By SANCHESKA DORSETT
Tribune Staff Reporter
sdorsett@tribunemedia.net
FORMER member of Parliament for Tall Pines Leslie Miller said yesterday he was not surprised that the Progressive Liberal Party was “wiped out” by the Free National Movement because “the hate” for former Prime Minister Perry Christie “was strong” throughout the country.
In an interview with The Tribune, after suffering another agonising defeat at the polls, Mr Miller said Bahamian people do not vote parties in, they vote them out. He said the PLP did not fulfil its promises to the people and “so we had to go.”
Mr Miller said he expects Mr Christie will resign as leader of the PLP and he predicted former Deputy Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis will become the new leader of the party.
Mr Davis was one of only four PLP MPs who were re-elected on Wednesday.
According to unofficial results, the FNM was able to pull off a stunning defeat of the PLP, securing a massive 35 of 39 constituencies. The Parliamentary Registration Department did not release full election results up to last night. However from the unofficial numbers, it appeared that the PLP only captured four seats: Englerston; Cat Island and San Salvador; South Andros as well as Exuma and Ragged Island.
Mr Miller said the PLP will have to “regroup” and come up with a plan in the next few days.
“I said from the beginning that the hate for Christie was strong in the country, much stronger than the people’s dislike for Dr Hubert Minnis.
“Mr Christie took everyone out with him. Bahamian people are funny when they go against you, they go against you. They say we didn’t do what we should have done and so it was time for us to go. I knew we were not going to win this easy but I did not think it would be like this. The good members of Parliament who have been voted out had nothing to do with us, or our performance.
“This was a judgment on the prime minister his leadership. The people went after him, there was so much hatred like what happened with Hubert Ingraham in 2012. The people got tired. They got to their breaking point; they didn’t want to see him anymore, so they voted us all out. It was like war and in war you have to kill some of the troops to get to the leader.”
In 2007, a report by US political strategy consultants Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found that Mr Christie’s leadership was the reason the PLP lost that election and advised that he should step down. Senior PLPs decided against acting then and the stalwart councillors subsequently buttressed his position. The same consultants were involved in running the 2017 campaign, and according to sources, advised that Mr Christie was polling unfavourably.
Mr Miller, who had predicted in November that most PLP MPs would be gone after the election because of people’s anger and frustration, said he “feels bad” for Mr Christie but the party needs to chart “a new course without him.”
“Phillip ‘Brave” Davis will be the new leader of the party,” Mr Miller said.
“We will get together, regroup and have a reflection and chart our new course without Mr Christie. I feel bad for him, he went out in a devastating fashion. Mr Ingraham quit, Sir Lynden quit, but this is the first time a sitting prime minister did not get his seat. I will survive this loss but I feel for the people, my loss is their loss. It is a pity it has to be like this, but that is how life is.”
Mr Miller said the FNM will not have an easy job but he hopes the party can turn the economy around or they will “be out just like us.”
Mr Miller lost his seat to FNM candidate Donald Saunders.
Comments
John 7 years, 7 months ago
When it was becoming apparent that Perry Christie and Bernard Nottage would both lose their seats, it was also clear that the PLP loss would be greater than usual and so putting it mildly I declared that the PLP was about to get the biggest spanking in its history of its existence. And as was evident in the polling results, the Bahamian electorate was not about to let neither the DNA, nor the independent candidates or the other fringe parties interfere with their decision to kick Perry Chrisite and the PLP to the curb. The decision was a clear and decisive one. The Victory for Hubert Minnis and the FNM was resounding and the loss for the PLP was crippling, humilating even deadly. (yes deadly, many who lost in this election are now politically dead and will never contest another political election, ever!) And Leslie Miller is more than hopeful when he says the PLP will rebound in a few days. Not so. He must remember that thousands of supporters flew the nest before disaster struck and they are now celebrating victory. And happily so. Those who are left are severely injured, emotionally they have been humiliated. . They are mentally crushed and physically exhausted. So there is going to be a disbanding of the PLP. they will be in the wilderness for a few years, struggling to regroup, struggling to find a leader with vision, direction and the power of cohesion to draw the party back together. The old guard will fall off. And if they don't regroup, and the DNA holds its course and Branville McCartney releases the strangle hold he has on that party, then the DNA can rise up and become the second force in this country..And of course the PLP may just fade away, because Bahamians do nottake too kindly to third parties or independent candidates. Perry Chrisite caused that, just as Lynden Pindling caused it before him.
John 7 years, 7 months ago
Strangely enough of all 39 seats Perry Christie is the only person who lost by less than 100 hundred votes (The FNM won most of their seats by at least 1,000 votes1) Exceptions are Fred Mitchell in Fox Hill and Leslie (Potcake) miller in Tall Pines. So Perry Christie is the only one who even stands a chance of going to election court. Will he. and if it goes to a by-election he knows what will happen then! If it does get that far for a by-election, Perry Chrisitie will be even more soundly defeated!
The_Oracle 7 years, 7 months ago
“I said from the beginning that the hate for Christie was strong in the country, much stronger than the people’s dislike for Dr Hubert Minnis"
Hate? No, contempt for the arrogance, and the thievery going on under his nose or worse, with his consent. Now, to business at hand, will you now, Ordinary Pot Cake citizen, please pay your power bill? and any other taxes you owe? Plus interest please.
Socrates 7 years, 7 months ago
i agree with Miller.. people didn't vote as much for the FNM as they voted in protest against the PLP. arrogant Fred, corrupt Shane, corrupt and arrogant Jerome, snobby Alison, corrupt and arrogant Alfred, all are responsible. of course, weak Perry who didnt have the backbone and wilpower to fire the corrupt and who ran a govt of secrecy.. what a miserable bunch.. this incoming group we have to waych too like questionable Michael Pintard, Mackay in Eleuthera, D'Aguilar.. maybe others .. no time to relax i'm afraid..
cmiller 7 years, 7 months ago
You're right, Socrates. Potential corrupt ministers must be quickly identified and dealt with.
jackbnimble 7 years, 7 months ago
I think every person who egged him on to stay by voting for him in the Convention (Miller included if he did) is equally as guilty.
I mean, you knew he was OLD, (literally) sleeping on the job, had no backbone to stand up to his corrupt ministers and giving 'things real good' and 'soon come' speeches and yet you told him, "Man, you the best. We can't find no one else as good or better than you to lead us." So you know what I say? I'm not sorry for ANY of you. You got what you deserved.
Let this be a lesson to the rest. You have to know when your time is up and when to hang it up. Good riddance!
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