Our changing political loyalties
Avia Ustanny, Freelance Writer

Tiney Sparks, party enthusiast, says she has been following the Jamaica Labour Party for the last forty years.

"Down to the dog inna me yard is PNP." "I will follow Bustamante 'til I die."

ANYONE WHO still labours under the belief that Jamaicans are still largely tribalised - defending one of two parties to the death - is way behind time.

The quotations which opened this article are taken from another political era. Though the two main political parties the PNP and the JLP still attract a die-hard, loyal-to- the-death, core following, this grouping has declined rapidly in the last three decades.

The reasons for this are interesting, and as Professor Trevor Munroe, lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies states, they are factors that political parties would do well to keep in mind.

Among the electorate, the hard core following has declined dramatically, going from 60 per cent in 1972 to 19 per cent in 2002, according to the polls.

The change reveals, according to Professor Munroe, a more mature electorate made of "a new Jamaican who is more informed than his parents and grandparents were the information age created by changes in radio, television, cable and talk shows."

"The new Jamaican is also more educated," the Professor adds. Over seventy per cent of the population have been the beneficiaries of secondary education, compared to a minority in the early years of Independence.

The New Jamaican is more exposed to international trends/affairs. He/she is more travelled and is not just confined to the district or village. The average Jamaican is also in frequent contact with relatives and friends who live abroad. The average number of minutes spent on international calls by Jamaicans are among the highest in the world.

No longer die-hard, the average voter is not apathetic either. More and more people are getting involved at the community level, becoming a part of community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, school PTA's, youth clubs, etc. The new Jamaican is also less easier to manipulate or manage and presents challenges for governance.

"The downside is that this new personality is overly individualistic, excessively materialistic, harder to fool and often impossible to rule. To keep them in line, one needs great levels of participation but also absolute firmness," the university lecturer notes.

The impact of the information age, education and international awareness are among the factors which have contributed to a reduction in the dependence on leaders and political parties as a single source of loyalty. "Voter de-alignment is a universal tendency which is happening also in the United States and the United Kingdom," Professor Munroe notes.

Declining fanaticism is therefore not just a matter of economic development, as the same tendency is seen in highly developed countries. Loyalties to parties is not the only thing which is in decline either, as in every sphere people are thinking more and are more willing to exercise their choices regarding the brand of religion, clothing, food, etc., they use or indulge in.

It is noteworthy, Professor Munroe said, that while people are changing in this way, the political parties and other social institutions which desire their loyalties are not changing at the same pace. Organisations which continue to subscribe to authoritarian/paternalist models of operation are less likely to get quality people who display creativity. Parties need to be more participatory and democratic and put more emphasis on rights and responsibilities if they are to attract commitment.

Who remains in the camp of the die-hard?

In this dwindling group, we are told, are those with a mixture of traditional attachment, passed from one generation to another which have at their core, feelings about either party. For others, loyalties are based upon bread and butter issues, as they see getting hand-outs as a means of survival.

Studies done also reveal that many Jamaicans still subscribe to messianic ideas of leadership and in fact believe that "someone must lead them". According to psychologist, Dr. Leahcim Semaj, "this means that we are extremely manipulable. There is a small group who will always be willing to take advantage of this."

Dr. Semaj comments that while family traditions are frequently a factor in determining die-hard political loyalties, there are two other categories of people who will not shrink from making their loyalties public. The first are those who do so for business benefits. The next are the unemployed. Both have expectations of getting returns from throwing their support behind the political party of their choice.

The psychologist notes that big business supports both parties in an act of courtship aimed at securing lucrative government contracts. Government, in Jamaica, remains the largest source of business.

The poor who declare their loyalty because of the material benefits to be had, are subscribing to a system of patronage which remains strong. "The Jamaican society is a feudal kingdom. The big man dishes out goods and wealth to his private army," Semaj comments.