"Egomania - obsessive egotism or self-centeredness... narcissism, arrogance, boastfulness, imperiousness, cockiness, affectation, airs, show, ostentation, vainglory, braggadocio... "

With the country beset by a grave deficit of leadership and on the wrong track on many fronts, especially in the areas of the economy and crime, Bahamians are exhausted by Prime Minister Perry Christie's tiresome rhetoric and inability to demonstrate leadership, even as he pats himself on the back for what a good job he's supposedly doing.

Meanwhile, with little progress on numerous fronts, the self-declared "defining" prime minister, intoxicated by the trappings of office, pompously presides over a government bumbling from one calamity to the next.

BAMSI,which he claimed would be one of his legacies, is an unholy mess. Even by Christie's and many of his ministers' standard of gross incompetence and lack of transparency, the failures at the institute and the seeming unwillingness to lay bare the facts are mind-blowing.

And there appears to be more here than spectacular incompetence. Ill-conceived from its inception, the Junkanoo Carnival has proved a labyrinth of overblown promises, mass confusion and ineptitude which is likely to cost taxpayers millions.

Much of Christie's legacy will be that of "daymares":daydreams,which turn into policy nightmares.Like Peter Pan, he often indulges in magical thinking:"Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough."

This may be true in fairy tales, but in the work of government dreams come true by dedicated action and oversight, and not by wishing upon a star.

Christie and his gold rush government possess the un-Midas touch, as much of their promises and projects turn to fool's gold, except for those alchemists who spin various contracts and consultancies into overflowing pots of gold.

Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner recently voiced the collective opinion of perhaps most Bahamians who believe that the prime minister is delusional and has lost touch with reality.

Unpopular There is an odd equilibrium at work of which Christie seems blithely unaware: The more he talks, the more he performs his standard empty razzle-dazzle, the more he seeks to persuade Bahamians that his government is on the right track, the more unpopular he grows.

Such is the nature of egomania.Were Christie more sparing in his speech, Bahamians might pay more attention to him. But most people have largely tuned him out.

He has literally talked himself into a classic bind:He has to speak as prime minister, but when he speaks he is rarely taken seriously.Worse still, many, at home and abroad, are either amused or dismissive of his meandering rhetoric.

But given the degree of egomania, Christie still believes that he is quite persuasive, effective and eloquent.Curiously, he has largely tuned out his audiences, who are but mere backdrops to his set piece performances. What he may not fully realize is that these audiences have also largely tuned him out.

Have you heard the one about the story of the hunt being told by the lions... blah, blah, blah? It's a good story, but told by Christie, the Profiler-in-Chief,few believe that he will ever fulsomely act on the message of the African proverb.Listeners do sit up when he delivers certain whoppers and outsized gaffes, which leave others thoroughly embarrassed, shaking their heads in disbelief at often woefully inappropriate remarks intended to showcase his gargantuan and ever-growing ego.

Christie's egomania recently led to an embarrassing moment for The Bahamas and CARICOM, of which he is now chairman.

During a Caribbean Energy Security Summit held at the U.S. State Department in January between the U.S.and various Caribbean countries, Christie publicly lectured U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

Christie undiplomatically noted that as he and other Caribbean heads of government recently met in Beijing with the president of China, he was sending a message with Biden that it was time for President Barack Obama to meet with his fellow heads.

At least one Caribbean head appeared to wince at Christie's comment and it was clearly embarrassing for the vice president, whom Christie publicly designated as his messenger.

While Christie may have a point, it is the sort of point that one discusses privately and not in such a public forum before one's host, especially when speaking as CARICOM chair.One does not need to strut or beat one's chest to demonstrate substance and gravitas. Undiplomatic Just a few weeks later Christie's loose talk, undiplomatic language and egomania were again on display, this time, at the IDB Caribbean Governors Meeting in Freeport.

Inexplicably and undiplomatically, in another fit of showing-off and braggadocio, Christie publicly mentioned a confidential matter that he had discussed with the head of the bank.

The message: I'm a big man! The bigger the man, the less one needs to publicly brag about what one does for others, especially matters that are private. Christie embarrassed his VAT coordinator and others by publicly disclosing what he did on the former's behalf.

His comments following the death of a Junkanoo icon, pertaining to what he intended to do for the deceased's family, were unseemly and should have been kept private. It is often remarked that those who do the most for others typically talk less about their deeds and those who do the least often talk the most. With bravado and chest-thumping Christie often publicly instructs his ministers at various events to handle certain matters, instructions which should be given in private, especially as there may be mitigating issues. One should not put a Cabinet colleague on the spot.

A week ago at an International Labor Organization (ILO) Caribbean Labor Minister's Conference, Christie departed from his prepared remarks letting loose a harangue on a domestic political matter. It was as inappropriate as it has been when he has done likewise before visiting international audiences.

He lambasted as uncaring certain "rich doctors" with private health insurance, who raised concerns over the cost of introducing National Health Insurance (NHI). Christie should not have used the conference to score political points. He fumed about the dire need for NHI. We have heard this before. At a mass rally at Clifford Park on April 4, 2002, Christie faithfully promised: "I want to create a system of National Health Insurance so that poor people will stop dying simply because they are too poor to pay for major medical attention.

This is the greatest national disgrace of all! "How can we call ourselves a caring, compassionate society when the difference between whether a young child lives or dies depends on whether he or she is covered by private health insurance or not; or whether the parents have the money to pay for the operation or not." He declared: "That such a situation still exists in our country is a stain on the social conscience that must be removed.

And it will be removed under my administration because the PLP will treat the introduction of National Health Insurance as a matter of the most urgent priority." Failed That was 2002.

During his first five years in office from 2002 to 2007, and now halfway into his second non-consecutive term, he has failed his own tests of urgency and compassion, yet he seeks to villainize doctors who have saved thousands of lives despite his failure to introduce any major aspect of NHI.

It was a cheap shot, and gross hypocrisy even by his standards. He does not enjoy the moral authority to lecture the medical community on health care. Christie is the master of outrage and bluster, solemnly promising to act, followed by a failure to act and then a new cycle of making the same old promises, while attempting to explain away the reason for the failure.

The name for this is articulate incompetence. Christie's ego is such that he is usually incapable of accepting responsibility for policy failures.He has to remain the good guy. So he first blamed officials in the Ministry of Finance for the failure of the mortgage relief program.

Then he blamed the banks. Governments and prime ministers do plenty stupid things. Alas,some governments also do little to nothing, which may prove stupid in itself. The prime minister claims that he found "surprising" the ILO's finding that, up to 2014, The Bahamas had the highest rate of unemployment of 17 Caribbean and Latin American countries.

Perhaps the synonym for surprising is "out of touch". One would hope it is not the sort of supposed surprise he expressed when the last unemployment statistics were announced. How curious that the man who has for decades represented a lower-income urban area that he has left largely untouched and who boasts that Urban Renewal will be one of his legacies is surprised by the ILO finding.

So what happened with that massive Urban Renewal survey he touted? Either Christie is this out of touch or he is feigning surprise, which speaks volumes about his prime ministership in general, which is decidedly more about showiness and theater rather than substance, often more about him at this juncture than what is best for the country.

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