The Tribune

THE fledgling Democratic National Alliance is claiming the leaders of the FNM and PLP are determined to run campaigns based on "excuses, accusations and finger pointing."

Instead of running on what they were able to achieve while in office, the DNA said in a statement, each leader is attempting to convince the public that the other is more to blame for the plight of the country.

The party said: "After being relatively silent for the past four years, Perry Christie has become exceptionally vocal as we approach election day. He has taken every opportunity in the media to criticise the failed policies of his friend and colleague, Hubert Ingraham.

"The DNA now asks where Mr Christie's voice was when these failed policies were being introduced in Parliament."

As leader of the opposition, the DNA said, Mr Christie has one primary function in Parliament - to be the trusted watchdog for the people that empowered him.

"Unfortunately this watchdog had no bark sitting opposite Mr Ingraham in Parliament. It was his responsibility to protect the Bahamian people from predatory contractors . . . to oppose the government borrowing us into insurmountable debt, and to ensure the best interest of workers during labour negotiations.

"Whether it was because he was too timid, or because he was protecting the shared interest of himself and the Prime Minister, Mr Christie has shown an inability to speak on behalf of those that could not speak for themselves until the cameras were turned on for election season," the statement said.

And, it said, instead of running on the record of all he claims to have delivered, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is seeking to convince the public that the FNM not having had any scandals is in itself an accomplishment worthy of re-election.

"Because he cannot run on the notion that he improved the condition of the Bahamas, or that the country is doing better than it was before 2007, he boasts the fact that at least they didn't have scandals. Is that what our democracy has been reduced to?" the DNA asked.

In a response to a recent statement by Mr Christie, leader of the DNA Branville McCartney said: "To hear him say that Mr Ingraham has made a 'bad situation worse' raises further questions for me.

"If Perry is the bad situation and Ingraham is the worse situation, then why would we return to either one of them?"

As the leaders of the PLP and FNM continue to determine which of them is more to blame for the current condition, the DNA said, it will continue "mapping the path forward, inspiring Bahamians that we deserve better, and presenting real solutions to the problems that they both caused."

Responding to the DNA just before press time last night, the PLP said Bahamian voters have already decided the new party is not ready to govern.

The PLP said recent revelations about turbulence within the DNA have not increased voter confidence.

"Marginalised, the DNA is attempting to fight its way back into relevance by attacking the PLP," the party said.

"The PLP reiterates that Branville McCartney and the rest of the FNM made a bad economic situation much worse, with short-sighted policies and epic mismanagement, deepening the effects of the global recession in the Bahamas.

"When the FNM decided to hire foreign construction firms to build Bahamian roads, when the FNM decided to raise taxes even as other governments were reducing tax burdens, when the FNM slashed millions from the education budget, Bran McCartney had nothing to say, and in fact was still performing in his role as enthusiastic FNM cheerleader in Parliament," it said.