Politics was Paul Robertson’s destiny, says Patterson
Published:Monday | March 14, 2022 | 12:07 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
Dr Paul Robertson should have followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and gone on to make a living and name in farming, younger sister Lois Douglas disclosed during the thanksgiving ceremony for the former Cabinet minister and political stalwart at the official funeral at the University Chapel on Saturday.
“He was from humble roots and loved farming, loved to see things grow, and always planned that it was his duty to provide work for people. This really was my brother at heart,” she said.
However, as former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson explained in a tribute, his late political colleague was afflicted from birth with the political virus and the passion to assert freedom of choice in a pluralist democratic society.
“It was his destiny to eventually enter the political arena,” said Patterson, recalling that having returned to Jamaica with a PhD from the University of Michigan in the United States, young Robertson devoted his career to politics, starting with his appointment as deputy general secretary of the People’s National Party (PNP).
Having boycotted the general election of 1983, the PNP established a shadow Cabinet, as the country found itself without a voice in Parliament as the Opposition.
It was in that time of turmoil that Robertson, who succeeded Dr D.K. Duncan as general secretary, demonstrated his prowess as an organiser, helping the party to claw its way back from the political wilderness with a landslide in the 1986 local government elections. This was followed by a thumping of the Jamaica Labour Party at the polls in 1989, when the PNP regained state power.
Patterson recalled that Robertson was a first pick for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Michael Manley, to whom the youngster had an unswerving loyalty.
Robertson had charge of four ministerial portfolios over the years – public service; foreign affairs and foreign trade; industry, investment and commerce; and information and culture. Robertson also served as member of parliament for St Catherine South East from 1993 until 2007, when he retired from representational politics. He also had a stint as senator from 1989 to 1993.
Robertson died at the St Ann’s Bay Hospital on February 19 following a brief illness. He was 75.
“In the discharge of his duties, he maintained the highest standards of integrity and professionalism,” said Patterson at Saturday’s service.
Patterson, who is a huge cricket fan, described Robertson as a captain’s dream, alluding to his model behaviour as a team player.
“Dr Paul was unflappable, gifted with sound political antennae and expert judgement. He never sought the limelight, but outstood his contribution to the national good … . He was loyal, absolutely reliable, and multifaceted,” said Patterson, who succeeded Manley as prime minister in 1992.
The Reverend Astor Carlyle’s homily was a call to action for the society to strive for a return to good values and attitudes, as well as common decency, telling the congregation that the community is at its best when, individually, we are at our worst.
“Life is too short to hold on to grudges. Life is too brief to allow for unforgiveness and bitterness to consume us. The true community doesn’t always require compatibility … but emerges out of a commitment to respect our differences, while conscientiously holding to those values that undergird life in all its forms,” said Carlyle.
“It was Paul Robertson’s desire that each one of us sees the other as an integral thread in the fabric of human relations, and that we bring the best of who we are to the process.”