Thursday, February 25, 2010

Home National Sports Business Lifestyles Religion Arts & Culture Pulse Spice Editorial letters Opinion Foodie Sportscope Real Talks Weekend Report PDF's Classifieds Contact About Us Archive Weather

Letters | Opinion | Editorial | Weekend Report
The significance of the Elizabeth by-election Both Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham have been in frontline politics for more than 30 years. In the normal working world some people retire after this point. Yet in Bahamian politics some seem to think leaders have a divine right to linger. The Elizabeth by-election is a critical test for both men in their respective careers. Recently Prime Minister Ingraham announced a one Haiti policy – releasing Haitian detainees at the Detention Centre, giving them status and suspending repatriations to that island. After widespread public criticism, several days later Ingraham expanded on that policy. He said that future undocumented migrants who are apprehended would be charged in the courts so they could be detained for a longer period by the state. Neither policy seemed well considered. Perry Christie lost the last general election with a growing economy. He has lost three members of his parliamentary caucus to resignation since 2007 – Malcolm Adderley and Kenyatta Gibson, who both had serious problems with the party's leadership, and Pleasant Bridgewater. Christie was also named in the PLP's Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Report as the main reason the party lost the 2007 election. The party commissioned the report to determine why the PLP lost the general election that year. In spite of Christie's inadequacies the crime problem and poor economy should give the opposition party the advantage in Elizabeth, which has a large working class segment who would have been adversely affected by the recession. If Christie cannot lead his party to an Elizabeth victory – especially considering that Ryan Pinder seems an attractive candidate – then clearly he should go as PLP leader. Well, that is if the PLP is concerned about winning the next general election. Ingraham has dominated Bahamian politics for a generation. Yet, a loss in Elizabeth, with the full machinery of government behind him, could signal the great master has lost his magic. The FNM is proud of its response to the 'Great Recession'. It says the public sector projects it has initiated, along with the increases in welfare assistance, kept The Bahamas afloat. A loss in Elizabeth for Ingraham would prove the Bahamian people do not think he has been a success. It would also show that the country may be willing to turn to a man it recently rejected as not good enough (Christie) rather than continue to support the Ingraham 'Trust Agenda'. Both Ingraham and Christie have a stranglehold on their respective parties. Neither can be dethroned. However, if either man cares for his party – even a little bit – he would know that an Elizabeth loss is the sign that the end has come. Wednesday January 27, 2010