Democratic National Alliance Leader (DNA) Branville McCartney said yesterday that instead of focusing on key national issues Prime Minister Perry Christie has instead focused on defending himself and his "good buddy" former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

He said recent comments by the prime minister on the issue of leadership prove to him that his (Christie's) ultimate goal is "about Perry Christie and not what is good for this country".

Christie suggested that McCartney was not worthy to lead.

But McCartney said yesterday, "This is not about Mr. Perry Christie."This is not about Mr. Hubert Ingraham, and certainly this is not about Branville McCartney.

"This is about what is good for our country and where we are headed, and how we can make this country a better place."...People in this country are suffering and you want to talk about what is good for me, and if my good buddy comes back I am going to run again. What a shame.

"In a statement, McCartney repeated that Christie and Ingraham are "two sides of He said this has been made clear by Christie's comments, which show "total disregard for the feelings of his supporters and colleagues".

"The topic of succession by Mr. Christie and Mr. Ingraham has not been addressed with the best interest of our vulnerable nation in mind," read the statement.

"It is selfishly perpetrated as a God-given absolute right of Christie, Ingraham & Co. Any competent and aggressive challenge to this power hungry regime is seen by them as a personal attack by these men who have failed our people repeatedly.

"In a recent interview, Christie said if McCartney had "good sense" he might be worthy of replacing him as prime minister.

Christie suggested that McCartney's statement published in The Nassau Guardian last week was disrespectful to the contributions he and Ingraham have made.

McCartney's statement last week was prompted by the prime minister's comments about him potentially remaining in office if Ingraham returns to public life.

"The Hubert Ingraham, Perry Christie saga, Branville McCartney is in the newspaper writing about it and it's sad that he has to bring himself to diminishing all that we were and are in terms of our own careers, however difficult it might be to accept any one of us or the other of us," Christie said.

"But the fact of the matter is we are persons who have been around a long time and I think each of us believes that we have made a significant contribution to good order in the country.

"And to see the way he (McCartney) so flippantly dismisses us tells me really that it is difficult for me to see him as worthy of being a replacement to me.

"Yesterday, McCartney said he does not want to fill Christie's shoes, but is committed to leading this country in a "new direction".

When asked to explain what he meant about not wanting to replace Christie, McCartney said filling his shoes suggests moving in the same direction as Christie, which would result in the poor state of affairs remaining in The Bahamas.

"We are trying to get out of his shoes," McCartney said. "We are trying to make this country a safer place."We are trying to put people back to work. We are trying to educate our people.

"To stay in those shoes would mean that we [remain] in this type of state, and I don't want that.

"He also expressed disappointment over Christie's comments about his (McCartney's) ability to lead, but said, "At the end of the day the Bahamian people will determine when you (Christie) will leave, plain and simple."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian