Holness: No honeymoon period for Gov’t post-election
Published:Monday | September 29, 2025 | 12:06 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has told Jamaicans in the diaspora that there will be no honeymoon period for the Government following the September 3 general election that gave his administration a third consecutive term in power.
“Days after the election, we were right back at our desks because we know that there was no honeymoon period, so we went right back to work. We took no breaks, the Government never took a break, we operated seamlessly throughout the election. We demonstrated stable government right throughout,” he said.
Holness said his administration recognised that the Jamaican public would not say, ‘You just won an election, so take a few days off’.’
“The view was, and rightly so, ‘We returned you to office because you had momentum, so carry through that momentum.’ That is what we have been doing,” he said.
The prime minister said that the Government was going to take that momentum and run right through with it, delivering more for the Jamaican people.
Holness was addressing a reception at the Jamaican Consulate in New York on Friday night, following his address to the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly where he called for, among other things, a war on gangs and reform of the international multilateral system to better serve small countries.
‘Performance over promise’
In a wide-ranging address to Jamaicans gathered at the consulate for the reception, Holness said those who supported the governing Jamaica Labour Party would acknowledge the historic nature of a third term for the administration.
“We view it as an endorsement of performance over promise. It is a big shift in the dynamics of the politics of Jamaica,” he said.
According to the prime minster, what was seen was that the majority of constituencies, the majority of Jamaicans, cast their ballots based on merit.
“The electorate is moving from traditional kinds of perspectives on how we should select our government to more examine the manifesto based on commitments and policies,” he said.
Holness said the September 3 general election recognised a performance-based government.
The prime minister touted his Government’s economic performance, stating that Jamaica’s macro economy is strong, but the challenge is now to grow the economy by, among other things, attracting new and more investments.