When Prime Minister Bruce Golding sat with editors of this newspaper last month, he made a surprising and, some would claim, hardly politically astute admission.

It could be considered "fair comment", Mr Golding conceded, that his administration was slow in responding to the global economic crisis as it unfolded and deepened in the last quarter of 2008 and into early 2009.

The Government continued to assure Jamaicans, despite the warning of its misguidance by this newspaper, that things were not as bad as they seemed. In fact, they were worse - as the Government has latterly understood, even if its actions have not yet matched the depth of the crisis.

Part of the problem, Mr Golding admitted during his sit-down with our editors, had to do with his thin majority in Parliament and the political 'loneliness' that is often felt by people in his seat in tough times such as these when hard decisions have to be taken.

Transformation

But Mr Golding should have known that when he applied for the job and Jamaicans gave it to him, a narrow plurality, notwithstanding. In any event, Mr Golding had set his own benchmark, declaring himself to be the man who would lead the transformation, willing to go against the grain, whatever the cost. Many people assumed that he was willing to do what was right and in the best interest of Jamaica, regardless of the political consequences - even serving a single term.

Maybe Mr Golding is about to transform into the leader he wants to be and we, and most Jamaicans, hope he will become. We are encouraged by aspects of the speech he gave to leaders of his Jamaica Labour Party on Sunday, although some people found some aspects of his remarks offensive. Those we suspect to be the most deeply partisan.

Of far greater interest to us is the PM's flagging of a speech he intends to give today "about the steps that need to be taken at this time in the country's interest".

"Some of those steps," Mr Golding said, "are not going to be easy. They are going to require firmness of intent and consistency in our application. I am going down a difficult path."

Battered and broken economy

That path, we expect to lead to the repair of a badly battered and broken economy, including a public-sector deficit that this fiscal year, is heading towards eight per cent of gross domestic product. Filling that gap will require that the administration borrow more than projected at the start of the fiscal year. Or, like some households would do, the administration could trim its expenditure to match its income.

Mr Golding and his finance minister, Mr Audley Shaw, promised the latter, but the revised Budget, unveiled last week, actually showed a $6-billion increase in spending, driven, albeit, by a more than $13-billion hike in interest costs. There remains the question of whether this Budget is feasible, especially in the context of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for US$1.2 billion in credit.

So, even tougher measures than currently contemplated might be in store. Mr Golding has called on his party supporters for "protection" in the face of expected brickbats as he confronts the challenges.

Where we fault Mr Golding, if he intends to be a transformational leader, is in not calling on the protection of all Jamaicans.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.