Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Perry Christie said yesterday he plans to take Bamboo Town MP Branville McCartney on in the House of Assembly over a recent "personal attack" he said the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader made on him.
Christie responded in an interview with The Nassau Guardian to McCartney telling a group of DNA supporters that he was a "wimp" for sitting back quietly as Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham hit out over Bamboo Town in the House of Assembly last week.
Ingraham claimed the constituency belonged to him and McCartney would not be playing in his (Ingraham's) or Christie's league in the next general election.
"I'm surprised that Bran would want to take me on personally and when you call someone a wimp, you are making a personal attack on [him] and I'm going to have to ask him on my feet whether he is prepared to stand up in this place (the House of Assembly) where we ought to work and say that to me [that I'm a wimp] so that I could respond to him," Christie said.
"I most certainly will invite him to do that because it seems out of character and I could only assume he was hoping what he said was private and would not reach the light of day.  He couldn't possibly be inviting me to take him on and for me to [provide] an assessment as to what I think he is."
At a recent reception at Workers House for Alfred Poitier -- the DNA's candidate for Kennedy -- McCartney also called Ingraham a bully.
Christie explained why he had nothing to say when Ingraham claimed Bamboo Town was "my things".
He also explained why he had nothing to say when Ingraham suggested that McCartney would be playing in his league if he runs in Bamboo Town against Cassius Stuart (the FNM's candidate hopeful and former Bahamas Democratic Movement leader) and Renward Wells (the PLP's already ratified candidate and former executive of the National Development Party).
"The prime minister was on his feet.  He was speaking specifically about Bamboo Town and Bran McCartney," Christie said.
"What he said had nothing to do with the PLP and the leader of the PLP except that he said that if he didn't win it (the Bamboo Town seat), in his estimation, I have to infer, the PLP will.
"Firstly, I believe that we will win the seat in Bamboo Town because we have a quality [candidate], by any standard, equal to Bran McCartney, the incumbent.  And someone who even has aspirations for leadership, so therefore insofar as Renward Wells is concerned, he is a very, very suitable candidate for that particular area."
Christie also said it would be a mistake for Ingraham to underestimate McCartney in the next general election.
"I would not underestimate Bran," he said.
"The prime minister's comment appeared to underestimate his strength and I think it's a mistake to do that because he is an attractive personality that one has to [take seriously], and most certainly from our point of view, we will never make a mistake again of underestimating anyone because the by-election in Elizabeth told us that every vote counts, no matter how hard you fight for one vote."
Following the recount of the Elizabeth by-election in February 2010, the FNM's candidate, Dr. Duane Sands, was up by two votes.
But the PLP's candidate, Ryan Pinder, ended up winning the seat by three votes following an Election Court challenge.
Asked whether he thought the race for Bamboo Town would be a scrap, Christie said, "From our point of view, we think it's going to be a good fight and we actually think when we look at statistics and what will happen that we're going to win that seat."
The PLP did not run anyone in Bamboo Town in 2002 or 2007.
Christie acknowledged yesterday that not running a PLP candidate in the constituency in 2007 was a mistake.
"It is arguable whether or not it was a wise decision in 2007, because by that time it was clear that Tennyson Wells was just an independent kind of person and candidate and really not one who could be seen to be partial to the PLP," he said.
"And so, if I had to do it all over again, yes, I would have run someone in Bamboo Town at that time.  The point is though you make up for mistakes and we are running now in every seat whenever they finish the (Boundaries Commission's) work... including Long Island."
McCartney won Bamboo Town as an FNM candidate in 2007, resigned from the Ingraham cabinet in 2010 and left the party in 2011, quickly forming the DNA.
He has said that the good thing about being leader is that he can choose what constituency he runs in, and suggested that at the end of the day it could be North Abaco, a seat long held by the prime minister.

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