By Dr Kevin Alcena
It's imperative that the opposition leader Brave Davis QC consolidates his politically base. An example— Leslie Miller, Alfred Sears, Obie Wilchombe: bring them to the table. If he politically disses them it can cause him the election. He needs everyone on deck, it's about winning. He must learn to be strategically aligned. The PLP is a fraternity and to create any form of dissent would have a catastrophic implication, in respect to winning the next election.
Brutus is dancing with Judas, and the chickcharney is echoing the beat of the Junkanoo in respect to the PLP party. This is moved by some wannabe elitist boys, who are thinking in their heads that they can outmanoeuvre Brave Davis and actually assume the leadership of the PLP—they’ve got to be crazy.
“The power of the people and the power of reason are one.”(Georg Buchner)
There are several reasons that can help one to clearly understand why the PLP Government lost the 2017 General Elections. This article attempts to articulate in an objective fashion that they PLP lost as a result of: misinterpretation, elitism, polarized democracy, nescience, allegations of corruption, last minute changes, arrogance and nonchalance by Cabinet Ministers.
There is an old African proverb saying that goes, “Listen to the sound of the grass”. I believe the former prime minister Perry Christie was weak, in fact he’s the first Prime Minister in the entire Commonwealth of Nations who embarrassingly lost his seat by 4 votes and when he won it, it was by 1700. He established a systematic form of elitism and created a form of Camelot in that the people were not important unless in his inner circle. People did not feel as though he was sensitive enough to their needs and concerns in order to prevent or make things happen for the small man. In the words of Plato “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” As Bahamians, we are a unique set of individuals and know exactly how and when to make our presence felt.
There are different styles of leadership. Former Prime Minister Perry Christie is very ambiguous in his style of leadership and somewhat transactional, whereas Brave Davis the opposition leader is caring, strategic, and people oriented. An example— he will go over the hill and hang with the boys, even now as the opposition leader, a true Cat Island man.
Brave Davis was even apologetic as to what occurred under the Christie administration. The former prime minister alone has himself to blame in terms of the defeat of the PLP in 2017. He portrayed a perception that made him appear uncaring but now, there’s an undercurrent trying to undermine Brave Davis’s leadership, and it isn’t going to work.
Somebody gooseing the chickcharney to play Iranian poker against Davis. They are clueless in understanding what Cat Island is and what Cat Island represents. No Iranian poker no, betrayal of Brutus and Judas would allow the conspirators within the PLP party, to advance to manoeuvre the PLP council to replace Brave Davis. It isn’t going to happen. The strategy is that they want Brave to weaken himself by moving against Alfread Sears, Obie Wilcombe, Leslie Miller and others, which will angry the base and be a detriment to his political future. Consolidate, and consult with these gentleman and political comrades and bring them in moving forward.
The PLP is not a party of dissent, it’s a fraternity.“Must a government be too strong for the liberties of the people or too weak to maintain its own existence?” (Abraham Lincoln) To make matters worse, former PM Perry Christie did not understand the factors and possibilities of network centric campaigns and the impact it had from a micro scale. There are certain groups of networked organizations that he insulted and we all know how well an insult can resonate through entire constituencies. He failed to consult with constituents blaming Brave Davis for being too generous to the Bahamian public when he was the Minister of Works, stopping him from giving out contracts; it was the beginning of Christie’s political demise. In the words of the late Abraham Lincoln “This country, with its institutions belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right to overthrow it” and that is exactly what the Bahamian people did. The Bahamian people voted against Perry Christie in the last general election. And let’s remember the PLP won the popular vote but they lost the general election.
The PLP forgot until moments before the 2017 General Elections that the power of the Government lies within the people. People choose Governments in order to look out for the interest of every Bahamian not just the elite and so called wealthy. The small man far outnumbers the elite. It is quite obvious by the way the PLP ran their campaign that they did not learn from the Bi-elections of Elizabeth. Approximately 1,500 people did not show up to vote. That election was the lithmus test that the people did not appreciate Mr. Christie’s style of leadership. He also lost referendum. He did not understand the sound of the government is supposed to reflect the voice of the people, not kill them with his brimeborion accusations against the opposition in a circumambigious manner. Besides, “the comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor”. (Voltaire)
There are members within the PLP who will never ever be re-elected by the Bahamian people simply because of their lack of concern for the average citizen. They possess egos that hindered them from remembering the needs of the voters who elected them in the first place. An example, the former attorney general under the PLP was very heartless in regards to some decisions she made reading the labour law, and hundreds of people lost their jobs as a result. There were some who operated as though they got there by their own strength and only looked out for their own interests rather than the interest of the people. He could not be re-elected because of the inexplicable attitude, contempt and Machiavellian agenda he treated so many Bahamians with. Bahamians have developed long term memories which cannot be erased with a few slogans and slurs of the opposition’s character during election campaigns. “To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered” (Voltaire)
“To prejudge other men's notions before we have looked into them is not to show their darkness but to put out our own eyes.” (John Locke) Like I said before, rallies do not win elections, network centric campaigns and showing people you care, wins elections. The Honorable Brave Davis leader of the opposition, has the opportunity to win the next general election—so all the knives that are sharpened against him should pull back, come as one and unite. And the Brutus and Judas dance should be given notice to cease and desist and unite behind this humble giant to give him an opportunity in the upcoming general election. Let him show Bahamian people that he is ready to lead. Remember “A brain is a society of very small, simple modules that cannot be said to be thinking, that are not smart in themselves. But when you have a network of them together, out of that arises a kind of smartness”. (Kevin Kelly)
Never mind the number of persons who showed up at the rallies. The former Prime Minister, whilst his style of leaderships was a new order for Bahamians, some people felt they were treated unfairly especially since he introduced VAT. And he refused to give the Bahamian people accountability on how he was spending the VAT money he obtained. We must remember that “democracy arose from men’s thinking that if they are equal in any respect, they are equal absolutely” (Aristotle).
There is a trichotomy of factors as to why the PLP lost. Brave Davis is a belle esprit because he showed that he cares by making himself visible to as many events as possible. He’s very pragmatic. Persons can relate to Brave Davis— you could meet him on the street and share a cocoa cola with him and chat, and thats the real man, that’s the deal. Some people felt that the primary focus of former Prime Minister Christie was on establishments and the elites. His focus was totally out of zone with the common man and out of touch with the needs of the average Bahamian. Brave Davis understands the sound of the grass as he is about to launch his campaign. He understands the importance of rejecting opulence in establishment and self, because he realises it is the people who count and he listens to them from all walks of life. What is imperative now is that opposition leader Brave Davis, listens, embraces and uses the political coalition which I mentioned previously, in the next general election, he must not abandon them.
