The stage has been set for what promises to be an interesting showdown between Perry Gladstone Christie, a weary political titan with an insatiable lust for power, and Dr. Hubert Alexander Minnis, a far from inspirational opponent, who managed to overcome a years-long threat to his feeble leadership to patch together the wounded elements of the troubled Free National Movement (FNM) and mount a challenge against the formidable force that is the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).
Branville McCartney's Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is also lined up at the starting line, hoping to benefit from the apathy many voters have toward both major parties. The grim reality of our current political scenario is this: No one option stands out as an obvious pick to provide the kind of focused, visionary and dynamic leadership needed at this juncture in our national development.
Given the pitiful performance of the Christie administration, the FNM ought to be set for a dramatic victory at the polls.
But the PLP should not be counted out. It has a serious election machinery and ground game, and the FNM's strength is diminished because its leadership is neither inspirational nor attractive.
While many PLPs -- including some of his own ministers -- quietly whisper about Christie being long past his shelf life, his refusal to bow out gracefully after a decades-long career in politics, and their refusal to make him leave, have emboldened him for another run, even if it is torturous bid.
Watching Christie these last few weeks has been like watching a fighter long past his prime, who just believes there is one great fight left.
It is painful to see.
There is nothing left that Christie is able to offer of any real value to national development.
He has no real message. He has no real plan. His party has not released a manifesto and we are on the eve of an election.
Much of what it outlined the last time around has gone unfulfilled. There is not much to boast about; Christie is asking voters to give him more time to complete his agenda.
But he should really be asking for forgiveness, not votes -- as his deputy, Philip Brave Davis, said of Hubert Ingraham in 2012.
Under the Christie administration, the economy has limped along, failing to bounce back.
The GDP growth rate averaged 0.2 percent over the past four years. The growth rate stood at 1.7 percent at the end of 2015. The projected growth rate for 2016 is said to be an estimated 0.3 to 0.5 percent.
In December, Standard & Poor's, the international credit ratings agency, downgraded our credit rating to junk status. There have been four downgrades this term.
The unemployment rate -- last recorded in October 2016 -- was 11.6 percent. It dropped due to temporary jobs as a result of Hurricane Matthew.
On the ground, things remain tough for many Bahamians. They are burdened by value-added tax, but very many feel the government has been wasteful in its spending.
Many feel a sense of hopelessness with Christie at the helm.
There is an urgent need for a recovery of optimism in The Bahamas.
While campaigning heavily on the crime issue last time around, the PLP's pie-in-the-sky promises have not translated into safer communities.
More murders were recorded this term than during any other term in recorded Bahamian history -- reaching more than 600. The PLP is not talking about that for obvious reasons.
The promised mortgage relief plan failed to have any real impact on saving homes from foreclosures. When it came to office in 2012, one of the first acts of this administration was to abandon the unrealistic proposal it introduced on the campaign trail. But the watered down plan was no better.
As the election approaches, the government still claims it will put in place a National Health Insurance (NHI) plan this month. In 2012, before it was elected, it promised that NHI would be in place within the first year of a PLP government.
This was among the more outlandish pledges made

by a party desperate to get power.
Christie marks among his achievements this term getting the troubled Baha Mar project back on course.
It is scheduled to start its phased opening on April 21. We do not believe that timing is coincidental.
It is not taking bookings yet. At last reports, it had hired around 1,000 Bahamians.
It is for sure a positive sign that the project is progressing and that people have been hired.
God knows we need jobs.
Bahamian creditors have been paid, an important development.
Many Bahamians, however, continue to demand that the government move to have the court unseal the deal sealed with the Chinese to complete the project.
It took a leak for the public to find out that what was initially presented to the Bahamian people as a "gift" and an "ex gratia" payment to the thousands of former Baha Mar employees and unsecured creditors was a $100 million trade-off for VAT concessions for the developer's general contractor, China Construction America.
This is the kind of information Christie and the PLP did not want the Bahamian people to know.
They have in fact spent most of this term eroding the trust the Bahamian people placed in them in 2012.
Christie may have under-estimated the impact of his decision to ignore the results of the 2013 gambling referendum and go against the will of the people in a democratic process.
His explanation for doing so -- his claim that the Central Bank governor was worried that unregulated gambling houses may be fuelling money laundering -- had no weight, given that Christie had clearly known of this threat prior to that referendum.
