The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FORMER House Speaker Alvin Smith said the recent public comments by House Speaker Dr Kendal Major that he was not one of the young parliamentarians who asked the prime minister to remain leader of the Progressive Liberal Party should not have been made public, despite the assertion the remarks were his personal views.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Smith who served as Speaker of the House during the last Ingraham administration, said the House speaker should have never commented on anything said by the leader of the governing party.

“He went there by way of a party,” Mr Smith said yesterday when he was contacted, “but in Parliament he is not in the party. So when persons ask about the leader he should not comment no matter what it is.”

Asked if he was of the view that this could compromise the speaker’s position of authority, Mr Smith said “somewhat,” adding that it is best to always try to avoid comments that may be construed as controversial.

He said every political organisation has a caucus, which presents a time and place for government officials to air personal opinions of their leader and to voice concerns about the way the party is moving if there are concerns.

Last week, Dr Major told The Nassau Guardian that he did not ask Prime Minister Perry Christie to stay on as PLP leader, adding that he had very strong views about Mr Christie’s recent comments.

During that interview, Dr Major said: “I am absolutely not one of those who he spoke to. Absolutely not.”

When Dr Major was asked if he believed Mr Christie’s leadership provided stability to the party, he skirted the question ultimately saying he had “strong views” on the prime minister’s comments but those would be reserved because of his position as House speaker.

He was referring to the prime minister’s comments while as a guest on Kiss FM’s “Ed Fields Live” show last Monday.

At the time, Mr Christie said he seeks to continue leading the PLP, including into the next general election, because young members of his government have urged him to do so.

He also suggested that instability would plague the party if he were no longer its leader, similar to what is occurring within the Free National Movement.

He did not name the government members who he said have urged him to continue to lead the party.

The remarks have drawn harsh criticisms from PLPs and sparked national debate.

Former PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby on Sunday told The Tribune it is “absolute nonsense” for Mr Christie to profess that he is the glue holding the organisation together.

He suggested that this current administration lacked ideas and vision, which has stagnated the country’s growth and fed frustration among young Bahamians that there are limited opportunities available of which to take advantage.

Mr Rigby was critical of the PLP-led government, insisting that it failed to push progressive policies.

The former party executive added that if Bahamians want to change the course of the country, the electorate must move away from correlating personalities with the ability to govern as this has not served the needs of the country over the last several decades.

His dismissal of the prime minister followed a rebuke by former MP Philip Galanis who last week also chastised Mr Christie saying his declaration was the “height of nonsense” and the bordered on “delusional”.

Mr Galanis said there are many persons within the party who are capable of bringing a breath of fresh air into the country, ridding it of the “Christie fatigue” it now experiences. Mr Galanis insisted that if it was Mr Christie’s desire to remain on as prime minister, he should just be intellectually honest and say so.

Asked if he believed the party should have an earlier convention, Mr Galanis said the PLP should because the planned November timeline was too late to change leaders and draft a plan to direct the country.