The Tribune

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

THE news that FNM leader Michael Pintard is not giving his predecessor, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, a chance to run for the party at the next election has long seemed an inevitability.

It has never seemed as if Pintard and Minnis got on – but Dr Minnis has hung in there hoping… well, who knows quite how high his hopes reached? He lost an election, lost two leadership contests, yet still there was a feeling that while the rest of the world had ruled out his hopes of leading the nation again, he still seemed to harbour hopes of such an outcome.

Pintard has done what he needed to do to present a united front as his party goes into an election – and if his decision seems cold, then there are two things to bear in mind. First, a leader has to make tough decisions. Second, he is simply asserting his authority in a similar way to Dr Minnis himself.

Back in 2012, Dr Minnis attracted plenty of headlines when he very pointedly declared that the “Hubert Ingraham era is over”. Back in 2022, after the FNM elected Pintard as its new leader, FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands said that the “Hubert Minnis era is over”.

Dr Sands was not quite correct – Dr Minnis persisted to the extent of trying, and failing, to be elected leader one more time.

In 2021, the man who Dr Minnis dismissed with such words, Mr Ingraham, said that he did not feel like his advice was wanted or appreciated by the FNM over the previous several years.

Notably, however, Mr Ingraham also said at the time: “I did not avail myself of any opportunity to get in the way of anyone.”

Leaders have to be their own men or women, but being able to draw on the advice of those who have walked the path before can be invaluable.

That can be a layer of wisdom that we overlook too often in our country. Take a look by comparison over at the House of Lords in the UK, the second parliamentary chamber, which includes many experienced names from the field of politics who graduate to the Lords when their time in the elected House of Commons expires. It serves to examine legislation and often makes amendments or offers helpful guidance to the Commons. By contrast, our own second chamber too often serves simply to rubber-stamp the legislation rather than bring the experience of long-serving politicians to bear.

That kind of role could see the likes of Dr Minnis still continuing to serve, as a guide and advisor, though given his previous treatment of Mr Ingraham, it would be no surprise if he is left out in the cold too.

Pintard is not just cutting Dr Minnis from his roster of candidates, of course. Out too it seems goes Adrian Gibson, about whom we have heard more about his legal troubles than his constituency efforts.

And Iram Lewis was to be denied a nomination too – so he promptly quit the party, giving the FNM instant justification for not wanting to keep him on in the first place. They can simply say look, see how little loyalty he had? Jumping ship to the Coalition of Independents is a short cut to political obscurity. Enjoy your remaining time in Parliament, Iram, you won’t be back.

Of course, all this now puts pressure on Pintard to deliver. He is shaping his own team, he is cutting out the in-fighting – as best one can in any political organisation – and now he needs to lead. He needs to be at the forefront of public debate, his needs to be the voice holding the government to account. That is the glaring area where Dr Minnis has been sharper in the public realm than his successor. Minnis speaks with a sharper sense of exposing the government’s weaknesses than Pintard, a scalpel compared to Pintard’s broadsides.

That said, given the number of people who have not felt economic gain under the PLP, and the imminent potential impact of global tariff wars on our economy, an Opposition leader may well only need to seem somewhere approaching competent to capitalise on public dissatisfaction.

The government has failed to deliver on a number of issues such as campaign reform, transparency, equality, issues that matter to plenty of Bahamians – while getting embroiled in issues such as the Bahamas Moorings case where people still want answers while the prime minister has declared no such answers will be forthcoming.

Selection issues are also likely to haunt parts of the PLP as we run towards an election. The figure of Shane Gibson particularly is on the horizon.

In 2023, Mr Gibson had lined himself up for a tilt at the role of party chairman, but bowed out before the vote. He then also offered himself as a candidate for the party for the by-election in West Grand Bahama and Bimini, only for Kingsley Smith to be selected instead. Mr Smith has seemed entirely anonymous since that vote, something that – like him or not – Mr Gibson has never been.

In that run-in, there was open resentment between Mr Gibson and party chairman Fred Mitchell – how will that play out now that Basil McIntosh has announced he will not seek re-election, while Mr Gibson eyes the spot instead?

So far, Mr Gibson has been playing it straight, saying: “Yes, the residents have been calling for me but it’s up to the leader. I’m always available to serve.”

There are other PLP MPs who have underperformed who might not sit easy when it comes to securing a nomination again – and then there is the apparent unrest surrounding Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, with rumours of rifts with other members of his party.

There is one thing to remember, however, that come what may, the PLP always tends to come together and show a united front when it gets to election time. For all the disputes surrounding Mr Gibson last time, he cheered on the party to win that by-election.

Will the FNM be able to say the same? We already see Iram Lewis having split off and who presumably will run for a seat under the COI banner. What about Dr Minnis? Will he run as an independent and be a spoiler in the election?

One thing is for certain, the election countdown is well and truly on.