The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.,

Mercifully, the debacle of the FNM Convention and the parade of political clowns and grotesque dancers are over and Bahamians are now able to get on with the very serious business and issues at hand. Good governance in a so-called democracy requires a strong opposition and a cadre of civil society partners to keep the government in focus; transparent and, more elusively, transparent.

Since the defeat of the FNM in 2012 and the ignoble, but expected, resignation of former PM Ingraham, the PLP administration and its leadership cadre have had a free ride on all of the major issues and public policy initiatives. The government has gone unchallenged on any number of matters which, had a vibrant opposition been in place, could have led to a successful Motion of No Confidence.

The FNMs convention is now history and the team of Minnis and Turnquest has been retained to lead the party into the general elections. It has been reported that the axe has been buried between the two then competing teams. It remains to be seen if the bad blood and overt bitterness displayed, large and in charge, during the campaign leading up to the convention or was it the debacle?

The FNM is no longer the party of Ingraham. It has been remade into the party of Minnis. Truly, the Ingraham era, may be over. As a pragmatic person, however, I rule nothing out in politics in our wonderful nation. Minnis now has a final opportunity to remake himself and to present himself to FNMs but more importantly to the average Bahamian voter that he has what it takes to beat the PLP in 2017.

The PLP is challenged with having a leader who is seemingly out of touch but, at this juncture, he may well be all that we’ve got as we get battle ready. I am not and have never been a partisan of Christie. He has served the Bahamian people for more than forty years in politics. When is enough, enough? Unlike the FNM, however, we PLPs will not engage in fratricidal warfare in public.

If Butler-Turner and Sands had held their ground straight into the actual voting by delegates, they would have, in my view, emerged victorious. They decided, however, to abandon their quest in the latter stages and denied hundreds of their supporters an opportunity to vote for them. There will not be a chance for them to regroup until after the FNM is defeated, again, next year at the polls.

The brutal leadership campaign and the alleged “hijacked” convention do not speak well for the viability or credibility of the FNM much less its leadership cadre. This is so sad and tantamount to a grave disappointment to genuine FNMs and independent swing voters. How this will play out in the months ahead and in the general elections is anyone’s guess.

However, it does, the scenario and comedy of errors are not, I submit, conducive for the way forward for the FNM under the continued leadership of the good doctor. The patient called and well known as the FNM is sick unto death, politically, and the doctor has failed to offer hope and help. To God then, The Great Physician , in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H. BODIE JR.

Nassau,

July 31, 2016