Dear Editor, A few days ago, at a place that I frequent, a rather heated political discussion emerged and the discussion centered on the PLP leader, Perry Christie. From listening to the discussion, combined with other statements frequently made by FNM supporters, I have definitively concluded that "FNMs are afraid of Perry Christie". Here are the reasons for my bold statement. Like some of the persons mentioned in the aforementioned discussion, over the past few months in Parliament and elsewhere, even the prime minister, Hubert Ingraham, and members of his Cabinet have gone on record to "advise" the PLP that they should get rid of Perry Christie as leader. Indeed one minister, who was unsuccessful in his last two attempts to win a seat in Parliament, went as far as to state that Christie was "the worst prime minister ever in The Bahamas". They indicated, among other things, that: Perry Christie is indecisive; Perry Christie is late again; Perry Christie cannot control his members and could not control his Cabinet. It is obvious to me that Perry Christie has become the focal point of the FNM campaign to retain the government. They consistently use the obviously biased press, especially The Tribune and The Punch, to continually portray him in the most adverse and negative light and have released their "spin doctors" who call themselves The Scribe and Front Porch by Simon (who are widely believed to be the same person and/or obvious FNM operatives) to launch the dirtiest and most intense personal attacks on him. It's a pity that the fact that Christie has enjoyed over 30 consecutive years in Parliament and 14 as PLP leader, has done little or nothing to alter their opinions. These hired propagandists also feel, or are directed to in addition to maligning Christie, the need to continually deify Ingraham. If Christie is as bad a leader as they are trying to portray him to be, shouldn't they want him to continue being leader of the PLP? Shouldn't he therefore be easy to beat and a win at the polls in the next election be assured for the FNM as the electorate should certainly not vote for him? In my opinion, the prime minister and his party seem to be ghastly afraid of Christie as a political opponent. In fact, according to The Nassau Guardian's exclusive report on The Bahamas WikiLeaks documents, Ingraham is quoted as telling a U.S. Embassy official that "Perry Christie is fatally disorganized and incapable of running a government". If this was indeed said, it is certainly not consistent with both national and international opinions which laud his term as prime minister as the best ever in terms of economic success, attracting international investment and a low unemployment rate. In fact the only complaint was the high crime rate at that time - a rate that was considerably less than it is now. In closing, so as not to appear overly subjective, I will just list some of the things that happened under Christies' tenure and the readers can make a comparison for themselves about them: o Attracted an unprecedented rate of foreign investment capital not subject to stop and review o No increase in taxes o All time low unemployment rate o Lower crime and murder rates - (No cash for gold) o Police presence in the schools o Recognized that we are a country with one of the highest rate of lawyers per capita and do not need to import a lawyer to do a job that Bahamians could do o Not selling the majority shares of a hugely successful corporation to a foreign company o Created an Urban Renewal project that was highly effective and internationally recognized o Planned a National Health program that would include everybody o Had hotel occupancy and room rates that were so good they attracted investors from far and wide. And now? I'll leave that for the readers. With this type of analytical comparison, it is clear as to why the FNM fears a Perry Christie-led PLP. Yours, etc., Arnold F. Bain Jr.
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