"There is a time to speak and a time to listen, and sometimes people need to shut up."
- David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes

Since the general election on May 10, there have been many revelations from the newly elected administration that have caused Bahamians to wonder if some of the politicians in the last administration were living in an alternate universe.
Leading up to the election, there were frequent and audible whispers of varying claims of corruption on the part of public officials, not necessarily limited to, but including, elected officials. On Election Day, the Bahamian people declared that they had, had enough of Perry Christie and his colleagues. They almost decimated the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) at the polls, rejecting one former Cabinet minister after another, not taking any chances that the PLP would be returned to office. To ensure that Mr. Christie would not be given another chance at governance in the unlikely event that his party won, his constituents ousted him after 40 years as their representative. The rejection of Christie's PLP was definitive, resounding and complete.
Therefore, this week, in light of the total rejection of the Christie administration, we would like to Consider this... What do the people of The Bahamas want to hear from their fallen leaders?

Understanding what was said
Almost every week since the election, one of the former MPs, and even some of the sitting parliamentarians, including those in the Senate, reinforce for the Bahamian people that they made the right choice on May 10. The arrogance, anger and general lack of appreciation by the fallen warriors of what the people were saying suggest that the PLP simply did not get it.
The people were just tired of the empty promises of their disconnected representatives, the sense of entitlement demonstrated by so many ministers and their obliviousness as to how much the average citizen was hurting. Bahamians were weary of seeing the few favored ones being given all sorts of concessions while the average citizen was ignored as they struggled to make ends meet.
It is patently clear that, two months after the PLP's historic defeat, many in that party still do not understand what the people were saying to them on May 10.

Let's start with an apology
If the PLP truly understood the message of May 10, the new party Leader, Mr. Philip Brave Davis, should humbly admit that the PLP government made many mistakes while in office; that many of the mistakes were indefensible and inexcusable; and that, on behalf of the PLP, he apologizes to the Bahamian people for those mistakes.
He should go further. He should admit that, in light of the May 10 election message, the PLP will radically reform itself by returning to and reaffirming its core values; by reassessing its vision for a 21st century Bahamas; and by reviewing and reorganizing its party structure to ensure that it becomes more inclusive, relevant and attractive to the electorate.
He should go even further. As the leader of the PLP, he should commit to radically evaluating future candidates and promise that the party will not resurrect those who shamefully tarnished the government and the party in its last dispensation.
This is what real leadership demands. This is what the Bahamian people would respect. Until it is done and Bahamians hear and understand that the party has clearly heard their message, the PLP will remain in opposition.

Many need to sit down and shut up!
In their haste to gain the public platform, too many persons are speaking on behalf of the PLP. Sitting MPs and senators, on a regular basis, jump at the opportunity to advance their personal positions on matters of national importance as soon as a reporter places a microphone or recorder in their faces. Unfortunately, this often results in utterances by persons ill-prepared to make considered statements, simply because they have not allowed their brains sufficient time to filter their comments for rationality, logical cogency or basic common sense. The result is that they often make fools of themselves and the party.
This must be contained, because the haphazard, free-for-all approach on whatever matters they are asked to speak on is damaging the party's brand. Mr. Davis should authorize designated persons to speak on behalf of the parliamentary caucus and the party, but only after approving the text of such statements. At all other times and in any other encounters with the media, PLPs should learn how to say "No comment."
The PLP's constitution empowers the national chairman to speak on behalf of the party, which brings me to my next point.

The national chairman
We observed in an earlier column that the PLP leadership should call for and immediately accept the resignation of its national chairman who, along with the leader, equally bears responsibility for the party's complete rejection at the polls.
The national chairman is responsible for the orderly operation of the constituency branches, and there is no doubt that most of the branches were not functioning as they were intended for years, prior to and in preparation for the general election.
Before the general election, the national chairman publicly announced that the PLP would win at least 28 seats. Either he was as delusional as his leader in this regard, or he was completely out of touch with what the branches should have been advising him. In either case, he should go, and he should go now.
Just as Mr. Christie resigned as the leader of the PLP, in the interest of advancing the party's chances for recovery, rehabilitation and re-engineering, Mr. Bradley Roberts should not wait for the next party convention to resign. He should do so immediately.
Every single day, the relentless statements that are issued by the national chairman inflict further damage to the party's brand, and enable Bahamians to reconfirm that their decision to vote out the PLP on May 10 was the right one.
Furthermore, what is now urgently required is a more benign, less belligerent national spokesman, whose primary responsibility would be to heal the wounds that were, and continue to be, inflicted on the party and to rebuild the organization. It is time for humility, but this cannot and will not happen if the current national chairman continues to hold that office.

Former Cabinet ministers
There are several former ministers who, through their conduct in public office, greatly contributed to the PLP's defeat and to the devaluation of the party's brand.
Some of those ministers continue to make public statements to defend their actions and decisions while in office. The fact of the matter is that the Bahamian people do not want to hear from them. The electorate was subjected long enough to their arrogant, self-serving conflict of interest dealings, abuse of office and obscene sense of entitlement. No one, except possibly for their most ardent supporters, really wants to hear from them - not now and perhaps not ever. They should simply sit down and shut up. No one is listening to them and, even if they listen, no one believes them. Their credibility has been totally devalued.
We are also speaking of those ministers whose questionable deeds might not have been discovered or disclosed yet, but whose subterfuge will, in the fullness of time, be exposed.
If the PLP is truly committed to reform and regaining the confidence of the Bahamian people, the party should ensure that absolutely none of the candidates, including ministers who lost their seats in the last election, should hold any leadership office whatsoever within the PLP for the foreseeable future. It is time to purge the party of those whose failings contributed to its defeat.
It is time for a new day in the PLP, with new faces and personalities who are not tainted by their connection to the Christie administration. If the party refuses to heed this admonition, it will remain in opposition for at least two terms, possibly longer.

Conclusion
The time has come for those who contributed the PLP's defeat to recognize that the greatest contribution that they can make to the party that they profess to love is to sit down and shut up. We have absolutely no interest in anything you have to say.
Failure to do so will result in a very long and winding road to recovery for a party that once personified the hopes, aspirations and dreams of many Bahamians. Unfortunately, in the last five years, those hopes were banished, the aspirations were disregarded and the dreams were woefully and tragically shattered and betrayed - all by persons who were intoxicated by the acquisition, application and abuse of power, often to the disadvantage and disgrace of the Commonwealth that they solemnly pledged to serve.
As the Bible tells us, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." And, in the words of Baron Hope of Thornes, "sometimes people need to shut up".

o Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis and Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in Parliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com.

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