Philip of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, said, "An army of deer led by a lion is more to be feared than an army of lions led by a deer."
On the matter of Parliamentary Secretary Renward Wells and his controversial signing of a letter of intent (LOI) for a $600 million plus waste-to-energy project last month, Prime Minister Perry Christie has characteristically displayed a lack of leadership.
It has confirmed for many people, in many quarters, on all sides of the political divide, that Christie is the captain of a sinking ship with a crew that appears to have no direction or any immediate hope for calmer seas.
What leaves us bewildered is that this controversy is of Christie's own making.
It is not something manufactured or fed by the opposition. It is not something that was made up or blown out of proportion by the media.
With every statement he makes, he becomes a weakened man, digging a deeper hole for himself.
It is as if he knows he is prime minister, but is again proving he does not know how to be prime minister, how to lead, how to implement an effective strategy to stay politically strong while focusing on crafting and implementing effective policies to move our country forward.
Christie has allowed a matter he should have dealt with weeks ago to develop into a circus in which he is the main act -- a clownish character who provides a kind of dark entertainment, but who no one, not even those in his own circle, should take seriously.
The prime minister's latest comments on the Wells saga have made him the butt of jokes on multiple social media sites.
His handling of the matter has been so poor it is comical.
He has no one to blame but himself.
When National Review dealt with the Wells debacle two weeks ago, we spoke of the confusion that has ensnared the affair.
There is absolutely no reason why this should still be grabbing headlines.
Quietly, some who are closest to Christie are whispering about how dumbfounded they are that he has been unable to get a handle on it.
His failure once again to act has resulted in a fracture across his administration that could have been easily avoided.
It has been three weeks now since Christie asked Wells to resign. That revelation came after Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works Philip Brave Davis told The Nassau Guardian that Wells did not have the authority to sign the document.
Davis later said he was not sure Wells did anything wrong and was investigating the matter.
That was three weeks ago.
We have not heard anything further from Davis or anything about his so-called investigation.
Many people have wondered why the DPM needed to investigate anything if Christie has already asked for the resignation.
On this issue, Christie remained silent for two weeks, all the while watching it snowball into a political nightmare for him.
When he finally spoke, he made matters worse.
Last Wednesday, Christie released a statement in direct response to a claim by Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney that it was the prime minister who asked Wells to sign the letter of intent.
McCartney's comments were enough to draw Christie out of his shell, but the prime minister's statement was insulting to Bahamians looking for a full explanation on the Wells matter, including whether he acted inappropriately in signing the LOI with Stellar Waste to Energy (Bahamas).
Christie said he did not ask Wells to sign and he claimed he had been defamed by those making and publishing the claim.
Exactly what is defamatory about that statement is unclear.
Instead of taking the opportunity to provide a clear outlining of the facts, it seems Christie pulled an old political trick from his hat, seeking to shut people up from discussing the issue by threatening legal action.
So, Christie did not ask Wells to sign an LOI.
He should also say whether he gave Wells any signals prior to that signing that this is a project he wished to have facilitated.
Christie has said there is no deal with Stellar before him.
But he has not explained what led to the LOI signing and who knew what as it relates to the government's discussions with the company that wants to construct the project at the New Providence landfill.
Wells also released a brief statement on Wednesday confirming Christie did not ask him to sign the LOI.
Christie has not yet explained why he asked Wells to resign.
The PM seems to hint that Wells should be making a determination as to whether he, Wells, should resign.
Perhaps this is how Christie views things and governs; perhaps this is how he viewed the Ishmael Lightbourne situation, where to all eyes, Ishmael Lightbourne was clearly compromised in his position as the key value-added tax (VAT) spokesman while he himself had not been compliant in paying his taxes to the treasury.
Perhaps this is how Christie views things when the Executive Chairman of Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) Leslie Miller and his family-owned business were revealed to have not paid BEC bills to the tune of nearly $250,000, and Miller has clearly lost the moral high ground or authority to run the corporation where delinquencies are at the highest they have ever been.
Christie's lack of understanding of true leadership leaves the nation bouncing from pillar to post, from one leaderless issue to the other. We are fatigued with this circus, with this headless chicken show.
Confusion
The question many people still have is if Christie did not ask Wells to sign, and Wells' only other boss, DPM Davis, did not ask him to sign, then why has Christie not fired Wells?
It leaves great speculation that there is much more to this story than any of us know at this point.
Pressed by reporters on Thursday, Christie worsened the confusion by announcing that he has ordered an investigation.
So, more than three weeks after asking for Wells' resignation, the prime minister is only now investigating what transpired with the LOI.
The LOI saga has escalated into a series of LOL moments -- completely laughable.
On Thursday, Christie also seemed to be asking Wells publicly to step down.
But again, the lack of clarity in the prime minister's statements did nothing to kill the issue.
Christie said, "I have the responsibility of investigating it and making a determination based on my own findings, what I would do, because it was the prime minister in my capacity that appointed Mr. Wells.
"Mr. Wells has the responsibility of determining whether in the meantime, what he has done, whether that is sufficient for him to want to step down. I think he has indicated no.
"But the point is you should know that at the end of the day, I have the responsibility, which I accept, of being the final determinant on what happens with respect to this matter.
"And I don't want to run away from that obligation. I just want to come to understand all that has taken place and its full meaning, and then I will act one way or the other."
It is unclear whether the prime minister's investigation differs from the investigation announced weeks ago by Davis.
As one social media blogger observed, perhaps Christie is investigating the investigation already carried out by the DPM. Perhaps the results of the prime minister's investigation will determine whether there needs to be another investigation.
We do not know.
Christie insisted he will have the "final say" on the matter.
"I have to make a determination as to whether that event in the scheme of my government goes to the root of Mr. Wells' existence as a part of my government," he said.
Translation: I have to determine whether to fire Wells.
Nearly a month after requesting Wells' resignation, the prime minister has to determine whether to fire him.
Is there any wonder Christie has become the butt of jokes?
The Wells matter is now clouding the constitutional referendum debate in and outside Parliament.
Some Progressive Liberal Party insiders have opined that Christie might be afraid to fire Wells right now because that might impact whether Wells and other fearless new generation politicians support those referendum bills.
These two issues are not directly related, but Christie needs the support of three-quarters of the House for those controversial bills to pass.
The prime minister is in a bad spot.
He has jammed himself between two difficult positions.
It is his move now.
Quite unnecessarily, Christie has created for himself a distraction that has not faded with his silence or his eventual incomplete response to the building controversy.
It has drawn out the swords of his political opponents.
On Thursday, the DNA leader asked, "How brazen are you sitting there, head up high, strutting around and not saying anything to the Bahamian people who put you there?"
McCartney then predicted, "These people will put you out. Hear my words today, start your countdown to your exit as the prime minister and the exit of the PLP as the government of this country."
Seizing the opportunity to fan the flames, Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis told reporters at a press conference at the House of Assembly on Wednesday that Christie is not man enough to fire Wells.
No one appears clear on why Christie has not fired Wells.
The only thing we really know for sure in all of this is we have a prime minister who has a serious problem leading. He is skilled at dithering.
Christie continues to drive a dagger into his own flesh.
There can only be two explanations for this: Either he is an incompetent leader or he desires punishment.
We conclude, as have many others, that Christie is simply out of his depth as it relates to the proper handling of the matter in question.
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