Did Lisa Hanna knife Portia in the back?

The PNP MP for St Ann South Eastern, Lisa Hanna has made it clear that she is seeking one of the four vice-presidential posts and that the party must now turn to a new and more dynamic leadership cadre.

However some PNP officials liken this move to a Shakespearean Brutus stab-in-the-back of Caesar, viewing it as a call for long serving party leader Portia Simpson-Miller to step aside and make way for younger party members who have other ideas for the direction of the party and the management of the country.

A leading PNP official speaking under condition of anonymity speaking with Loop News last night said: “For so long Portia was Lisa Hanna’s benefactor, helping to nurture her political ambitions and guiding and watching over her political career and for her efforts Hanna does this to her. It’s very ungrateful.

“She has rushed to join the triumvirate of Bunting, Golding and Davies and we will see how that works out for her because Portia is still a political force in this country capable of winning another general election.”

Irking some of Portia Simpson Miller devotees is Hanna’s written missive on Sunday which read: “I believe as some senior leaders in the party have said, ‘it is time to shake the tree’. As we experience the dawn of a new political era in Jamaica we will have to win friends and influence people and we will have to present a vibrant face of the party. I am supportive to our party leader and believe that she should be allowed the time with her allies and family to determine her departure.”

In response the PNP stalwart said: “Those are brave words from a political neophyte who may think now has the higher ground. She had a third tier portfolio and was nearly ousted from her seat and now is openly challenging one of the most successful party leaders we have ever had. She has shown her hand early and I thought she would have taken a leaf from Bunting’s book and step cautiously.

“She has already called for Paul Burke’s head which wasn’t well received by many comrades. It’s either kill or be killed when you look to take out the leader of the pride. Obviously she feels she has what it takes.”

Others take a different view, with younger PNP supporters viewing Hanna as one of the future main players of the party- telegenic, articulate with a 21st century approach to politics.

Dave Robinson of western Hanover said: “Hanna is right that the party desperately needs to be refreshed and needs new leadership. She does not take a dogmatic approach and can connect with all facets of the electorate and the party. She will be an asset to Bunting very much in the vain of a young Tony Blair and Gordon Brown revitalising the Labour Party and setting it on a course to win successive general elections after the Thatcher era in the UK.

She brings no baggage and can be a winner with younger people. Portia is the past, Lisa is the future – it is the natural order of things.”

Hanna went further with her stiletto with, “What would Norman Manley say if he looked at the PNP today? I agree with Norman Manley that we should never allow our personalities to trump principles, and leaders at all levels should make way for renewal and placing the party’s interest above their own.”