Smith vs. Scotland: My Thoughts.

 

A few weeks ago, the government of Jamaica announced that it was putting forward Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith as a candidate to succeed Baroness Patricia Scotland as Secretary-General at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda later this year. At first, it seems like a rather standard procedure given that the position is apparently up for election at the next summit. But a few subsequent developments have caused me to wonder if there was more to this than meets the eye.  Normally, the position is only really contested when the incumbent Secretary-General has announced their intention to step down from the position, which would require the election of someone new (as was the case in 2016). This is certainly not the case here as the Baroness has already indicated her interest in serving a second term. It must be noted that there is nothing in the Commonwealth Secretariat’s rules that prevents the Secretary-General from being challenged mid-term but it is simply a matter of convention, not to. But it is not this alone that makes this case interesting but also the narrative surrounding it. For one, the decision to nominate Johnson-Smith has already proven to be controversial, with the Antiguan government accusing Jamaica of trying to divide both CARICOM and the Commonwealth with this move. I note with interest that it was Antigua and not Dominica that came out with this strong condemnation. The reason for this is that Lady Scotland is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Dominica. Furthermore, the government of Dominica was instrumental in getting many other Commonwealth countries to support her candidacy back in 2016. Antigua and Barbuda on the other hand was not among those who supported this move as their intention was to place their own Sir Ronald Sanders in the position but they were ultimately unsuccessful in this bid. I wonder if their lashing out at the Holness government now has anything to do with the fact they did not get their way last time around and as such would not take kindly to any attempt by Jamaica to succeed where they failed?. Conjecture?, Maybe, but who knows, we will just have to wait and see.

I also note that in the space of a month, Jamaica has received back-to-back state visits, both of which can be connected with the current political row. Ostensibly, both of these visits were connected with the Jamaica 60 celebrations but I would not be surprised if the matter of the minister’s candidacy also came up. As explained earlier, the next CHOGM summit is expected to take place in Rwanda later this year. And only last week, Jamaica played hosts to His Excellency Paul Kagame who as President of Rwanda will also serve as the next Commonwealth Chairman. Is it just coincidental that of all the African leaders to invite, the government choose Kagame?, Not that anything is wrong with that choice, Kagame’s record in transforming Rwanda speaks for itself and were I in the Prime Minister’s position I might have done the same. But from I know about diplomacy, altruism can also take one so far and I would not be surprised, if the visit by Rwanda’s president had anything to do with ensuring that the CHOGM summit would be chaired by someone that would side with our government, it’s rather shrewd.

But if that is the case, we’re not the only one engaging in smart diplomacy here. In a report published by the UK’s Daily Telegraph, it seems that the Boris Johnson government is not very happy with Scotland’s performance and is seeking to have her replaced. It should be noted that PM Johnson is himself the current Commonwealth Chairman and as such has raised serious concerns about the Baroness’ leadership style and also corruption allegations during her tenure. The Telegraph further alleges that when His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge visited Jamaica, he not only came to give us the Queen’s salutations on our 60^th anniversary but also had another mandate from Johnson in which he was to open talks with our government about putting forward a candidate to replace Scotland after the Kenyan government withdrew the candidacy of their own Monica Juma.  The Johnson government in Britain seems determined to get rid of Scotland and has even called upon the royal family to aid them in this task. This assertion made by the Telegraph is at first seemingly far-fetched given that convention dictates that the Crown remains above politics. But yet, there might be some truth to this for several reasons.

 First of all, anyone who knows anything about how the Commonwealth works is fully aware how central the monarchy is to its continuation. Going as far back as the first imperial conference of 1887, the royals have been promoting the idea of common kinship ties that binds all the peoples under the rule of the then British Empire. As the 19^th century rolled into the 20^th and the empire was dissolved to make way for a Commonwealth of (equal) Nations, the centrality of the monarchy remained, even as it became clear that British hegemony must end in favour of a more egalitarian ethos. Some might wish promote the idea of a future Commonwealth being more republican, headed by someone not of royal blood, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for this. As recently as the 2018 CHOGM summit, all Commonwealth states (regardless of their domestic form of government) assented that for the foreseeable future, the Queen’s heirs and successors would continue to be Heads of the Commonwealth, this follows on the heels of the Perth Agreement which was signed at the 2011 CHOGM summit, which changed the succession rules to a more gender neutral bent. It’s rather hard to fathom that these countries would now want to make the Commonwealth headship into a pseudo-presidency and as such the logical conclusion one must come to, is that title will continue to have the same monarchical connotations it always has. This makes it highly likely that the Duke himself will one day hold the place that his grandmother does now in the Commonwealth, who better to use as go-between between the Jamaican and British governments?

The second reason, why, this Telegraph’s story might have some credibility is the timing of the announcement. I for one, note that the government’s decision was announced a mere two days after the Cambridge departure, was this time coincidental or was it calculated? It could be deemed as the former, were it not for the fact that Minister Johnson-Smith was the very first government official to greet the royal couple on their arrival at their airport, which is rather different from the standard practice of having either the prime minister or the governor general getting this honour. I can’t help but wonder if in these lengthy chats that Prince William had with either the prime minister or the foreign minister, the matter of the upcoming CHOGM summit was ever discussed (as the telegraph asserts). I also equally wonder if during President Kagame’s visit, the matter was also raised?

 

Again, all of this mere speculation, which can either be proven or disproven when CHOGM is finally concluded. One thing I do take issue with, is the assertion that Jamaica is merely used as a pawn in all this.  I wholeheartedly disagree; as I am of the view that if there is any truth to any of this, that Jamaica would be a player not a pawn in this game of diplomatic chess. It is clear that the government’s ambitions are high and if it sees any opportunity to flex its diplomatic muscle, I say more power to them. I see no reason, why the government should yield to Antigua’s position, given that one can argue that it comes from a standpoint of rank hypocrisy. Nor should they follow Kenya’s example in withdrawing a candidate that was clearly qualified for the post. Instead they chart their own path and if that path means going with an alternate candidate so be it. If it is that other powers e.g. the UK are seemingly in support of removing Scotland like we are, it does not make us pawns in their game but rather it makes us equals, allying together to achieve our mutual interest. Altruism is all fine and dandy, but the same Antigua that now preaches said altruism, was itself not following its own message only a few years ago, yet now they expect us to do so? I think not. I say keep Johnson-Smith in the race, if Scotland’s record stands up to scrutiny, there shouldn’t be a problem. But if it doesn’t why shouldn’t there be an alternative waiting in the wings? This is how international relations work, this is how organisations thrive and in this having someone in the top post with an impeccable record will only help to make the body into a stronger commonwealth.