Cassius Stuart was only saying what many members of the Free National Movement are saying in private about the party’s leader. Stanley Cartwright suggests it’s time for Dr Minnis to do the honourable thing and stand aside.
Earlier this year Insight looked at the incompetence of the Free National Movement’s (FNM) current leader, Dr Hubert Minnis. We knew it would rub some party supporters the wrong way but we couldn’t care less. It was the truth, and boy did Minnis prove us right.
But that is not what we will be discussing today. Today, we will focus on what happens next.
We’ve seen time and again members of the FNM speaking out in the media questioning how long this nightmare will continue. Some have the courage to voice their opposition publicly while others continue to whisper in dark corners.
Cassius Stuart is the latest in a long line of FNMs to publicly call for Dr Minnis to step down. Mr Stuart joined the FNM in 2011 with much fanfare, having been wooed by then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham into joining the party. However, after his comments last week, we see some of the more rabid Minnis supporters denigrating Mr Stuart, questioning why his voice was still relevant in the political discourse.
Mr Stuart was only echoing the opinion that is shared by many - and for that he should be commended.
Likewise, former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson has been a staple in the press calling out Dr Minnis for his political missteps and imbecilic utterances. In fact, just last month it appeared as if Mr Watson had reached breaking point after Dr Minnis was forced to admit that he had met with one of the noted criminals in the murder-for-hire plot now know as the ‘Bahamian Hustle’.
Mr Watson told The Tribune he didn’t “know if the FNM can take any more of this”.
For those who may have missed it, here is what Mr Watson had to say in his own words:
“It’s extraordinary for a leader or any member of Parliament to meet with criminals. That’s the police’s job.
“And if he did meet with them, he should’ve gotten all the facts. If someone says your party chairman is in trouble, you have to get all the facts.
“I don’t know if the FNM can take any more of this. His first statement in the House of Assembly indicated that he was protecting Pintard and that Pintard did something courageous. Now all of a sudden he kicked Pintard to the kerb, saying he warned Pintard not to get involved in the matter. So which is it?”
Mr Watson also suggested that the FNM would be dealing with the matter internally, saying: “I may have to get involved later on this matter. In a few days I think we’ll speak more clearly on this subject.”
So what has happened since this call to action?
Meetings have taken place with noted FNMs from around the country, all with one purpose - to persuade Dr Minnis to step down from his post.
But Dr Minnis has proven that he does not care about the party or the country. His timorous hold of the leadership of the FNM is for his own personal enhancement and nothing more.
We have been told by numerous sources that Dr Minnis has informed these groupings that he is staying, and in fact that he feels he is doing “a good job”. His new strategy, reportedly, will be to attack the Government on crime and corruption.
Well, its hard for the FNM to now take such a position after the party has been so intimately linked with criminals by its own leader of all people!
We should also mention here that the criminals of which we speak, the infamous ‘Toggie’ and ‘Bobo’ have reportedly been released from police custody. No doubt they had quite the story to tell the police. One will only have to watch and wait to see how much worse this will get for the FNM.
We believe it is safe to say that the party’s leader and former chairman will likely be hauled in by the police for questioning. How the party expects to survive that God only knows.
So for what its worth we offer the following advice to Dr Minnis: step aside.
If you truly care about the course this nation is heading in, then you will do the honourable thing and allow the FNM to have a fighting chance at the polls. The country under this Christie administration is heading in the wrong direction.
So call for a full convention in May or June, and allow your party to have a fighting chance at taking this country back. That’s the honourable course of action.
To Minnis’ supporters we remind them of the following: Minnis remaining in place only hands the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) another victory.
The media, even the PLP itself, have been foreshadowing this for months! Last week’s editorial on the extremely popular pro-PLP website Bahamasuncensored.com put it politely: “It was a tough week for Dr Minnis but we don’t want him to fall just yet. The PLP needs him around until the general election”.
Do we need to say any more?
So whatever promises are made now will not be worth the air in which they are uttered because Minnis will never be Prime Minister to fulfil them. No Crown land will be given, no road contracts offered. No Ambassador post, or Cabinet appointments will be made.
Nothing, except a lot of broken dreams and promises while the country is saddled with another five years of Christie and Co.
So we ask the FNM to look at itself and truly examine where it would like to go. We encourage them to do the honourable thing, and provide the country with a viable option behind which it can unite.
• Comments and responses to insight@tribunemedia.net
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TalRussell 7 years, 11 months ago
by TalRussell
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