PLP must do more than march
thenassauguardian editorial
The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP)?is marching with some of its supporters on Thursday from the party’s Farrington Road headquarters, just down the street to the Parliamentary Registration Department, in an effort to register voters.
The most significant thing the opposition could do to get people to vote, however, is to come up with policies that inspire.
The opposition has been a vocal critic of the government over the past three-and-a-half years. But it has not been as enthusiastic a propagator of policy solutions to the country’s problems.
The Bahamian economy has not grown since 2007. The country is on pace for a third homicide record in three years. The government is now racking up considerable amounts of debt in order to keep an inefficient public service.
There are many issues facing The Bahamas.
The most urgent initiative the PLP should put full effort in to is finishing the its manifesto. Once done the party would have something to say to the voters beyond the utterance of criticisms of Free National Movement (FNM) policies.
Speaking to members of the PLP, there appears to be a sense that the opposition will win the next general election just because things are bad. Recent evidence does not support this misplaced sense of confidence, however.
With the country facing so many challenges, and there being few reasons for optimism, the PLP barely won the Elizabeth by-election in February. The opposition was only able to secure a three-vote margin of victory in the Election Court during these times.
Bahamians have been governed by the PLP for 30 years out of the last 43 years. The people are very familiar with PLP rule. They remember the nation building and drug-related corruption allegations under the old PLP. They remember the economic growth and the inability of Perry Christie to maintain discipline under the new PLP.
The PLP is no messiah. No one will run to it just because things are bad. It has a track record with just as many failures as accomplishments.
For this PLP to win the support of the electorate, it must offer solutions. It has an advantage the government does not during this pre-election period: It does not have to govern and it can plan.
The PLP should be able to offer to Bahamians, no later than the middle of 2011, a detailed manifesto of solutions. On the issue of crime, for example, the party should be able to set targets for crime reduction if it has confidence in what it is suggesting.
A party with such a long history, and a leader whose likely popularity rating is not that high, should not assume victory is on the way. It needs to offer something new to the people, as what it offered in 2007 was rejected.
11/3/2010
thenassauguardian editorial
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
