In 1992, Portia Simpson should have become President of the People's National Party and Prime Minister of Jamaica. She was a vibrant woman in her mid forties, a successful Minister of Government, well beloved by the people. Her rival, P.J. Patterson, was not well liked and the subject of rumours.
When Michael Manley stepped down as PNP leader and Prime Minister in 1992 it was expected he would give his support to his protege, Portia.
He did not, leaving the issue to be decided by delegates to the Special Conference. Outsiders were surprised by Mr. Manley's actions. During Portia's administration of the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Sports, (1989 - 1992) there were no strikes, pensions rose by 100% and our sports men and women made us proud.
Outsiders expected Portia to win the Presidential election by a landslide over the uninspiring P.J. who had lost his cabinet post over a questioning of a waiver.
Although by law, he as Minister of Finance was the only person who could have granted the waiver to Shell to import non-leaded gasoline without paying the duty, the public's response to the, "Shell Scandal" provoked his resignation. How and why P.J. Patterson won the 1992 in-house election is the first flag that something was "wrong" in the corridors of the PNP.
The relationship of Portia Simpson to her Party was clearly not the pretty one served to the public. The internal election was held behind closed and guarded doors. Those who could speak chose silence. This was the second flag that all was not as it seemed. That Portia had run for President of the PNP without insuring that she had the delegates or the support of the Party hierarchy, or the beloved Michael Manley, is only noticed in retrospect.
Outsiders, whether supporters of the PNP, or the Jamaica Labour Party or the neutral citizen, would, by all Polls, voted for Portia for Prime Minister and she would have won by a landslide in 1992.
Yet, her Party's Inner Circle, those who knew her the best, insured her defeat by P.J. Patterson. In 2006, when P.J. Patterson stepped down, there were four candidates for the post of President of the PNP. Two candidates can be discarded as spoilers, the remaining two, Peter Phillips and Portia Simpson-Miller, (as she is now known).
The Inner Circle backed Peter, but there was strong support from the delegates for Portia, hence she became President of the Party, and Prime Minister of Jamaica. Her greatest enemies at this moment, were members of the Inner Circle of her own Party.
She came into office with the authority and support to remove those detractors from her Cabinet and from Party positions. She could have filled posts with those persons who had been neglected and disrespected during the P.J. Patterson regime. Had she, on the day after her inauguration as Jamaica's first female Prime Minister, purged the Party of those who despised her, (and the word "despise" is not an exaggeration) removed those corrupt and thought to be corrupt persons who held high office, and gathered those who had a great deal to contribute around her, the PNP would have regained the dynamism and the support of the Jamaican people.
Of all the choices Portia could have made, she made the most detrimental. She maintained the P.J. cabinet virtually intact, (save those who decently resigned because they could not work with her), made no alteration in any policy or practice, despite the charges of corruption, and for her "Inner Circle" chose the very worst people.
Within a few weeks her credibility took a nose dive, and by the 2007 General Election, despite the power of the PNP electoral machine, the Jamaica Labour Party won. Statistics suggest that PNP members did not exercise their franchise in many constituencies, the Jamaica Labour Party was able to motivate the "neutral" voters.
During the year, September 2007 to September 2008 the popularity of the Jamaica Labour Party led by Bruce Golding has increased, while the support of the PNP under Portia Simpson-Miller has declined. There seems to have been a large "desertion" of the PNP by previous supporters.
Portia, who had been seen as a woman of the people is now held up to ridicule as uneducated, uncouth; a country gal who has no idea how to run a country.
Due to this perception, Peter Phillips has launched a challenge and is running for Party President. Peter has held the support of the PNP Inner Circle, gained previous supporters of Portia, and seems to have gained a large number of delegates.
Whether these delegates come from actual or "paper" groups is unknown, pointing to the incompetence of Portia and her Inner Circle in ensuring that those who are certified as competent to vote actually are.
The simple fact, which applies to all groups, be they the P.T.A or the Parliament of a Nation, is that there are those who want the "Name" and those who can actually fill the post.
During the 2006 - 2007 and 2007 - 2008 periods Portia has proven herself a rather poor Prime Minister and an invisible Leader of the Opposition.
Her core problem is not simply her lack of academic qualifications but her inability to select the best persons for her Inner Circle so as to gain the most useful advice. To put it coarsely, President Bush might not know where Cyprus is, but his Secretary of State does. Portia Simpson- Miller might not know, and her advisors have never heard of Cyprus.