With such a dismal record, and a trail of broken promises, Christie instead is choosing to focus on the shortcomings of the FNM leader, Minnis.
He says Minnis would be an embarrassment to The Bahamas on the international stage, and that the quality of FNM candidates is inferior to the candidates the PLP is offering.
This points to Christie's and the PLP's irrepressible sense of entitlement, as if they alone are qualified to govern The Bahamas.
It is true that there are some quality, well-meaning and talented candidates in the PLP, even if the leadership is worn out and lackluster.
The thing is, the same can be said about the FNM. There are some quality candidates there too, but there is challenged leadership. And leadership matters at the end of the day.
In the last five years, the PLP has done a lousy job at administering the affairs of The Bahamas.
Many Bahamians are anxious to see Christie go.
He is the greatest drag on the PLP and on the nation's prospects right now.
Some PLP candidates are hearing on the ground, "I like you. I would love to vote for you, but I cannot vote for you because that is a vote for Christie and I will not vote for Christie."
Just ask Leslie Miller in Tall Pines, Khaalis Rolle in Pinewood, Alfred Sears in Fort Charlotte or Dr. Kendal Major in Garden Hills.

Anything but Christie?
The problem so many voters face is that Minnis is also a dismal option.
No matter how the FNM slices it, Minnis simply is not leadership material -- not when we are talking about leading a nation that is today on the fiscal cliff, with a burgeoning debt (exceeding $7 billion), high unemployment, high crime, a broken education system and so many other critical issues that will take vision, focus and competence to address.
Some FNMs fool themselves into thinking that Minnis' main challenge is his inability to articulate.
If that were his main problem, he would be a much more palatable choice.
But Minnis does not demonstrate that he is a deep thinker. He does not show that he has the capacity to bail us out of the economic doldrums and chart a course for a more prosperous Bahamas.
He is so insecure and so obviously challenged to explain and defend his own proposed policies that he is staying scripted.
He is staying away from speaking extemporaneously for fear that he would end any chance he has at leading the FNM to victory.
It is not enough to say Minnis would have a strong team around him, leading from behind.
A prime minister has to lead.
He must be able to provide direction, to show strength, mental agility and focus.
In Parliament this term, Minnis has been a weak debater, he has fumbled and bumbled and struggled to respond to the government on all manner of issues in a cogent and effective manner.
He has come across as ill-prepared at times.
He has proven an embarrassment on occasion.
He has failed to provide strong leadership to his party's parliamentary team. This has led to an unprecedented vote of no confidence in him.
Anyone who believes that, that vote of no confidence was fueled by selfish motives of seven FNM MPs should take off their blinders.
Those MPs had very legitimate concerns about Minnis' weak leadership.
His challenges notwithstanding, many people are leaning toward the FNM because the thought of another five-years of Christie and the underperforming, arrogant PLP is terrifying to many voters.
The primary choice many voters have in their minds is whether they can live with another term of Perry Christie.
Many are saying "anything but Christie".
That chorus seems to be resonating. There is a widespread anti-Christie sentiment that will likely cause many voters to hold their noses and vote for Hubert Minnis.
We believe this election will largely be determined by the ability of the PLP to bring out its base.
If Christie can get PLPs to come out as they have traditionally done, and if enough voters turn to the DNA in protest, or for some hope, Minnis and the FNM could be in trouble.
We are not prepared to call this election.
We believe it will go down to the wire. Many decisions will be made in those ballot boxes.
We admit, there is no outcome on election night that would provide us with a sense that our nation's future is in good hands.
If the PLP loses on May 10, there would be little to celebrate, because Minnis has failed to demonstrate that he grasps our challenges, and has the prescription or the ability to address them.
If the PLP wins, there would be nothing to celebrate. We would be in for more of the same, and who really wants more of that?
We are stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place -- a very big rock and a very hard place.
The best that we can hope for right now is a strong opposition no matter who wins government.
We have suffered this term because of a weak opposition that has failed to hold the government to account and has failed to play any meaningful role in ensuring good governance.
Minnis was opposition leader for most of these five years.
With the way the political landscape is set up, the FNM appears to have a good chance at winning the election.
But when the music stops, when the celebration ends and it is time to govern, the real test would emerge for Minnis and the FNM.
If his performance as leader of the opposition is any indication of the kind of prime minister he would be -- and we believe it is -- then we would likely face a difficult road in the years to come.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian