The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

There is a move by several factions in the Progressive Liberal Party to have Prime Minister Perry Christie give up his post as party leader. One faction comprises of members supporting Deputy Prime Minister, Philip “Brave” Davis.

Davis has some support. Recently, Philip Galanis in an interview said that he supports Davis to become leader of the PLP. One of his reasons is that Davis returns phone calls. Galanis’s endorsement will go down in history as an exercise in futility. Even Leslie Miller, aka “the Potcake”, threw his support behind Davis. Davis could be heard in an interview saying how humbled he was that persons would support him for party leader.

And then Prime Minister Christie spoke at a PLP women’s meeting in Andros and he unequivocally said that he was going into the convention as leader and that he was coming out as leader. This was a clear sign to all that Christie has no intention of relinquishing his power at this time, despite being 72 and more so out of touch with energising a nation that desperately needs change.

Prime Minister Christie and PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts then advised Davis that now is not the time for a leadership race because this will only cause unwanted distractions. Christie said that the focus should be on crime and unemployment.

So what does all this mean?

Christie said that he and Davis are very close friends. I believe that their close friendship is overstated. It is clear that Davis wants to run for the PLP leadership. And it is clear to me that Christie wants him to run, despite what he says in the press.

Mr Davis was fooled by Mr Christie again into believing that he (Christie) was going to step down. This is why Davis started the public relations campaign with Philip Galanis and Leslie Miller. There is no way that Mr Davis believes that he can defeat Mr Christie in a leadership race for the PLP, given the current setup. Mr Christie knows it and all other PLPs know it.

The relationship between Christie and Davis has been strained. We had the Letter of Intent (LOI), BAMSI and a host of other public fallouts that the DPM and the PM had. Is this a form of payback by the Prime Minister, who by his own admission was only going to serve half of this term?

The big question is whether Mr Davis will run. At first, he was saying that he would only run if Mr Christie stepped down. Now he is saying that he will advise in short order.

Mr Christie controls Davis’s political supper. If Davis runs for leader he will be beaten and most certainly commit political suicide. If he runs for deputy again, there is a good chance that Obie Wilchcombe will mount a serious challenge and defeat him. All the PM has to do is issue a statement in the public domain supporting Wilchcombe and the PLP stalwart councillors will follow. Some of the stalwart councillors are already saying that they don’t need Davis to run for party leadership because this will be a distraction. These are Christie’s exact words.

Davis’s performance as Deputy Prime Minister and as minister with several portfolios has been dismal at best. He can’t use his record to convince stalwart councillors that he can do a better job than Christie. If Davis does not run for leader, he will lose some credibility on the national level, which is a blow because some persons already believe that he does not have the “ït” factor to convince the masses to vote PLP.

A lot of Bahamians share the view that Mr Christie’s time has passed and that new leadership is needed. I share this view. I am 100 per cent certain that Davis shares this view as well.

But he will not run for party leader. He feels he is too close to squander this opportunity. He will sit small and be the “obedient” servant that has dominated the path to ascend to leadership in the PLP.

DEHAVILLAND MOSS

Nassau,

September 24, 2015