KINGSTON, Jamaica – Political commentator Kevin O’Brien Chang does not expect the results of the United States midterm elections, which saw the Democrats take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, to influence the Jamaican government’s approach to diplomacy.

Chang, in an interview with Observer Online reporter Carlysia Ramdeen, suggested that Jamaica’s foreign policy direction is unlikely to be altered by the shifting political balance in Washington, noting the Holness administration’s approach to “get along” with the superpowers of the world.

“Mr Holness himself and Ms Kamina Johnson Smith, they’ve been very good diplomats in my view. They’ve made no enemies, they get along with the three great powers of the world,” Chang said. “They get along with America, they get along with China, and they get along with the EU [European Union].

“We’re a little small country. Why do we want to have any quarrel with any bigger country than us?”

The Holness administration has been widely criticised for its recent abstention at the United Nations on the resolution calling for an end to the United States embargo against Cuba, raising questions about the shift in policy as the island has long voted for the resolution.