International relations experts are divided on whether Prime Minister Bruce Golding can restore his image on the international stage after the damage done to it by his administration's handling of the Christopher 'Dudus' Coke extradition issue and the messy Manatt affair that ensued.

Professor Brian Meeks, director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona, believes Golding's image is fatally wounded.

"I think his international credibility is even more shredded than it is in Jamaica. If you read the comments in overseas papers (and) blogs, they are making a direct connection between the Office of the Prime Minister and drug dons," Meeks stated in a written response from Barbados.

He continued: "At this moment, I don't see how he can recover his image."

Meeks, a former lecturer in the Department of Government at the UWI's Mona campus, argued that Prime Minister Golding is caught between a rock and a hard place. The professor advanced that the contradictory arguments being advanced by the US-based law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips and the prime minister about who the company represented is a critical matter on the international stage.

Manatt has maintained that it was representing the government while Golding has insisted that the company was retained by the Jamaica Labour Party to lobby the United States in a treaty dispute over the extradition request for Coke.

In his final analysis, Meeks said Golding cannot escape the scornful reproach of his international counterparts. "With either option he will receive the opprobrium of the international community," Meeks said.

On the other hand, John Rapley, president of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute, an independent research think tank affiliated with the UWI, Mona, thinks Golding's image on the international scene can be rebuilt, but it will take work.

"To do so, he will have to do the same things he needs to do to restore his image at home: act swiftly on the commitments he made in his apology speech; take responsibility for repairing the damage done by the episode, and bring full transparency (and thus closure) to the Manatt affair," noted Rapley.

He argued further that the widespread condemnation Golding received at home for his stance could serve him and the country well on the international stage.

goodwill

"If the Government's image was tarnished abroad, I believe Jamaica's, as a whole, stood the test, and he will now be able to draw upon that reservoir of goodwill towards the country to repair the damage done," Rapley stated.

However, Meeks still thinks that Golding would not be able to walk into a room full of his international counterparts and feel comfortable.

"He can't with a serious face feel comfortable after the events of the past weeks," Meeks said.

Like Rapley, Professor Norman Girvan, former secretary general of the Association of Caribbean States, also thinks Golding's image can be rebuilt. However, Girvan said success or failure depends on how the prime minister handles the Coke extradition from here on.

"He and his Government would have to recover the moral high ground in its future handling of the extradition process and show that it exercises moral and political authority in Jamaica, and commands the respect and support of the Jamaican public," Girvan said, adding that Golding's management of the matter so far does not inspire confidence in his ability to repair the damage.

no admirers

Girvan also advanced that the defiant posture assumed by the Golding administration in relation to the extradition request from its neighbourhood superpower did not earn Kingston many admirers.

"For a small country like Jamaica to secure international support for standing up to the powerful US, it needs to be on strong legal, political and moral grounds. Then the issue can be framed as one of 'might vs right'." Unfortunately that is not the situation in the present case," Girvan stated.

He explained that the circumstances, the government's inconsistencies and about-turns have created the perception that its differences with the US are motivated by political expediency rather than commitment to principles such as sovereignty or respect for international law.

"The nature of criminal charges, the political connections of the accused, and the wider implications in terms of personal and state security, mean that other countries are unlikely to be rushing to Jamaica's defence in this instance," noted Girvan.

And, the professor also thinks that even if the prime minister is successful in restoring his image, the proverbial (Dudus and Manatt) monkey will still be on his back for the duration of his tenure as Jamaica's head of Government.

"As long as he is prime minister his conduct will be closely scrutinised internationally in the light of his past actions, and conclusions will be drawn," he stated.