The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

FNM candidate for Bamboo Town Cassius Stuart claims the constituency is part of his party’s “bedrock” and that incumbent Branville McCartney is in for a “rude awakening” come election time.

Mr Stuart, the former Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM) leader, also spoke about the “practical” decision to disband his party and join the FNM.

“There’s only so much beating-downs you can take,” he said.

Despite the fact that Bamboo Town’s current representative is the leader of the DNA, Mr Stuart insisted the constituency still supports the FNM.

He said Mr McCartney “confused the whole thing” when he made the decision to leave the FNM halfway through his term and form a new party.

“He thought the votes were for him,” Mr Stuart said, “but Bamboo Town has always been and will always be FNM. This constituency is the bedrock of the FNM.”

Mr Stuart alleged Mr McCartney’s presence in Bamboo Town “is not felt like people think it is”.

“His perception is bigger than his reality and that’s going to be his downfall. When the rude awakening happens, then you will feel it,” he said.

“People not in Bamboo Town think he is strong, but the reality is the FNM is strong in Bamboo Town.”

Mr Stuart is confident of a win, as the constituents “have been FNM, they will continue to be FNM, and they will vote FNM.”

The two men are almost mirror images, as Mr McCartney left the FNM to form a new and party, and Mr Stuart dismembered his to join the FNM – taking action within months of each other.

Mr Stuart explained he and the BDM made the decision after a decade of failed attempts to get a foothold in politics.

“I gave it every resource I could possible find,” Mr Stuart said. “You knock on every door – they say they love you and they’ll support you and then they don’t. There’s only so much beating downs you can take.

“We had to take a practical way to politics. I determined that the people of Bahamas love either the FNM or the PLP, while the third party gets less than one per cent of the vote.”

Mr Stuart said he wanted “to be a part of affecting the direction of the country,” and that wasn’t possible with the continued losses of the BDM.

“There’s only so much you can do on the outside,” he said. “I reached a dead end and it was time to look seriously at which direction I was going to take my life.”

He expressed his interest in joining each party to their respective leaders, with Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham responding “within one hour” and Perry Christie, months later.

It was only after “months of negotiation” that the BDM joined the FNM, he said.

When asked why he decided to join a party following years of criticising both parties as being the same, Mr Stuart said: “Every political party spews rhetoric to gain momentum. We were spewing rhetoric to get people to come with us. But if you were to be objective you would see there is a clear difference (between the PLP and FNM).

“You can see the fingerprint of the FNM, that is the difference. It is evident throughout the Bahamas.”

He said issues such as the Atlantis deal, the continued development of Princess Margaret Hospital, the refurbishment of the House of Assembly and Senate, the new courts, and the road improvement project are all “fingerprints” of the FNM.

“They have proved themselves to be a party of action, versus the PLP,” Mr Stuart said.

And it was Mr Ingraham’s “strength” that made it easier for him to “submit” to the FNM.

“One leader to another, it’s difficult to submit to a leader weaker than you,” Mr Stuart said. “It’s like if you’re a student and you’re smarter than your teacher – it doesn’t work.”

Sitting under Mr Ingraham as a FNM MP “will be a wonderful experience,” Mr Stuart added.