The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

FNM Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner strongly denies the growing report that the party is facing “internal friction” over its leadership.

Speaking to the press yesterday, the Long Island MP downplayed reports of a “rift” between the party’s current leader, Dr Hubert Minnis, and former prime minister, Hubert Ingraham, the FNM’s retired leader.

Mrs Butler-Turner defended Dr Minnis, whose leadership has been questioned, not only by the PLP, but also political observers, and members of his own party.

“Unequivocally no, there are no problems. Are there levels of miscommunication? Probably. The reality is this, it’s five months into a new leadership. We now have Dr Hubert Minnis as our leader. We just came off the eve of a crushing defeat.

“You have a man who is just getting into the groove of leading a large political organization. On top of that, we went directly back into election mode with this bye-election,” Mrs Butler-Turner said.

“I do not believe that he, in my opinion, has had sufficient time to fully gain the support and probably even the loyalty of many of our supporters, thus far. And so, having now lost another election with this bye-election, there are people saying all manner of things. The reality is, we are new.”

She also laid to rest persistent reports of a problem between Dr Minnis and Mr Ingraham following comments from the former that “the Ingraham factor will now be behind us” and that Dr Minnis was “taken aback” by Mr Ingraham’s apparent concession speech.

“To the best of my knowledge, Mr Ingraham will always be one in our party that’s going to be held up to a very high standard. I cannot speak on behalf of the leader – let me say that unequivocally – but having read the commentary, I believe the leader probably in a moment of frustration felt that he should have been the one to have given the concession speech,” Mrs Butler-Turner said.

“That being said, Mr Ingraham is a person who has put the FNM, in my opinion, not only in the winner’s column to be the government but he has also been an exemplary prime minister, an exemplary leader, and certainly one who I consider – and I say this often – to be a reformer and a modernizer of The Bahamas.

“I have no rift with Mr Ingraham. The majority of the people in our party have no rift with him, but I think that every leader needs to bring his own style to the table and perhaps that is what the current leader is trying to do.”

On Wednesday, Dr Minnis said: “I think the press and everybody must realize that the former Prime Minister is no longer the leader (of the FNM). Dr Hubert Minnis is the leader, and therefore the former Prime Minister does not speak for the FNM.”

With many political observers interpreting Dr Minnis’ seeming rebuke of the former Prime Minister as indicating a growing rift within the party, the FNM’s leader said that such assumptions were utter “nonsense.”

“There is no rift between us. The only thing I am pointing out is that I am the leader of the FNM,” he said.

He acknowledged that he had heard concerns over his long-term viability as leader of the party and stated: “Every leader goes through that. There has always been resistance, and there will always be. That is human nature and that is the way of society.”

Also commenting on Dr Minnis’ “Ingraham factor” statement, Immigration and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said: “I found his statement to be extraordinary.

“It’s really incredible that a succeeding leader of the party would make the kind of statements he made about his predecessor without there being some serious internal friction inside the FNM.

“How does a succeeding leader come and trash a man who was before him? It just doesn’t seem a wise thing to do to me.”