Despite four years as the Official Opposition and the disastrous record of the PLP, the FNM is in a worse state than when Dr. Hubert Minnis became leader. The main cause of this is the abysmal, non-collegial and uninspiring performance of the opposition leader.
Minnis and his cronies once loved Frank Watson, Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant and Fort Charlotte MP Dr. Andre Rollins when they were a part of the camp. But these men all stopped supporting Minnis for the leadership after they experienced up-close his duplicity and his mindboggling incompetence, and after they became terrified at the prospect of Minnis becoming prime minister.
Rollins, whom Minnis brought into the FNM and celebrated, and whom he rewarded with the post of shadow minister of national security, quickly came to see what most of the FNM base, most of the country and now the majority of FNMs see: Minnis is not fit to be opposition leader and needs to be removed. It is only Minnis' sycophants, enablers and hangers-on, including those with whom he has stacked the party's associations and constituency associations, who now desperately support him. Their desperation and belligerence are growing by the day.
The majority of the party and the country see Minnis for who he is and for what he is not nor ever will be. That most of his fellow MPs, those who see him up-close on a regular basis, have lost confidence in Minnis, is telling.
Just as a brave Dissident Eight lost confidence in the undemocratic and brutal turn the PLP took under Sir Lynden Pindling, a brave band of FNM MPs see similar warning signs and dangers in Minnis.
It is the Minnis-backers like Maurice Moore, C.A. Smith and Tennyson "The Oligarch" Wells, a merchant of greed, who are acting like those PLPs who helped to bolster Pindling's power so they could continue to benefit from his reign.
Moore and others are betraying their own roots and the proud legacy of the FNM. They have become like those they once opposed. Little should be expected of Wells. Moore and Smith are the more deeply disappointing.
Minnis, with his undemocratic practices, and political henchmen who have severely intimidated certain FNMs, are reminiscent of the Pindling era. Minnis does not represent a new day for the FNM. He represents crude goon-like politics of a bygone era.
Collegial
It is the FNM six of today who represent a more democratic and collegial spirit and moment in the FNM. Like the Dissident Eight, they have been abused by Minnis and his henchmen because they have stuck by their principles and their convictions. The FNM is a party built on creative dissidence and open debate, which Minnis and his forces, in a throwback to a darker era, are trying to bludgeon with all manner of undemocratic craftiness and threats.
History proved the Dissident Eight right. It will likely prove that the MPs seeking a new day in the FNM are decidedly more representative of the vast majority of the party's base. The Dissident Eight, who originally had a majority of PLP MPs supporting them, grew increasingly alarmed at the cult of personality around Sir Lynden, his contempt for collegiality and increasingly dictatorial ways, and his henchmen's threats and use of violence, such as at Lewis Yard, to silence his critics.
Hubert Minnis seems to be headed down that same road, not with violence but certainly with threats and purges. He is dictatorial by nature. Were he to become prime minister he would be highly vindictive and mean-spirited. Given his track record as opposition leader, he would use the forces of government to attack and to destroy his opponents.
For four years Minnis and his minions have spun a false narrative of him as a victim. The true narrative is emerging. It is one of a deeply insecure Minnis, who alienated his fellow MPs and kept them in the dark on critical matters. He seems not to have assimilated - or has rejected - the principle of collective responsibility which is at the core of our system of democratic governance.
Minnis demonstrated quickly his penchant for extreme secrecy. With the emergence of Donald Trump, it became more obvious that Minnis and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee share a number of dark traits, which a number of his colleagues saw quickly, and which others came to experience as he attempted to suffocate party democracy with autocratic grip.
Allergic
Both Trump and Minnis are allergic to truth-telling, even on minor matters. They are both severely unsuited to lead their countries, though Trump demonstrates considerably more intellectual capacity than does Minnis. They may both be aspirants for a "Guinness World Records" designation for speed and agility in hypocrisy, and outrageously flip-flopping their positions to serve the needs of the moment.
