THEY MAY BE close in age to Jamaica’s outgoing Prime Minister Bruce Golding, but Barbados’ Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and Opposition Leader Owen Arthur need not throw in the towel just yet.
Yesterday, three leading political scientists were adamant that age should not be a major criterion for leadership, after Golding said it was a key factor in his decision to step down after four years at the helm of government and nearly 40 years in parliament.
Golding, 63, in a national broadcast Sunday, noted that leaders of major countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, were more than ten years his junior and stated it was time for his generation to make way for youthful leaders.
Asked whether this should be a signal to Stuart, 60, and Arthur, who will turn 62 on October 17, Barbadian pollster and political analyst Peter Wickham replied: “In each situation a political leader has to be able to assess their contribution on individual merit. (RJ)
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