EDITOR, The Tribune.
I always find the proposition intriguing when commentators or columnists anticipate the likely death of the Bahamian two-party establishment as a third party seemingly gains ground. Nicole Burrows is the most recent columnist to raise this spectre as she foresees the political dynamic shifting steadily in the Democratic National Alliance’s favour.
Yet the two-party political dominance rarely, if ever, dies, and surely not in countries where it has become entrenched.
This third partyism is not a uniquely Bahamian phenomenon, as many countries in the Caribbean, with a political culture similar to the Bahamas, have been witnesses to the rise of third parties, only to see them disappoint on ballot box performance.
The pattern operates as if scripted. An economic crisis feeds rhetorical support for a third party, as well as the perception that the two established parties are failing to deliver viable solutions to long standing problems.
Then on polling day, the fortunes of the third party surprisingly goes bust. On those rare occasions when a third party makes a mark in the seat distribution sweepstakes, its success is marginal unless it forges an alliance with one of the two major parties. This body of experience clearly provide lessons for which the DNA cannot be unmindful.
While the prospect of a third party promised land is conceivable, it has no reasonable basis, unless we address the Bahamian story in isolation, divorced from its shared history with other English-speaking Caribbean countries.
Our analysis of political and social issues is always weakened when we fail to take account of parallel situations elsewhere.
Electorates in the Caribbean over the years have never been predisposed for radical turn, at least not in terms of concrete action and not to my knowledge.
I would venture that the future of the Bahamas is more reliant on new and transformational leadership emerging in the two established parties than the messianic rise of a third party that pushes the so-called over-age dinosaurs onto the wayside and forever gone.
WESLEY HICKEN
Nassau,
May 10, 2015.
Comments
Economist 8 years, 11 months ago
Surely you have to take the DNA seriously. Had it not been for the DNA the FNM would still be in power. Look at the votes and look at the constituencies.
CatIslandBoy 8 years, 11 months ago
While third-parties have, traditionally, never won any elections outright to become the government, here in the Bahamas, there are many instances where these parties have played pivotal roles in election outcome. Sir Randol Fawkes, won his seat on his Labour Party ticket and was vital to the formation of the first minority Bahamian government. The DNA, formed around the bulging ego of Bran McCartney, and seen as a one-man party, may not be the answer. A new party, that includes the likes of Rollins, Moss, Butler-Turner, and some of our up and coming young professionals, and successful entrepreneurs may have a fighting chance. The majority of Bahamians are turned off by both the PLP and FNM, and stand ready for a change.
Romrok 8 years, 11 months ago
Hey, make it illegal for lawyers to be politicians. They wont pick up a pen for less tha 400 bucks, how can you expect them to make a sensible economy? They just steal money for a living. How about real business owners, they might know the best way to help business grow, and grow the economy at the same time. But no. Lets have these Pingdomites that cant even turn on their own computer tell us how the modern Bahamas should be run. And tax further a dead economy.
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