The Tribune

WE are well and truly gearing up for election season now – with every day seemingly bringing another piece being moved around the electoral chess board.

Halson Moultrie set the ball rolling on Thursday with his resignation from the FNM, and now we hear that Peter Turnquest has gone from Deputy Prime Minister to not having a nomination at all for the next election. That’s quite a reversal of fortune for his political career.

Three more incumbent FNM MPs are also reported to be likely to be denied a nomination – and on top of that two other names are up in the air. One of those is Frederick McAlpine, and that is no surprise after his frequent battles with his own party. The other is Dr Duane Sands, another who has seen a swift change since being Minister of Health. He has been critical too of the administration, though it was notable that he was out and about in FNM colours in his constituency at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Branville McCartney, who said he has been courted by both parties as a candidate, says he’ll be sitting this election out. The former DNA leader isn’t as outspoken these days as he was in a green shirt. What that means for his political future is very much up in the air.

From here on, you can expect the political atmosphere to keep heating up. Candidates will no doubt be getting their deliveries of red, yellow or green shirts, and hitting the streets in constituencies as much as COVID-19 restrictions allow.

It will likely be a very different election season – with the traditional rallies very much in doubt given the pandemic.

It will also very likely have the state of the economy at its heart. Whichever party wins is going to have to rebuild an economy already hard hit by Hurricane Dorian even before the pandemic wiped out tourism. FNM or PLP, either government would have had their plans thrown into disarray by those two hammer blows – and many will vote based on the lack of money in their pocket. The question must be, though, which government will be best equipped to deal with the next hammer blow.

Hurricanes remain a constant threat, and this pandemic is far from over yet.

Who will be the steadiest hand for the future, and who will be the candidates in each constituency best equipped to help get us to that future? For many constituencies, we still must wait and see – but not for long.

The game’s afoot.

Nygard behind bars

Peter Nygard’s legal strategy in The Bahamas has caught up with him – but in Canada.

Denying Mr Nygard bail over the nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering that he faces, Judge Shawn Greenberg pointed out Nygard’s failure to appear in court in The Bahamas for contempt proceedings.

He said: “Two warrants for his arrest have been issued by the Bahamian court… According to the recently released decision of the Court of Appeal for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Mr Nygard breached orders to attend court on five occasions.”

He also showed up Mr Nygard’s excuse for not showing up to a Bahamian court, pointing out that the “health issues” cited by Mr Nygard didn’t stop him from travelling by air to Los Angeles in the winter of 2020 and therefore “it is difficult to accept it as an excuse for not travelling to The Bahamas”.

Well done, Judge Greenberg. Sometimes, court processes and decisions can be baffling – but this is as plain and straightforward as they come. Mr Nygard showed no respect for the court in The Bahamas, so he can’t expect any leeway from a court elsewhere.

Bring on the court case so Mr Nygard’s case can be heard in full – but in the meantime, there can be no surprise that he has to sit behind bars until that day comes.