The Tribune

By CHESTER ROBARDS Tribune Senior Reporter crobards@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION leader Perry Christie claimed Hubert Ingraham has been the worst prime minister in Bahamian history. "Tell him Perry Christie said that for the first time right here in Long Island," Mr Christie told PLP supporters at a rally in Simms on Wednesday. Mr Christie also called upon Mr Ingraham to apologise to the Bahamian people for his "atrocious" record of governance. "We have a government that spends money stupidly and foolishly," said Mr Christie. "The FNM seems to be hell-bent on bankrupting the country off this one project (the New Providence Infrastructure Improvement Project)." Even as Mr Christie attacked the prime minister - more strongly on Wednesday than at earlier rallies - he humbled himself before the people of Long Island. He admitted that the rally was the first time in ten years the PLP leadership had campaigned on the island. However, he told the crowd the PLP was prepared to take the constituency away from the FNM in the upcoming election, as he introduced his party's candidate Alex Storr. Taking the stage, Mr Storr laid out a plan for Long Island that included bringing potable water to a number of settlements, constructing proper roads, building a better dock, and returning the island's fishing and farming industries to their former glory. Clay Sweeting, PLP candidate for North Eleuthera, also addressed the crowd. He promised that he and Mr Storr would join together in the fight against poaching in Bahamian waters, an issue Prime Minister Ingraham recently brought to the fore in his own party's campaign. "This is a serious issue, not a political issue," Mr Sweeting said. Lady Marguerite Pindling made a rare rally appearance in Long Island, telling the crowd she came because she "loves the PLP family" and has known Mr Storr since he was a little boy. She told the group of PLP supporters that when the votes are counted on election day, she will be in Nassau listening and hoping for Mr Storr to be victorious.