Dear Editor,
The top brass of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) along with many of their supporters must have been beaming with joy after they got wind of the rumor circulating in the media of an alleged rift between Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis and his Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner. I think many individuals were caught completely off guard after learning that Butler-Turner's planned demonstration against Prime Minister Perry Christie outside the House of Assembly was not sanctioned by Minnis or any of the other members of the FNM hierarchy.
I was taken aback after reading in The Nassau Tribune that Butler-Turner didn't even consult Minnis or any of the other members of her parliamentary caucus before urging struggling homeowners to join her and the FNM in said demonstration. If this story is accurate, then she essentially went over her leader's head and made a presumptuous declaration to the media. As one of the more intelligent and articulate politicians in her party, Butler-Turner should have known better than to make a unilateral decision for the FNM party and then assume that her party leader would just get up and go along with it.
In every organization, be it political, religious or civic, there must be order and protocol. I am not questioning Butler-Turner's sincerity in wanting to rally behind those disappointed with the PLP's mortgage relief program, but I think she may have placed the cart before the horse. Some folks are already insinuating that this march of hers was her way to gain political mileage in order to position herself to oust Minnis as leader at the party's convention. If this is so, then she made a strategic miscalculation that can come back and hurt her. I have seen numerous write-ups in The Nassau Guardian and The Nassau Tribune lauding Butler-Turner as a great politician and future leader of the FNM and The Bahamas.
I believe that she has potential. But I don't think these people who are drooling over her mean well. They are only using her name in order to derail Minnis. Doubtless there will be those who will seek to defend the deputy leader in this matter. But I can guarantee you that had Butler-Turner been the leader, and one of her senators or backbenchers went on NB12 and announced, without first discussing the issue with her, that the party would be holding a mass rally on Clifford Park, she would have called in the backbencher and chided him. She would have also called the media houses and declared that the mass rally was not sanctioned by her or any of the other members of the hierarchy, and that the person who announced the mass rally was out of order. You get the impression that many of Minnis' critics expect him to just put up anything they throw at him.
I believe every position in the FNM will be up for grabs at the convention. In the meantime, Butler-Turner and FNM Chairman Darren Cash and other FNMs must rally behind Minnis and stop giving the impression to the media and the other political parties that they are attempting to undermine their leader. They are only weakening the party that way. If the FNM keeps this up, it will find itself not only failing to win the government in 2017, but also failing to hold on to its official opposition status.
- Kevin Evans

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