The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

NATIONAL Review wrote that former Prime Minister Perry Christie is feeling vindicated after the official opening of Rosewood at Baha Mar on May 22. Rosewood has in its employment 450 persons. The entire Baha Mar Resort has over 4,000 employees, and is expected to hire an additional 1,000.

Hindsight being 20/20, the former Christie administration now appears to have made the right decision in the protracted legal wrangling between former Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian and the Chinese principals of CTF BM Holdings Limited.

With the IMF’s encouraging assessment of the Bahamian economy, due to the enormous economic influence Baha Mar is expected to have, Christie and other Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) supporters are probably having an “I told you so” moment.

Christie’s presence at the ribbon cutting ceremony at Rosewood may have conjured up nostalgic memories of him being PLP leader to supporters of the party, especially the stalwart councillors who had supported him unwaveringly for 20 years. Philip “Brave” Davis’ performance as PLP leader, since being elected last October, has been indifferent.

Last August, The Tribune published an article in which several PLP stalwart councillors described Davis’ leadership as “uninspiring.” These card-carrying PLPs were backing Englerston MP Glenys Hanna-Martin in the PLP leadership race at convention.

According to The Tribune, these particular PLPs were supporters of Christie. I have seen nothing since then that would suggest that their view of Davis has changed. Granted, Davis did win the PLP leadership election by a landslide. He couldn’t have done so without the support of Christie backers. But to many PLP stalwart councillors, Davis was the only feasible choice. The Christie Cabinet was nearly wiped out in the election. There weren’t that many options.

So far, the PLP under Davis has failed to gain traction with its own people. Despite the much-heralded Maureen Webber report blaming, among other things, apathy towards Christie among thousands of voters, I believe stalwart councillors of the party wouldn’t hesitate to re-elect the 74-year-old Christie. These PLPs are that loyal to him.

The prospects of Christie reentering frontline politics seems highly unlikely. But it is not out of the realm of possibility. Malaysia’s current prime minister, Dr Mahathir Bin Mohammad, is 93. Christie would be about 78 in 2022. Stranger things have happened. Bahamians have short memory. The Christie camp would undoubtedly be banking on this.

If Davis and Deputy Leader Chester Cooper fail to invigorate the PLP within the next three years, don’t be surprised if we witness the reemergence of Christie in 2021 or early 2022. It would be the stalwart councillors who would be the driving force behind the political resurrection of Christie.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport, GB

May 24, 2018.