrew Holness] did not resign; he stayed there and he didn’t even make public the appraisal committee report that was done.” The response also repeated unconfirmed reports of a failed no-confidence motion against Holness after his election loss.

I am aerating this for four reasons. There are unlit holes in his defence. It’s being spewed on social media, and I hear it in traditional media too. This defence must not escape sunlight. The PNP is not a private club.

Recall that Prime Minister P J Patterson resigned on March 30, 2006. He had served for 14½ years in the highest elected office in our land. A release from the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) on April 3, 2006, among other things, summarised the passing of the political baton: “Mr Patterson, in his formal letter of resignation as prime minister, also expressed confidence that the nation would ‘enjoy peace, harmony, social justice, and prosperity now and forever’. The letter, which was presented to Governor General Kenneth Hall last Thursday (March 30), served to hand over the reins of leadership to Portia Simpson Miller, who was sworn in as prime minister on the same day.”

The correspondence stated: “This letter serves to formally advise you of my retirement as the prime minister of Jamaica and thereby enable you to proceed with the immediate appointment of Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller in accordance with the provisions of section 70 (1) of our constitution.”

A day later (March 31), Patterson also tendered his letter of resignation as Member of Parliament for the Westmoreland Eastern constituency to Speaker of the House of Representatives Michael Peart, stating that it was “an honour and privilege” to have served in the House over the years.

Well-thinking Jamaicans must never forget that during those very painful 18½ years ordinary Jamaicans became poorer, weaker, and less respected. Our dollar was devalued at an unprecedented rate, inflation skyrocketed, the economy was on life-support, there was low and/or no growth, capital flight was on steroids, crime in particular murders and social decadence spiralled, and poverty increased to unprecedented levels. These are incontrovertible facts detailed here previously.

On the matter of facts, here are some facts which nullify the mentioned defence for the retention of Mark Golding as Opposition leader and president of the PNP.

Simpson Miller was prime minister and president of the PNP for just under a year and half, before she called a general election to, among other things, obtain her own mandate. She failed. The PNP was defeated in a nail-biter.

Recall, the JLP won 31 seats and the PNP got 29. Bruce Golding became our eighth prime minister. The PNP was given the order of the boot after 18½ disastrous years at Jamaica House.

Unlike Simpson Miller, Mark Golding has occupied the office of Opposition leader and PNP president for just shy of five calendar years.

Recall Golding, the St Andrew Southern Member of Parliament, was elected the sixth president of the PNP in a severely acrimonious contest. Golding amassed 1,740 votes to clinch victory. His challenger, Lisa Hanna, polled 1,444.

During Golding’s almost five years at the helm of Norman Manley’s party, he and the PNP’s apparatus criss-crossed Jamaica three times before our most recent general election, which was held on September 3, 2025, our 19th since universal adult suffrage in 1944. Golding and his lieutenants, particularly Dr Dayton Campbell, conducted themselves, especially on the political hustings, in very pitiable ways which helped to brand the PNP as the purveyor of an unusable past. I presented incontrovertible verification here previously.

Back-to-back defeat

As I see it, the PNP urgently needs adult supervision, otherwise they all will end up in reformatory school.

Golding’s track record of mostly subtraction over almost five years disqualifies him. His vehicle of hubris and grandiosity are not suited for these times. In politics you have to preside over addition not subtraction if you are to win and/or retain State power. As I see it, The PNP is still divided into two factions — OnePNP and RiseUntied — and divided political parties don’t win and/or retain State power.

Those like the mentioned PNP devotee who are defending Golding’s retention have all conveniently ignored that Golding has led the PNP to back-to-back defeats. Doubtless, Golding and his acolytes are still deluding themselves that the PNP won the February 2024 Local Government Elections. Recall this declaration from the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ): “With all the ballots counted, the result is that the JLP won the election for control of the local authorities with seven of the local authorities and the PNP won six of the local authorities inclusive of the Portmore Municipality.”

Recall, too, that in the face of this crystal clear declaration by the duly constituted body responsible for the overall administration and management of elections in this country, several high-ranking officials in the leadership of the PNP, and some well-credentialled confederates, had continued to delude themselves and foment public mischief by deliberately stroking the blatant falsehood that the PNP won our 17th local government election. This was a great harbinger.