Constitutional Commission Chair Sean McWeeney noted yesterday in this journal that it was Minnis who suggested that the upcoming referendum focus solely on gender equality. Minnis was for gender equality before he was against it, then he was for it again, and now he's against it. With days left before the final vote, he may flip-flop at least twice. He is one of the greatest flip-floppers in Bahamian political history.
But the characteristic they share in spades is that they rarely accept responsibility for their public actions and they are masters at playing the victim. President Harry Truman's admonition, "The buck stops here", prominently displayed on his desk in the Oval Office, is a foreign concept to Trump and Minnis. For both men, there are always others to blame for their missteps, misdeeds, misstatements and just sheer misses as political figures.
Who's responsible for Minnis' flip-flopping? Well someone else, of course. Perhaps the media? Who's responsible for the brief and disastrous tenure of former Senator Lanisha Rolle, a protege whom Minnis promoted and with whom he seemed to have shared many confidential matters? Perhaps it was the FNM Executive Committee's fault that it didn't warn him that she would be such a disaster.
When the FNM's march on the Bank of The Bahamas proved a disaster, Minnis blamed Michael Pintard.
Whose fault was it when Minnis made injudicious and asinine comments about expunging the records of those who may have been found guilty in the Paradise Island Bridge protest over access to Cabbage Beach? Not Minnis of course. He is always blameless. Who was responsible for not standing up to Perry Christie in the House of Assembly when he blasted the FNM for the march? Not Minnis, who resembled a deer caught in the lights and who made the party look beyond foolish.
Responsible
Who's responsible for the abysmal showing of the FNM in the House and the inability for the most part to respond effectively to the government? Certainly it can't be the leader of the opposition, the one primarily charged with these responsibilities.
Who was responsible for Minnis meeting with a criminal in relation to the Nygard/Bacon fight? Surely it was not Hubert Minnis. And who was responsible for not informing the police of a possible crime? Again, certainly not Minnis, the great victim.
The editors of both dailies are articulate, insightful, independent-minded individuals. Both have concluded conclusively in their editorials that Minnis is unsuited to be prime minister. But Minnis and his contingent would have the country believe that there is somehow a vast conspiracy against him and that these highly intelligent individuals are a part of that conspiracy and can't see for themselves his unsuitability to lead the opposition and the country.
Minnis' people are always making excuses for him and he rarely apologizes for his voluminous mistakes. He reminds one of a boy growing into adulthood whose mother defends her son no matter the error of his ways. Such men never grow up and they often wreak havoc on others because they were never forced to accept responsibility.
Minnis loves to whine and to complain, acting as a crybaby when he is criticized by his colleagues, the press or by just about anyone else for that matter. His dysfunction is abetted by his gravy train of supporters who are hanging onto him for dear life in order to gain politically or otherwise.
One refrain is, "Why don't you like Minnis?" It is not about liking someone. It's about the capacity of a leader. Many leaders may not be liked. But they are respected and their colleagues believe in them.
Another bogus refrain: "Give Minnis a chance". He has been given endless chances and has come up wanting every time. Moreover, the leadership of The Bahamas is not about giving someone a chance if they lack the fundamental skills to lead.
Who in their right mind would give a 16 year old with no medical training a chance to perform brain surgery? Many people want to be prime minister but precious few have the capacity and the skill sets necessary to perform one of the most demanding jobs in the country. Hubert Minnis is not now nor will he ever be on that short list.
History has shown that those who come to power with a victimhood mentality and grave insecurities become a danger to their country. Hubert Minnis does not have the intellect or judgment to be prime minister. Nor does he have the temperament.
The MPs and others who are seeking to remove him represent the best hope for the FNM. They are the true keepers of the flame, the legacy, the traditions and commitment to democracy.
In the present circumstance, they represent the party's last best hope and the best hope for the country, gravely in need of a new government. The FNM can't survive Hubert Minnis. And the country will be on both knees after another term of Christie and the PLP.
o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.
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