The headline-grabbing title of a news story coming out of the State-run Jamaica Information Service (JIS) on the weekend read: Prime minister says Jamaica must uphold standards in politics and public life.

It is, of course, par for the course that prime ministers have speech writers, and one can be forgiven for wondering how genuine or heartfelt the message is from some of the loftier speeches. Are they mere words penned by a great speech-writer, helped along by ChatGPT or some other artificial intelligence (AI) software, or has the speaker embraced and adopted them as a template for action to come?

To be clear, the speech to which we are referring, in which Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness paid glowing tribute — as is to be expected from him of his late party leader and mentor, Mr Edward Seaga — was the kind of stuff that moves men to patriotism and nationalistic fervour.

Dr Holness implored Jamaicans to uphold the standards, conventions, and seriousness that have guided public life, warning that the country must resist any attempt to weaken the principles that have supported national leadership and governance for decades.

In the ambience of National Heroes’ Park, where a floral tribute was being paid to the late Jamaica Labour Party leader and former prime minister, Dr Holness painted Mr Seaga’s life and legacy as a reminder that “politics must be treated as an instrument for national development, not as a stage for applause, short-term attention, or political theatre”.

Mr Seaga, he suggested, had approached public service with discipline, structure, and seriousness, and he declared that Jamaica must reject any approach to politics that demeans public office, lowers the quality of leadership, and weakens national purpose.

“Today, there is a calculated assault on the standards of public life, a calculated assault on the conventions that have carried this nation for decades,” the prime minister said, adding that public policy must be supported by “structure, implementation, efficiency, and measurable performance”.

Leaders must be judged not only by how well they articulate ideas, but by whether those ideas are translated into real results for the Jamaican people… Jamaica must move beyond a political culture that rewards rhetoric over results, and care for the people must be demonstrated through action.

“We are not just here to write a policy, articulate it eloquently, appeal to you emotionally that we care about you, but we don’t act to materialise the care, to bring the care to reality,” the prime minister waxed eloquently.

It was his view that modern politics had increasingly been affected by short-term thinking, which can detract from the deeper work of nation-building.

“One must act for results that may only be fully appreciated years later. That is very difficult for modern politics, because we live in an era of instant gratification. Many short-term thinkers have hijacked our politics and made us, as a people, think in very myopic ways,” he added.

Dr Holness then pledged that his Administration would continue to build with seriousness and thoughtfulness by strengthening what works, reforming what is outdated, and creating institutions equal to the challenges of the time.

The million-dollar question is: Will this be put into action or will it be interred with Mr Seaga’s bones?