Well, it’s 1-0 to the People’s National Party (PNP) in the National Debates, which kicked off yesterday (August 23).

The team of Damion Crawford, Raymond Pryce and Sophia Frazer-Binns worked as an effective unit, all making unique contributions; the sum of their parts combining in a winning formula.

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) put in a creditable performance with Matthew Samuda standing tall amongst his colleagues. He was articulate, succinct and mastered the facts. He is one to watch and will have a successful career in Jamaican politics.

The PNP did not rout the JLP in this debate, but it did win on points. Damion Crawford is a good debater, and the clarity of his delivery while bringing attention to issues is a gift he is blessed with. Last night he seemed constrained, a bit tethered. Surprisingly, he did not come across unleashed. Was he overthinking? Nevertheless, he was effective. It’s time to see him as a Cabinet member, executing national policy. As an opening batsman, he stayed at the wicket and put up a big score.

It has to be said that his make-up last night was not right—his face looked over buttered, like he was dipped in oil. He made the decision to lose the facial hair, probably in an effort to look more youthful. He should have kept his trademark moustache. His command of the issues was impressive, and he did not stumble.

Pearnel Charles Jr did not have a good night, but came good right at the end. Kamina Johnson-Smith usually poised, effortless and commanding ,seemed unsure of herself. She came across over-scripted, not light on her feet. She was rather good at defending the prime minister’s ‘honour’ and making the point that the PNP is preoccupied pursuing this corruption accusation because it doesn’t have other issues to convince the country that it can lead it effectively.

Every time Matthew Samuda spoke, he did so authoritatively, and his familiarity with an array of subjects was most impressive. Whatever came at him, he dispatched with confidence. He was like Viv Richards at the wicket without a helmet, smacking the ball all around the park.

Pearnel Charles Jr, has to go back and look at last night’s tape. He chose to go for style over substance and fell short. Raymond Pryce unsettled him early, and he took too long to recover. He was on his back for most of the game. Both Samuda and Johnson-Smith had to carry him.

Raymond Pryce was impressive. He was alert and performed like Max Verstappen going around hairpin bends. He injected humour and made the case why the country should make that change and vote PNP.

He made the point, and it is a salient one, that the JLP is concentrated on what it has accomplished but not on how it will take Jamaica forward and make it a better country for all. It was stuck on past glories, campaigning on days gone by and not on the days ahead. The JLP made a mistake by not putting out its manifesto before the debates. If it had, it would have had a working document to expound on.

Pryce was able to skewer the JLP on the state of hospitals and medical care in Jamaica today. He was clever here, by speaking directly to the country through the camera, he shifted the debate to all Jamaicans’ fears. Going to the hospital and having to wait for hours and then being told there is insufficient medical equipment and medicines. It is a nightmare that the government has not been able to make go away. Pryce brought up the cost overruns at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, which is a travesty. The JLP team had no answers here.

Throughout the 90-minute debate on social issues, very little was said on crime. It was an opportunity missed by the JLP. It could have tooted its own horn all night about how crime under its watch has gone down by over 40 per cent. Gone are the days of murders at 1,600 per year, like it was under a PNP administration. Here, they could have saluted Horace Chang.

It has to be said that Sophia Frazer-Binns had a fantastic night and was able to make her case in a way that Jamaicans from all walks of life could readily understand. Whether you are in a bar in Grants Pen or in your sitting room in Jack’s Hill watching the debate with a Chardonnay in hand, Sophia Frazer-Binns commanded attention.

Her uppercuts hit the target again and again. She brought up the prime minister going into a general election, blithely not clarifying his statutory declarations. She even revealed that the prime ,inister profited from illegal investment schemes, thus painting a picture of a prime minister who does not have the moral authority to lead the country.

People are always envious, and she drew that card.. Subliminally, she made people think about Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ attained wealth and the manner in which he acquired it while the theme of the debate was social issues. 

For some time now, Andrew Holness has been viewed as the JLP’s trump card, his popularity being the engine to drive them to victory. The PNP and Frazer-Binns turned that on its head and painted him as corrupt, without ethics and someone who is not bound by rules of compliance and governance, flouting them to suit his ends. 

What the PNP is placing in people’s consciousness is, can this man be trusted when he enriches himself at the country’s expense? Donald Trump used this strategy in 2016, labelling his opponent ‘Crooked Hillary’. He used the moniker again later, this time referring to former President Joe Biden as ‘Crooked Joe Biden’.

Sophia Fraser-Binns was composed, feminine, but vicious. Her bark was not loud, but her bite brought pain. The PNP must use her more effectively during this campaign.

The PNP won this one-not by a lot but got the job done on the night and looked good doing so.