The Tribune

By Malcolm Strachan

ON the heels of the Frank Smith acquittal, the Progressive Liberal Party has green lit its campaign for election in 2022. Although dwarfed in numbers in Parliament, the “fiery four” have certainly not been afraid to cause a spectacle with their latest boycott of the House of Assembly. Obviously more interested in showmanship than substance, her majesty’s Official Opposition has abandoned its post, thus muzzling the voices of their constituents in Parliament – effectively wasting the Bahamian people’s time and money.

During a press conference at their headquarters, Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip Davis said: “I announce with no pleasure that the PLP parliamentary caucus will boycott the House of Assembly for a period in protest to mark the seriousness of where we find ourselves as a nation. We will not rest until the tyrannical attitudes and practices are forever vanquished from this society.

“The current government appears determined to use the prosecutorial powers of the Crown to go after members of the opposing political party at whatever cost. That’s not democracy, that’s not justice, that’s not The Bahamas – or at least it never has been until now.”

Whichever side of the political line you stand, these are some very strong allegations made by the former deputy prime minister. While the argument can be made the allegations made by the Opposition leader are not lacking credence, his credibility as the one making the claim as the Progressive Liberal Party has entered campaign mode is suspect to say the least.

Let us not forget that Davis also placed his support behind former Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald amid the surfacing of emails between him and the former Baha Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian.

Davis, without batting an eye, told party supporters Fitzgerald was their man for Marathon. Even after losing the election, Fitzgerald has not been banished from the party, which begs the question: How does Brave Davis expect to be taken seriously?

Last week, when he spoke with the media, Davis said: “I’m not here to defend anyone, ever, who takes money from the Bahamian people.

“As far as I’m concerned, if you take a dollar from the public treasury, you’re taking it from our kids, from our hospitals, from our future.

“So you show me evidence of corruption, I stand ready to condemn you, no matter your party, but you can’t skip over the evidence part.”

Sure. That all sounds great when emotions are running high and people want heads in the Minnis administration to roll. However, his support for an accused minister on his own side casts matters in a different light.

Dangerously, Davis is forgetting a very important point, which is that government is continuous. And with the trend of the electorate voting against rather than voting for government, the Progressive Liberal Party always has a 50 percent chance to become the government on election day.

The tactics the PLP are using – decrying the government of using political victimisation – are essentially suggesting the government is weaponising the judiciary, exacting its own form of victor’s justice.

Through the PLP’s own efforts to sully the reputation of the government, they, too, are blurring the lines between the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the government. Such tactics should not be used so irresponsibly, as they can cause the electorate to see the judiciary through political lenses and lose confidence in the entire system – a system in which, if elected in 2022, the PLP will likely be expected to overhaul based on the assertions they’re making today.

Can you imagine how vulnerable the average citizen would be in a judicial system that blows with the political wind. I shudder at the thought!

With all of the social ills already plaguing the country, both sides of the divide must be aware we cannot risk the public losing confidence in the judicial arm of the government. It, like its sister arms, are a banner of our democracy, and any attempt to obfuscate its utility and use it as a political football is dangerously irresponsible and a dereliction of duty.

As both major parties enter into campaign mode, the silliness of this season should not pre-empt social responsibility. Playing on the emotions of the Bahamian people will do far more than promote political tribalism. To a much more damaging extent, it can destabilise our entire democracy.

Surely, we can all agree that scoring some political points aren’t worth it.

The leaders of both major political parties must act with prudence and avoid sacrificing our democracy simply to one-up each other on the road to the next election.

Davis, in particular, who is renowned as one having a great mind in the legal community, must be mindful to promote conditions that he, too, is comfortable living in whether in government or as a citizen. As his quest to become the nation’s next prime minister gets into full gear, the Bahamian people hope to see a more meaningful effort on the part of the Opposition, else, it may be another runaway victory for the current government to be re-elected.

The Bahamian people have made it quite clear to the previous government they do not want more of the same.