The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Amateur hour continues in the opposition as the two opposition party heads rolled out a harebrained scheme that is long on hot air but painfully short on common sense or realpolitik. The scheme mocked the idea of two heads being better than one.

A struggling and politically weak Dr Hubert Minnis and the braggadocio Branville McCartney, a man lacking in depth and political maturity, have suggested that they are open to a coalition.

For non-starters, parties in opposition have no spoils to share and therefore they have nothing to coalesce over. There are coalition governments, not coalition oppositions.

The closest we have ever come to coalition government in The Bahamas was 1967 when the PLP and the UBP both won 18 seats. Sir Randol Fawkes headed the third party, Labour, and he won a sole seat.

On that occasion, that seat made him the king-maker and put him in position to negotiate a coalition government with either party. There was never any doubt that he would choose the PLP, but he held the trump card (pardon the terrible pun).

Should the PLP and the FNM fight to a draw at the next election, and by some unexplained wonder of nature the DNA picks up a seat or two, then Bran would have the chips to enter the coalition poker game.

Until then, his only chances of sitting in government again is to grovel to Dr Hubert Minnis (something his ego will never allow him to do as he simply fancies himself way above Dr Minnis in intellect), he grovels to Perry Christie (and even he couldn’t keep his lunch down if he did that), or he could put his Lilliputian heft behind those FNM forces hoping to persuade the FNM to rally around a new leader to whom he could throw his unqualified support.

The latter option will require Bran to find a way to save face with his followers (easily done because they too like to back winners), and to keep reminding himself that he has few cards to play in what is left of his vanity party.

In resumés, employers look for the phrase “works well with others”, before hiring someone to join their team. In politics, this skill is crucial to success. Bran failed this simple test when he would not accept that he was in Hubert Ingraham’s cabinet and therefore the onus was on him to play well with others. Packing up your toys and moving on is what you do in kindergarten but not in the serious business of politics.

Bran needs to ponder whether he wants to lead the DNA over the cliff again, dooming them to five more years in the proverbial wilderness, or will he allow them a chance to serve in government, on state boards, and in leadership roles throughout the apparatus of government.

Joining with the FNM could give Bran his best chance to prove himself politically. Right now he needs to start by having frank and open conversations about the future, his and theirs, with key members of the DNA. Hold nothing back. Give them straight talk and they will respect him for that.

After that, he should begin to build bridges. I am told that Perry Christie is a strong believer that humble pie and grovelling is a diet that can take you to high places.

Bran can start his redemption tour by offering to sit down with Hubert Ingraham and begin to practice one of his lesser qualities: humility.

THE GRADUATE

Nassau,

May 25, 2016