The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party stalwart councillor George Smith says the 2017 general election result proved that his party learned little from its 2007 loss and instead doubled over on its problems.

Mr Smith's comments came amid reliable reports to The Tribune that the PLP was informed by its consultants in recent years that the party was losing support in the country under former Prime Minister Perry Christie's leadership.

"PLPs have been doing polls consistently in the past many years," Mr Smith said when contacted yesterday. "Every poll has pointed out that if the (former) prime minister didn't change his method of operation with respect to a number of things, he would face defeat.

"People thought we learned the lesson in 2007. But then the prime minister said he would demit office (mid-way through a second term), but he didn't do it. He said he would respect the results of the gambling referendum but he didn't do it. He said he would deal with any improprieties by any minister and he didn't do it. If you took the 2007 report on the election result by Greenberg (the PLP's consulting firm) and you dust it off and change the date to 2017, you'd find that the same things, the same issues impacted us. Having not dealt with corruption and misconduct of various ministers, the problem was compounded in this past term. Whereas it involved only a couple of people between 2007 and 2012, this time it engulfed a number of ministers.

"Multiply by two why the Bahamian people rejected (Mr Christie) as prime minister in 2007 and you have the 2017 election, and this time, to make sure they voted people out of office that they didn't like, the Bahamian people got rid of people they didn't really want to get rid of."

Mr Smith referred to controversies this past term involving several government ministers, including former Agriculture & Fisheries Minister V Alfred Gray's alleged interference with a judicial decision of a family island administrator; former Labour Minister Shane Gibson's acceptance of thousands of dollars from Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard, which the former minister claimed was used to benefit residents of the Golden Gates constituency; former Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald's solicitation of Baha Mar contracts from Sarkis Izmirlian, the resort's original developer; and former Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson's involvement in Baha Mar negotiations despite revelations that her family had stores in the resort.

Of these, the only one Mr Christie ever addressed publicly was Mr Gray's alleged judicial interference. Mr Christie removed the Ministry of Local Government from Mr Gray's portfolio as a result, however he was never fired from Cabinet.

"How can you only take a half of the ministry from him?" Mr Smith asked. "That's like slapping only half of the backside after the child does something wrong. It's nothing really."

The 2007 report created by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research said the PLP faced four fundamental challenges: expanding the party's base, cleansing the party's reputation, conveying Mr Christie's leadership qualities and advancing a progressive social agenda.

"The party lost in part because of perceptions that its government was scandal-ridden," the 2007 report said. "It needs to take concrete actions that convey its seriousness about purging corruption from the party and state. There is a perception among voters--one deepened by the FNM--that the PLP has become more focused on doing things that benefit its own politicians than for people."

Among its recommendations, Greenberg said the PLP should, with justification, expel a senior member of the party for corruption.

The consultants added: "We cannot overstate the importance of (cleansing the party's reputation). It goes to the heart of people's concerns about the PLP and must be seriously addressed with concrete action. The corruption issue also contributed to the perception of Christie as a weak leader. Voters perceived that he was unwilling to take action against advisers or Cabinet officials accused of wrongdoing…"

Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Sidney Collie said recently that concerns about corruption was among the five or so most important reasons why people grew displeased with the PLP. He said dissatisfaction with Mr Christie, concerns about how value added tax (VAT) was spent, the perception that the Christie administration had few accomplishments and high crime weighed even more heavily on voters' minds, according to his party's internal data.

The FNM ultimately won 35 out of 39 seats in the House of Assembly on May 10. Mr Christie became the first prime minister to lose his seat in a general election, an area he had won eight consecutive times.