Prime Minister Perry Christie and Dr. Hubert Minnis both need each other to realize their diametrically opposed ambitions in the upcoming general election. Christie needs Minnis to keep power and Minnis needs Christie to have any shot at taking power. Yes, they are co-dependents in the universe of Bahamian politics.
Truth be told, Christie has abundantly more skills needed in politics than does Minnis. Christie is more articulate, quick on his feet, affable, commanding, secure and sociable than Minnis. Mind you, compared to leaders like the late Sir Lynden Pindling and Hubert Ingraham, Christie did not and does not fare as well. But, whatever deficits he has, vis–à–vis those political titans, he has managed successfully to stay in the House of Assembly for 40 years plus, survive as leader of the PLP for almost 20 years and serve as prime minister of The Bahamas for two non-consecutive terms. Not bad for a person whose leadership acumen is often harshly criticized.
Despite his success to date, Christie must surely know, unless he is truly delusional, that Bahamians at large view his government unfavorably. The reasons Bahamians have a poor view of the Christie administration, perhaps even an angrily poor view, are many. First, the administration has made excessive unforced errors over the last four years. The botched gaming referendum and the decision to regulate the industry in spite of the people’s vote against the same; the BAMSI debacle; the Baha Mar fiasco; the untimely introduction of VAT and other fees; and, the more recent failed gender equality referendum are but a few of those errors that put a bad taste in the mouths of Bahamians for this government.
To add to their displeasure, the country is in the throes of a number of awful realities. The economy is sluggish at best; unemployment remains in ridiculously high double digits; crime is unacceptably high; the cost of living is sky rocketing; and the general prospects for improved economic conditions are low, as suggested by the Standard and Poor’s threatened downgrade. A political party faced with half these issues would be on life support entering a new general election period. The Christie administration might be receiving last rights in light of the prevailing situation but... enter Dr. Hubert Minnis, the leader of the FNM.
Minnis’ performance over the last four years – and the FNM’s most recent meltdown in the face of his weak leadership – is the only reason that Christie and the PLP have some hope of winning the next election. There is little doubt that the PLP knew that its best chance of winning the next election was for Minnis to remain as leader of the FNM. There is goodly evidence to support that they sought to ensure that this was so. The evidence included the kid gloves with which they handled criticism of Minnis over the last four years. The PLP knows how to be merciless against its opponents, but that penchant seemed spared for Minnis over the last few years. It will be interesting to see what they do now that he is the settled man to take the FNM into the next election.
Notably, Leslie Miller, an avowed PLP, came out blatantly in support of Minnis. Now, there is a saying, “the enemy of my enemy is...” you guessed it, “my friend”. Given his recent ratification by the PLP, does anyone believe that Miller does not want his party, the PLP, to continue in government following the next election? Of course he does!
If this is so why would he be enthusiastic about Minnis if he thought Minnis would be unhelpful toward that end? Put another way, if he thought Minnis would help the PLP win, why would he not want to be helpful to Minnis remaining as leader? Even ardent PLPs were on Facebook awkwardly pumping up Minnis. One fellow even wrote, in hitting out against Loretta Butler-Turner, “Minnis may be a buffoon unfit to lead a school of fish, but he is still one of us. That matters. The grassroots won and right-thinking Bahamians of all races, genders, and creeds can breathe a sigh of relief.” Interesting, to say the least.
You see, in the prevailing circumstances both Minnis and Christie are in weak positions – very weak – but they can play off each other’s weaknesses to give themselves a better chance to succeed. Had the FNM had a more compelling leader, the next election victory would be all but assured. But with Minnis at the helm and Branville McCartney’s DNA and others able to pull votes (possibly thousands of votes), the FNM’s prospects for victory are in serious doubt.
By the same token, should the PLP change leadership and say, elect someone like Alfred Sears as its leader, the game changes completely. Alfred would represent a break from the Christie baggage and could provide young voters, independent voters, educated voters and even grassroot voters with a refreshingly new prospect for leadership. Sears is immensely articulate, a respected thinker, extremely affable, a gracious temperament, and has a life story that begs attention. I know the man. I ran against him and I can tell you, he is a formidable opponent. Let no one be mistaken either, his political skills are sharp. He can cut you with the precision of a surgeon while leaving you to waste in the political hinterlands.
It is doubtful that Sears can defeat Christie in a convention. However, the possibility that he might become leader of the PLP cannot be welcoming to Minnis and the FNM at this time. So, if Minnis is as crafty a politician as his convention victories suggest he is, he will do for Christie what others on the Christie team did for him: pump the prime minister up to victory.
Co-dependent relationships are – to paraphrase Wikipedia – dysfunctional helpful relationships that allow underachievers to carry on. Christie and Minnis are an inseparable couple, a co-dependent team that will star in the upcoming general election. At least, that is how it stands for now. Let’s see how it ends.
• Zhivargo Laing is a Bahamian economic consultant and former Cabinet minister who represented the Marco City constituency in the House of Assembly.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