I said then that I was not surprised. Why? Among other things, the answer is found in this public statement by PNP Chairman Emeritus Robert Pickersgill. He said: “We believe that it is best for the PNP to form the Government; therefore, anything that will lead or cause us to be in power is best for the PNP and best for the country.” Pickersgill has not apologised for this frightening declaration, and neither has the PNP.

On the matter of declarations, Simpson Miller did not lose back-to-back elections, and neither has Andrew Holness.

Dying defaults

As I see it, politicians like Pickersgill and Golding don’t understand that the default settings of local politics are on life support. Jamaica is no longer “PNP country”. And the PNP is no longer the party of natural choice. The PNP’s base has dwindled because of a big diminution in class consciousness and ideological loyalty, among other things.

In my piece here on March 10, 2024, I explained among other things that, “Traditionally, the PNP has had a larger base compared to that of the JLP. Except for the most rabid Comrades, I believe 89 Old Hope Road accepts that Norman Manley’s party no longer has the decided advantage of a larger base. Today, the lion’s share of the PNP’s voter support comes from individuals over 55 years of age. Several scientific polls have said so. Efforts by the PNP to replenish its base with younger people have not had great success in recent times.

“The JLP, on the other hand, has succeeded in expanding its base with young people. Several scientific polls have said so. I believe the JLP now has a slightly larger base than the PNP. At the same time, I think the result of elections in especially marginal seats, the majority of constituencies, are decided by undecided and first-time voters. This is good for democracy.”

The victory by the JLP in our most recent general election proves that I was right.

Golding told this newspaper that he was a socialist, but unlike Michael Manley, our fourth prime minister, Golding is yet to play a chord which thrills the ears of the majority. But Golding is also late to the party, and evidently is yet to receive the memo that democratic socialism is dead. Manley, an ardent proponent of democratic socialism globally, said so at the PNP’s National Executive Council meeting at The University of the West Indies in the early 90s. The PNP seems not to understand that social policy is no longer a dividing line between it and the JLP. As I see it, the JLP has now surpassed the PNP in social policy concentration. Those who defend the retention of Mark Golding need to accept that while he has helped the rays of the sun to peep out from behind clouds, the sun hasn’t set. The PNP needs an authentic, visionary, and disciplined strategist.

The Abilene Paradox/Effect

“But Higgins, you have still not explained one crucial thing. Why did 27 of 28 candidates vote for Golding to stay?” some with inquire. It’s a good query. The answer is in the Abilene Effect/Paradox.

This is a well-known concept, especially in decision science, psychology and politics. Essentially, it refers to the tendency of a group to agree on a course of action that none in the group individually wants. It happens because each person assumes the others desire the decision. Everyone nods his/her head like a cuckoo-clock to avoid rocking the boat, resulting in what some management experts, psychologists, and decision scientists call “pluralistic ignorance”, meaning the group’s choice is the opposite of the true consensus.

The concept comes from an experience in which members of a Texas family go to Abilene (a hot dusty trip no one enjoys) thinking that’s what everyone wanted. In reality, they individually would have preferred to stay at home and play cards and/or indulge in other related activities in their own home. The Abilene Paradox was coined by management expert Professor Jerry B Harvey in his celebrated book
The Abilene Paradox and other Mediations on Management. The Abilene Effect leads to poor internal and external outcomes and dysfunctions. Its usefulness is only temporary.

Three Sundays ago, I said here that I believed there would be a leadership challenge in the PNP in 2026/7. I stand by that forecast. It bears repeating, “Those who have said they wish to lead the PNP and/or those who hanker quietly after the top job in Norman Manley’s party will realise that their political fortune and ambitions are being choked to death by a president who will be 65 when the next general election is due. Holness will be 58. Politics today is a younger man’s game. Look around the world today, but for a few exceptions, younger and younger national leaders are being voted into office.”

Golding failed to take home the bacon in successive and consequential elections. He should have followed the precedents of his predecessors.

Garfield Higgins is an educator and journalist. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding (centre), flanked by Member of Parliament (MP) for St Andrew South Western Angela Brown Burke and Dr Dayton Campbell, MP for Westmoreland Eastern, walk to Gordon House for the opening of the new Parliament recently. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

P J Patterson.

Michael Manley.

Portia Simpson Miller