KINGSTON, Jamaica — Andrew Holness has once again taken the oath of office, but rather than signalling a winding down of his political journey, the prime minister has positioned himself as a leader intent on extending the arc of his influence.
The swearing-in at King’s House marked his fourth as prime minister, sealing the Jamaica Labour Party’s third consecutive term in government. Yet the mood was not of final chapters, but of unfinished chapters. Holness leaned heavily on the idea that the nation’s story is still mid-sentence, with prosperity and structural change left to be authored.
Instead of speaking about personal triumphs or party dominance, he shifted the frame to national responsibility. His remarks carried a message: Jamaica, as he sees it, has not yet crossed the threshold from resilience to true advancement. That distinction — between survival and prosperity — is where he intends to anchor his third term.
This approach reflects a leader resisting the gravitational pull of legacy politics. Where many in a fourth swearing-in might frame their role as cementing achievements, Holness chose to emphasize momentum. Continuity, not closure. Expansion, not epilogue.
The wider implication is clear: Jamaica’s ninth prime minister has little appetite for being seen as a caretaker. His rhetoric suggested not the preservation of what has been built, but the construction of what is still missing — with the baton of leadership firmly in his own hand, for now.
