Bradley B. Roberts
National Chairman
Progressive Liberal Party
It is written that a house divided against itself cannot stand and given the unrelenting infighting within the FNM, Bahamians in increasing numbers are asking how this Organization can hope to lead a country when it is unable to organize and lead itself?
Take for instance the latest salvo – the scathing public attack East Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant launched into leader Dr. Hubert Minnis essentially accusing him of being disrespectful and failing to lead. Apparently Dr. Minnis left Parliament during the committal stage of the budget, blaming his departure on illness of some sort.
Dr. Minnis then failed to show up for the swearing in of his two latest senators, one of whom seems to want him gone in favour of Loretta Butelr-Turner.
This is not unusual in the FNM because the newest member to the FNM parliamentary caucus, Dr. Rollins (recent FNM convert), has characterized Dr. Minnis as “comical” and publicly indicated that he would not seek a FNM nomination if Dr. Minnis survives the leadership race at the party’s July convention.
Party meritorious Councilors Tennyson Wells and Maurice Moore have defended Minnis while former Deputy Prime Ministers Brent Symonette and Frank Watson openly oppose his leadership. When this clear division and tribalism is coupled with five current FNM parliamentarians openly voicing their dissatisfaction with and opposition to Minnis’ leadership, it becomes crystal clear that the house of the FNM is deeply divided and cannot stand.
Added to this already toxic and untenable state of affairs is the Abaco Dragon and resident coward, Hubert Ingraham, who abandoned the FNM on election night, pretended to retire from front-line politics only to undermine the leadership of Dr. Minnis at every turn for four solid years.
There continues to be cries and a cynical campaign of subterfuge from a particular tribe or faction within the FNM to facilitate the return of the Abaco Dragon, the very man who said he only wanted two terms but returned in 2007 like a thief in the night to selfishly seize power despite assuring Tommy Turnquest the night before that he had no interest in the leadership of the FNM.
The reasonable expectation of many in that party was that Mr. Ingraham would have offered wise counsel, mentoring and guidance to the FNM’s relatively inexperienced parliamentary team. It appears now that all along, Ingraham orchestrated the organizational weaknesses within the FNM party from behind the scenes. The toxic product was constant infighting, the intentional washing of their dirty laundry in public and the open vilification of its duly elected leader.
Can Bahamians trust the FNM? Bahamians remember well that the FNM wrecked the economy of The Bahamas, leaving it in a wheel chair in 2012. What will the FNM do to this country if allowed to return to power? My fellow Bahamians, “is that what you want for your family and your children’s future??? Consider the performance of the FNM during the recent 2016/2017 budget debate. Did the FNM present a viable alternative plan for our Bahamas? Being desperate for power is not a plan. Repeating existing PLP policies is also not a plan – it is an insult to the Bahamian electorate.
If there was a viable alternative plan for this country and the FNM failed to present such a plan in four years, there is an excellent chance that they do not have a vision or a plan for this country.
An opposition power grab through political bluster, a repeat of PLP policies, lies, deceit, corruption and obfuscation must be roundly rejected by the Bahamian electorate.
