The next step for Branville McCartney
thenassauguardian editorial
Branville McCartney is no longer a member of the Free National Movement (FNM) and he will remain outside the FNM as long as Hubert Ingraham is in control of the party.
On the day Ingraham made his statement to the House of Assembly in the debate on the sale of 51 percent of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), McCartney upstaged the prime minister and the governing party by resigning.
McCartney must now consider his steps carefully, or he will be remembered as someone who had potential.
His options are to run as an independent; to join the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP); to form a political party; to join a coalition of candidates; or to retire and leave politics.
Clearly McCartney wants to continue in politics, so retirement won’t happen.
If McCartney joined the PLP, he would be at the end of a long line of people who want to be leader after Perry Christie. Those men and women would let him know right away that he could not jump that line.
Running as an independent, forming a party or joining a coalition of independents all appear more likely options for the Bamboo Town MP.
If McCartney wants to form a party, he needs to get to work on that right away. He needs to find candidates and money. To run a serious campaign, McCartney would need millions. He would also need to find serious people to stand with him.
The problem small parties such as the Workers Party, the National Development Party and the Bahamas Democratic Party have is that they are not comprised of enough people capable of governing a country.
Standing as an independent, or with a group of independents, would be simpler. The key here would be for McCartney to try and win his seat, challenged by both the PLP and FNM. He should not assume that Christie and the PLP would cut a deal with him. The PLP needs every seat it can get in what looks like another close election.
McCartney has repeatedly said his move away from the Ingraham Cabinet and the Ingraham-led party was based on conscience. If he is to be an enduring force in Bahamian politics he must now prove to his constituency and the country that he has a vision for The Bahamas and that he has the intelligence and will to execute that vision.
So, the Bamboo Town MP needs to start talking. And he needs to talk often. His constituents and the country want to know if he has what it takes.
The national spotlight is now on “Bran.” We’ll shall all see if he can harness the mass dissatisfaction with the old political order, transforming that raw energy into results at the next general election.
3/22/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
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