(Jamaica Gleaner) Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ken Baugh has taken issue with last night’s address to the nation by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, in which he said the time has come for the old vanguards of the country’s political parties to step aside and make way for young leadership.
Baugh, a former chairman of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and aspirant to replace the party leader and prime minister, said Golding should desist from such comments and give way to due process.
“He is obviously influencing the outcome; I don’t think that is justified. That is my opinion and you can quote me on my opinion,” a defensive Baugh said yesterday.
In his address to the nation, Golding said: “It is time for my generation to make way for younger people whose time has come, who are more in sync with 21st-century realities, whose vision can have a longer scope and who can bring new energy to the enormous tasks that confront us.”
But the 70-year-old Baugh, who has served as leader of the opposition, said: “I think when you make age a factor, you are obscuring the real issues that need to be discussed. (Issues) as to why the goals for Jamaica have been so elusive.”
He added: “There is a need for age and experience in particular to bring together a good understanding of what has happened over all these years when political leaders get in place and still have not found the solutions,” he told The Gleaner.
Staying in the ring
In the meantime, the deputy prime minister, who has held several top posts in politics since the 1980s, said his experience in politics over the years has made him fit for the top post and he has no plans to remove his hat from the ring.
“At this point in time, I think I have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience. The decision I would have made at (age) 30, I would change my mind at 60 or 70,” he said.
Asked what he thinks his chances are of winning the top post should he run against the likes of Andrew Holness and Christopher Tufton, Baugh said he was betting on the moment to reaveal who is the man for the job.
“I believe that the campaign will bring out the real issues. Rather than just the young, I think the real issues have to be with people who understand what is happening in the country, what has happened over the years, and what is happening in the world,” he said.
“If they allow the process to take its place in terms of campaign and once we insist on being democratic and give every aspirant the opportunity, the people will benefit more than to just be carried along in a sentiment that it is the young (who are most fit for the job).”
He added: “I really believe that people feel they have been disappointed in the past and if they try the young, they are going to provide solutions,” Baugh said.
