The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

IS THIS the week that it finally dawns on the Free National Movement that the honeymoon is over?

Not only is the honeymoon over, it seems the ‘People’ are ready to put Doc and company out of the house and change the locks.

Less than two years into this new administration, there was a sizeable protest march on Bay Street against the policies and performance of the FNM.

In normal times, such a march so soon would be shocking, but when you consider the number of controversial decisions made by the Prime Minister such as OBAN, increased VAT, the General Post Office scandal, the Grand Lucayan purchase and the Lighthouse Point saga (to name a few) it’s a wonder these protests didn’t happen sooner.

It doesn’t help that the FNM leadership (on down) responds to any and every critique like entitled schoolchildren with tissue paper thin skin.

It doesn’t help that what’s left of this government’s most ardent supporters act like crazed fanatics on social media even when defending the indefensible. (Conflicts of interest, anyone?)

Now granted, these are attitude and character deficiencies that could – theoretically – be corrected. The problem is that this new bunch has shown no desire to change their ways.

During the march, there were hundreds of people screaming “enough is enough” on the streets, but in my view the bigger problem for the FNM was the silence.

There was silence from many Bahamians who otherwise would have come to the party’s defence.

In conversation after conversation in real life and on social media that day, I was surprised at how many “I’ne on their run no more” and “I finish wit dem” responses I got when I reached out to persons who I know for a fact supported the FNM last election.

‘Tings tuff’ right now.

In the wake of the almost doubling of VAT, there’s a lot of anxiety amongst our poorest and what remains of the middle class. And, if you listen to ‘da streets,’ the only thing happening right now is that the rich are getting richer.

Now whether that’s true or not, when people are starving, perception becomes reality.

This is the strange intersection the FNM finds itself at, where not only are their policies wanting but so is their attitude. As the elders would say, ‘Some a dem gat some bad ways.’

When speaking to reporters, you can almost sense a ‘suck teet’ from the Prime Minister before he says something he obviously thinks is clever but comes off as cold.

You can say the same about a handful of ministers who seem lost in their own arrogance as well.

So now you have hard policies (even if you deem them necessary) and a hard attitude to go with it. And that’s when you end up with a major protest on your hands eighteen months into your administration.

Ironically, If you watched the parliamentary channel during Wednesday’s event you wouldn’t have known that there were people right outside the House with picket signs.

Of course, to be clear, they were not technically right outside the window since the police used barricades and chains with locks to keep the protesters at bay. Which was another slap in the face since it was protesters and marchers who helped sweep the FNM in and gave them a super majority.

Yet I didn’t see any government member of parliament save for Frederick McAlpine go out on the street or even entertain the protesters’ concerns.

How quickly they forget.

Out of the hundreds of placards that were hoisted in the hot sun on Wednesday one really stood out. No, it wasn’t the ‘Call the police for BPL’ sign or the ‘We voted and we failed again’ sign.

It was a placard my sister-in-law spotted tossed in some bushes near the bank downtown that read, ‘Minnis is Wutless.’

Like I said before, the honeymoon is definitely over.

I will leave you this week with the wise words of the great poet Maya Angelou who said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”