The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

DECLARING that the Free National Movement needs to move forward from public fighting, party chairman Carl Culmer said he was prepared to fly to Grand Bahama to personally meet with FNM MP Frederick McAlpine, seemingly extending an olive branch to settle grievances.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Culmer rejected the Pineridge MP’s assertion that relations with the party have been frigid, insisting that as long as he remains a member of the FNM, the party will support him.

Mr Culmer also maintained that FNM executives, including party leader, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, have reached out to the MP to address his issues.

However, he would not comment on what he believed to be the underlying cause of the friction between Mr McAlpine and his party.

The chairman’s comments are a marked change in tone from his publicised remarks back in March when he told The Nassau Guardian that Mr McAlpine should seriously consider his future with the FNM after repeated attacks on the organisation.

And just last month he declared that Mr McAlpine was a hypocrite for joining an anti-government march outside of Parliament.

This public jostling, in addition to clear displeasure from three additional backbench MPs, has shown cracks within the party. Centreville MP Reece Chipman, Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller, Bain and Grants Town MP Travis Robinson and Mr McAlpine have all at times been critical of the governing FNM. However, Mr McAlpine has been the most vocal with his criticism.

Nonetheless, Mr Culmer told The Tribune yesterday all was well with the FNM, maintaining differences of opinion did not mean it was not solidified. He said the FNM was still the best option for Bahamians.

“The party is open for anytime McAlpine wants to sit down and talk,” Mr Culmer said. “I’ve extended the invitation to him. I know the leader has extended the invitation to him. The doors are opened.

“If he wants me to come to Freeport, I will go to Grand Bahama and speak to him. If he wants to come here I will speak to him here as the chairman and I know the leader would do the same because we want to sit down and talk and move forward. There is nothing wrong, we are prepared to sit down and talk.”

Asked if the MP had been afforded adequate opportunities to air his concerns, Mr Culmer said: “Again I really don’t want this to be a McAlpine/FNM issue. McAlpine comes to the caucus. He has been to a number of meetings that I have had in Grand Bahama. There have been many opportunities.

“McAlpine is an FNM. He has been voted in on the FNM ticket and we support FNMs. I don’t want this to be a McAlpine/FNM issue. A number of persons don’t see it like that.

“The FNM has always been a party where persons are allowed to speak freely and we will always be that. McAlpine is an FNM we support him as long as he is an FNM.

“The FNM is a party that is solidified. We are all together. There might be a difference of opinion, but does that break our togetherness, no.”

Following Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis’ invitation on Saturday for former PLPs to return to the organisation, claiming that some FNMs who were once PLPs “want to come back home,” Mr McAlpine said on Monday he was keeping his “options open.”

Regarding the invitation, Mr Culmer questioned why anyone would want to cross the political divide to join the PLP. He said before Mr Davis invites people to join him, he needed to answer burning question that remain unanswered.

“Why would someone want to go backward after all the mess the PLP has left the country in? There are a number of unanswered questions. For instance BAMSI. We are still waiting to find out if the persons were qualified to build the facility. We also want to know what happened with the insurance and how was the bid process completed? When you look at the Ministry of Works what was the number of persons that got contracts who were not qualified to get contracts from the ministry and without the bidding process? Those are the things we’re trying to get away from. The country does not need to go back to that.

“The PLP, it was a failure (and) it continues to be a failure and hasn’t changed. They still have that same old mentality. We don’t need that kind of failure,” Mr Culmer said.

On Monday, Mr McAlpine also said Mr Davis’ appeal was “commendable” and the sign of a “real leader”.

However, he said, he did not know if the comments were specifically directed at him, adding that he had not officially spoken with anyone in the PLP about becoming a member of the opposition party.

Meanwhile Mr Miller added that although “politics makes strange bedfellows,” leaving the party under whose umbrella he was elected was not on his radar.

Mr Davis has declined to reveal if there were any FNMs in talks with the PLP, saying he did not want to breach confidential conversations. However, he told this newspaper he is aware there are disgruntled FNM ministers and MPs. He also said the backbenchers could join the PLP if they desired.