Mrs. Golding gives Bruce full support
By Garwin Davis, Assistant News Editor

Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, right, with Bruce Golding, left, and his wife Lorna at Friday night's fundraiser for the West Kingston Development Committee at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Kingston. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Bruce Golding's surprise re-entry last week into the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) had nothing to do with what some people have called political expediency. He was swayed by "a higher calling". So his wife Lorna believes.

In an interview with The Sunday Gleaner yesterday, Mrs. Golding said her husband had agonised over the decision to re-enter the political arena, especially on the eve of an election, but in the end decided that what he was doing was in the best interest of the country.

"My husband is a highly spiritual man," she said. "I say with all sincerity that if it was a case where it only had to do with him having to listen to the critics and putting his family through a lot of pain, Bruce would never have done it. A lot of people have been clamouring for this move and as I have always said, politics is about listening to the people. It was definitely of a higher calling and he had no other choice but to respond. Bruce, in the end, had to listen to the forces that were pulling him."

But did she have a direct input in his decision to rejoin the JLP?

"I would say yes and no," she added. "I am very close to my husband and yes we spoke deeply about this particular issue. I have been telling him about the things I hear on the streets - about the people crying out for his return. My exact words to him were that 'one couldn't ignore the cries of the people'. In the end though it was his decision and one that I support 100 per cent."

Mrs. Golding said she was not surprised by the extent "some people will go" to criticise her husband regarding his decision, noting that "this has not taken us by surprise, we have been expecting this."

She, however, concedes that "it was more difficult to take" when the criticisms became "nasty and personal."

"People are entitled to their views, that is not a problem," Mrs. Golding notes. "It is equally important though that we respect the rights of other people, including the right to make personal decisions. That whole argument about integrity, that's not valid. My husband has always been consistent in his views - he has never wavered on that. He has gone back to the JLP with his integrity fully intact and now has an opportunity to bring meaningful change to how we conduct our politics in this country."

Since the news broke last Wednesday about his return to the JLP, Mr. Golding has had to fend off questions, particularly from political commentators, about his credibility.

He has also had to defend the rationale in going back to a system that he had strongly denounced while forming the National Democratic Movement (NDM) in 1996. Several of his former colleagues in the NDM have been especially scathing in their remarks, calling him a traitor and describing his move to the JLP as political prostitution.

"Very unkind," was Mrs. Golding's description of the unflattering comments. "You know what's funny, people have switched parties before, some have been to the mountain top and back while others have contributed greatly to the decay our country has been experiencing over these many years. As I said before, people have a right to criticise but listening to some of the critics, I can't help but be amazed by a lot of the hypocrisy."

Born Lorna Charles, Mrs. Golding is the younger sister of JLP strongman, Pearnel Charles. She has been married to Mr. Golding since 1972 and the union has produced one son and two daughters.

Asked whether Mr. Charles had anything to do with her husband's surprise decision, a laughing Mrs. Golding said, "We are a close family - at the end of the day families have to stick together."

And what exactly will be her role on the campaign trail? Mrs. Golding said "I will not be out there much. I will, however, be giving him all the necessary support - he definitely will be needing it. I can also tell you though that he is already at it. He got up early this morning (Saturday) - we gave each other a big hug and he was on his way."

Mrs. Golding, while very optimistic that her husband can make a difference in the campaign fortunes of the JLP, cautioned against what she called unrealistic expectations.

"He is not a Messiah," she warned. "He is but one man and cannot perform miracles - don't expect him to change the world. He will give it his all, win or lose, and that's the best we can guarantee."