My thoughts…on stuff

The time has come at last. Today PJ Patterson, president of the PNP and prime minister of Jamaica for 14 years, will step down, and Portia Simpson-Miller, Jamaica’s first female prime minister, will take his place. The prime ministerial baton will be passed to her at a ceremony at Kings House at 5 p.m. The live broadcast will be on the JIS website. Many regional leaders and dignitaries will be there. For those of you who are late to the party, Portia beat fellow contenders Peter Phillips, Omar Davies and Karl Blythe in the PNP presidential race.

My father and I were watching the news last night, witnessing the plight of ordinary Jamaicans, and a cynical smirk (much like my own) appeared on his face. He then said, “All of this will be on Portia’s head. She won’t have her fine hair for much longer.” “Why is that?” I asked. “Because these problems will gray her hair”, he said. “I remember when PJ first came into power. He had a full head of black hair. Now he doesn’t have a single strand of black hair.” He then paused. “Portia’s being sworn in tomorrow”. “Yeah”, I said. “I wonder if PJ will cry like Sir Florizel did?” We both laughed at the thought. Then my father’s countenance became grim. “She thinks it’s a bed of roses. But it’s not. I wonder how she will do.” I wondered too.

Part of me wants to believe that Portia will truly make a difference, that she will be a Messiah of sorts and save Jamaica from all of its woes. But another part is reluctant to believe that, because though Portia has charisma and a strong will, it will take more than that to tackle the problems Jamaica is facing. Plus, given the impending resignation of some cabinet members, such as K.D Knight, will make it even harder. I’ll just sit back and watch, as this should be an interesting show.