The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip Davis confirmed yesterday that he was still prepared to lead the Progressive Liberal Party but insisted that the future leadership of the party was an internal matter that would be resolved at its national convention.

Mr Davis was pressed by reporters to reveal whether he intended to challenge the party’s incumbent leader Prime Minister Perry Christie for his post in view of a recent poll that reportedly indicated that PLP leadership challenger attorney Alfred Sears was preferred to Mr Christie.

“All offices are open at the end of the day,” Mr Davis said. “We have to sit down as a party and decide what is best for the party. Sears is a member of our party, we all will have to sit down and decide what is best for the party going forward.

“If it means Christie has to sit in as its best for the party then that’s who it will be, if it is that Alfred is, or I am, or somebody else, then that’s something we have to sit down and talk about and that is a matter that is ongoing and I wouldn’t want to opine at this time as to what is the result.”

When pressed further, he said: “You can ask me plainly but I’m from the old school, I came from the era when the Royal Reader was still a stable course of study and in one of those they had something called the golden rules of life. One of those golden rules is ‘silence is often golden’.

“I am prepared to lead but again as I said that is a matter for our party to deal with that is an internal matter, and as I indicated if it turns out that Mr Christie is best to lead, then he will.”

The recent survey, administered by Public Domain and the results published in The Nassau Guardian, reportedly pegged Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis as the favoured political figure over nearly a dozen other politicians in the country, including Mr Christie.

It also claimed that the results showed Mr Sears to be preferred over Mr Christie and marks Mr Christie as one of the least favoured figures. The Progressive Liberal Party also received the least support.

Regarding the poll, Mr Davis said the results reflected the general sentiment of angst among the electorate, but added that this was a phenomenon that was sweeping the globe.

“It’s not just in the Bahamas,” he said, “it’s a world phenomena. If you check what has been happening in most countries you will find that the young people feel disengaged from the political process. There is a sweeping surge of anti-establishment sentiments that’s even infecting our politics so I’m not surprised that you would have that level of disengagement.”

Mr Davis said: “Whenever an election is called there is no seat that is safe. We all have to be able put our best foot forward and give the hope to the people that what we are about is what they are buying into.

“Anytime election is called anyone is likely to win and recent history has shown that people are quickly disenchanted, and the question is how do we reengage them. As the government, as the PLP, we have to find ways to reengage and to ignite their support again for us.”

Mr Davis also challenged critics of frontline politicians to consider public service.

“It’s important for them to be engaged and not just throw up their hands and just criticise because at the end of the day if they stay out, and are not involved, not engaged, then what are they to criticise after that? Because then they will get the government that they either participated in electing, or failed to participate to elect, and so that is the dilemma of the political landscape, not just in the Bahamas.

He added: “For example, frontline politics, they said that a lot of the politicians are incompetent. Well what has happened to the competent among us? Have they stepped forward to offer themselves? And so it is we have to find ways of righting our ship to engage young people and all demographics of the political spectrum to ensure we get the right government for taking our country further.”