The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

FNM Deputy Loretta Butler-Turner, outside of Prime Minister Perry G Christie and Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell, is the most erudite, articulate and polished debater in Parliament.

Her uncanny ability to speak extemporaneously on a litany of important national issues affecting The Bahamas is very impressive. Her speeches and contributions to the press and in Parliament bespeaks her thorough command of the Queen’s English. Her brazen boldness when confronting her political opponents in Parliament suggests that she is a force to reckon with.

Undoubtedly, her political votaries view her as an indomitable force that the Progressive Liberal Party wants no part of in 2017. Hence their hyper impatience to see Dr Hubert Minnis jettisoned as leader in order to make way for a lady some are now touting as The Bahamas’ version of the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Whereas Mrs Butler-Turner hails from a powerful political dynasty, Dr Minnis is a product of the Bain Town community who pulled himself up by the bootstraps to become a successful obstetrician and gynaecologist. And whereas Mrs Butler-Turner was raised with a silver spoon in her mouth; Dr Minnis, however, just like Mr Christie, came from humble beginnings. This one important aspect of Dr Minnis enables him to better empathise with the grassroots and proletarians. His recent decision to ride on a jitney downtown Nassau was a masterful stroke of genius. He is a compassionate leader who is ever mindful of his roots.

With three weeks remaining until the November 21 FNM convention, the Butler-Turner camp within the party’s youth arm called the Torchbearers Association are now clamouring for a debate between Dr Minnis and Mr Butler-Turner – a debate he has wisely turned down. It must be conceded that Mrs Butler-Turner would win hands down, as her oratorical skills are more polished than Dr Minnis’. To state that Mrs Butler-Turner is a better orator than Dr Minnis would be axiomatic. To state that she is a far better debater would also be axiomatic. And herein lies the disingenuousness of the anti-Minnis faction of the Torchbearers Association. Many of these persons have already railed at him for not being a seasoned orator, yet they are badgering him to compete in a debate they know that he has a slight chance of winning. Interestingly, former Prime Ministers Sir Lynden Pindling and Hubert Ingraham had never participated in any political debates. There is nothing unusual about Bahamian politicians not engaging in public debates.

I believe this proposed debate was nothing more than a trap designed by mischievous anti-Minnis FNMs in order to make him look bad before a huge audience. They are not interested in hearing his plans to advance The Bahamas. What they are interested in is rattling Dr Minnis and making him look like an incompetent, bumbling politician who is out of his element. I think he saw this plot a mile away and shrewdly turned down their request for his participation in the debate.

When the heavily indebted FNM suffered a humiliating loss in 2012, it was Dr Minnis who stepped in and stabilised the party, while many prominent FNMs defected. It was Dr Minnis who kept the FNM together when few wanted to be indentified with the party. Now that these political sharks smell blood in the water with the general election a little under three years away, they want to ruin him, seeing that there is a realistic chance for the FNM to regain the government in light of the widespread discontent among many Bahamians with the incumbent government.

I commend Dr Minnis for not succumbing to the bait set by these people who would have obviously been rooting for him to fail. With the odds heavily stacked in Mrs Butler-Turner’s favour, Dr Minnis stood to gain absolutely nothing by debating her. They don’t want him as FNM leader. The proposed debate would not have changed these people’s disdain for Dr Minnis’ leadership.

KEVIN EVANS

Nassau,

November 2, 2014.