Golding defends leadership style

People’s National Party (PNP) president Mark Golding used his address to the party’s 88th annual conference yesterday to make a pointed case for his style of leadership, declaring that he is driven not by the trappings of office but by what he described as a determination to make Jamaica “a much better place for all Jamaicans”.

The address at Independence Park in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, came against the backdrop of growing speculation about Golding’s political future and whether St Catherine North Western member of parliament Damion Crawford will mount a challenge for the PNP presidency at next year’s annual conference.

No formal leadership contest has been announced, but speculation about a possible Crawford challenge have persisted for months.

The issue has added an internal dimension to what was already a significant conference for Golding, coming a year after the PNP’s defeat in the September 2025 general election. Golding used his speech to emphasise humility, experience and a people-centred approach to leadership.

“I stand here today committed to the task of making Jamaica a much better place for all Jamaicans,” he told supporters.

“As a leader, it is not the status and trappings of office that keep me going. Those things are a distraction, and if you indulge in them you will inevitably succumb to arrogance and a deluded belief in the quality of your own performance,” Golding said.

“I am here because I know Jamaica can be better, and I have the skills, the experience and, most importantly, the caring heart to lead this country forward,” he added.