By CANDIA DAMES, Guardian News Editor

The Progressive Liberal Party's narrow demographic base of support is worrisome, according to researchers who completed a report on why Perry Christie and the PLP failed to win re-election to government last year.

"Depending on older and lower-class voters is not a recipe for long-term success, as the former die off and the country and its citizens become more prosperous," said the report, completed by international research group, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner. "With the passage of time, fewer people associate with the country's colonial legacy, the fight for independence, and the accomplishments of (former prime minister the late) Sir Lynden Pindling."

Researchers said the PLP needs to update its posture and rhetoric so that it has greater appeal to younger and more prosperous voters.

As reported by The Nassau Guardian, the report was actually completed last year June, but many senior PLPs have never viewed its results. Its details were made public for the first time this week in Nassau Guardian exclusive stories. The report said the party needs to keep in mind that its challenge is not so much to preserve the party base, as it is to appeal to the many independent voters in the country.

"In our post-election survey, about one-third of the public does not associate with either party," it added. "It was striking that throughout the campaign, both parties' appeals were directed almost exclusively at their supporters, rather than the independents who were going to decide the election. Ultimately, the FNM won because it carried the independent vote by 12 points."

In the case of the young, the researchers said, the party can establish a formal structure to reach out to younger voters. They said a youngish (20-to-30-something) and charismatic individual should be given the responsibility to lead the PLP youth wing and expand the party's following among voters under 30. This should be a full-time job with institutional support in terms of an office, staffing and a budget, said the report, entitled 'Restoring the PLP's Primacy'.

It added that the outreach should begin immediately so that come the next election, the party is building on a pre-existing network and base of support, rather than starting from scratch.

"Generating interest in party politics among the youth will not necessarily come easy, but it is possible with a long-term, sustained program targeting this group," the researchers said.

They also suggested the holding of town meetings in every constituency. "The new youth outreach coordinator can kick off his or her work with a series of town meetings throughout the country. The sessions would be billed as an opportunity for youth to meet with senior officials, to air their concerns about the country and offer recommendations," the report said.

"The officials would be there to answer questions and make brief presentations, but the focus would be on listening to the views of the outside participants. The objectives would be two-fold: To demonstrate the party's commitment to serving the interests of younger voters and to collect information and ideas about how best to serve them."

The PLP was also advised to develop a package of proposals that speaks to young people.

"The PLP has to do a better job of speaking to the aspirational desires of young people. One of the best ways to do this is by taking the lead to expand access to higher education," it said.

But the researchers noted that appealing to more prosperous voters poses a more distinct challenge. They said the key for the party is to retain its standing as the party of the disadvantaged, while also appealing to the more privileged segments of Bahamian society.

"It needs to be able to find common ground and a message that resonates with voters across the socio-economic divide," the report said. "As a start, the party needs to demonstrate that it is receptive to segments of the population that it has not been so successful at cultivating, such as young professionals. During our last meeting, Christie shared some ideas about how to go about doing this, including via an entity he likened to the Democratic Leadership Council. There are other approaches the party might take as well."

Additionally, the researchers advised the party to create a young professionals network. The campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have broken new ground in this area over the past year, the researchers said.

The idea, they said, is to build a host committee of successful young movers and shakers, and have them take turns organizing receptions and events where you 'bring a friend' and recruit other young professionals to the PLP. The report said research shows that people most often go to a new church because a friend invited them. It said the same is true for getting involved in politics: People have to be asked by someone close to them.

As the party works to restore its primacy, it will need a central message to carry to the voters who have doubts about the PLP, the report added. It said the success on the party's outreach efforts will depend upon the PLP having something appealing to say.

"Just as it is important in a campaign to have message in order to reach disengaged voters, it is equally important in a non-electoral environment," the researchers said. "The PLP's ideas will not penetrate among the public unless they are connected to a cohesive narrative that is repeated regularly."

They said the PLP should position itself as a party fighting for average Bahamians, versus a Free National Movement ( FNM) that favors the privileged.

"As the survey results suggest, lower-class Bahamians still tend to tilt toward the PLP, while most upper-class Bahamians back the FNM," the report said. The poll shows, moreover, that one of the main reasons PLP voters cited for not voting for the FNM was the sense that they were for the rich and powerful. Unfortunately, during the campaign, that was a messaging element that the party failed to utilize. "The [PLP] did not effectively explain what it meant to turn back - that is, to a government that catered to the privileged," noted the report.

The researchers noted that former U.S. President Bill Clinton showed in the 1990s that it is possible to reform a party and expand its following while maintaining the party base.