The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ONE day after Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller resigned from his party, Free National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer said it’s time Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine made up his mind about his own intentions.

“You can’t be inside the party and be a Trojan horse,” he said. “He needs to decide whether he will be an FNM and know how organisations work or not. Sometimes you can’t agree (with a party) but there’s a place and a way to air your disagreements. To come in the party and then blast the party, I have a problem with that.”

Mr Culmer said he “cannot respect McAlpine for what he’s doing,” comparing him unfavourably to Mr Miller.

“Vaughn had his differences but never one day tried to kill the party,” he said. “Vaughn stated his disagreements and that was it. You never saw him outside trying to degrade or belittle anyone.”

“The camaraderie with him and the leader and him and (St Anne’s MP Brent Symonette) Wednesday night was clear and respectful for a reason.”

After a confidence motion in Dr Minnis passed the House of Assembly on Wednesday night, Dr Minnis jested that Mr Miller could soon change the composition of the official opposition.

“If those two members would get together under the CPU, as a cohesive political unit, then I believe that those two members would be entitled to appoint one senator themselves,” he joked. “If they got three more, then there would be no more PLP, they’d be the official opposition.”

Gesticulating to Mr Miller, he said: “If you want to borrow three of us, you choose any three you want and they have my permission (to join you) only for two years. You have my word Golden Isles, that you’d be the official opposition. One of my three would be the leader of the opposition and you would be deputy leader.”

Yesterday, Mr Miller said he is content with his decision to leave the FNM. He said supporters of several political organisations, including the Progressive Liberal Party, have reached out to him in hope he would join their party.

“I can’t say how this will work out but I know they have indicated they would like to speak with me and at some time I will speak to them,” he said. 

“As an independent, I am going to be a very active and vocal independent in the House and let God and the Bahamian people determine where that goes from there,” he continued. “The overwhelming support that the FNM once had is not there. The FNM base could not have delivered a victory to that level the party had in 2017. That was done by the independent voters, the swing voters who don’t have an allegiance to either side, they go with what they think is best for the country.

“What the PLP has been able to do in my opinion is to begin to revive their base. The base of the PLP has returned home. Lots of PLPs either didn’t vote or voted FNM in 2017. You find now that the independent or the swing voters for the most part have gone back to their base which is the middle of the road and come election time they will make up their minds what to do.”