Michael Pintard is the Free National Movement (FNM) Problem!

The FNM Has a Michael Pintard Problem!!!!

By James Julmis

The Free National Movement has many problems, but one sits at the centre of them all: Michael Pintard.

After another national rejection, the FNM can no longer pretend that its problem is messaging, timing, money, or machinery.  Those things matter in politics, but leadership sits above all of them.  A party can recover from bad strategy.  A party can recover from poor campaign planning.  A party can recover from division.  What it cannot easily recover from is a leader the public has already decided against.

That is the political burden Michael Pintard now carries.

The Bahamian people have listened to him.  They have watched him.  They have measured him.  They have seen him in Parliament, on the campaign trail, in press conferences, and in moments when serious leadership was required.  Their answer has been clear.  They have declined to follow him.

That is the hard truth the FNM must now face.

Pintard has struggled to connect with ordinary Bahamians because he often sounds like a man speaking at people rather than with them.  His politics feels rehearsed, distant, and overly calculated.  He talks about the people, but he has failed to make the people feel that he truly knows their daily lives, their pressures, their fears, and their hopes.

Politics is about trust.  It is about whether people can look at a leader and say, “That person understands me.”  With Pintard, too many Bahamians see performance without connection.  They see volume without warmth.  They see criticism without comfort.  They see ambition without a clear reason to believe.

This is why the FNM has a Pintard problem.

The party may want to blame the PLP.  It may want to blame the timing of the election.  It may want to blame the media, the voters, or the national mood.  But none of that changes the result.  The public looked at the choice placed before them and decided that Michael Pintard was unready to lead the country.

That judgment cannot be brushed aside.

The FNM must ask itself a serious question: if Michael Pintard could not persuade the country after years in opposition, after repeated opportunities to define himself, and after a campaign built around removing the government, what evidence is there that the public will suddenly see him differently?

There comes a point when a party must stop protecting a leader from political reality.

Pintard’s weakness is deeper than one election cycle.  It is about temperament, image, connection, and credibility.  He has never found a language that reaches beyond the FNM base.  He has never fully settled the question of who he is as a national leader.  He has never made Bahamians feel that he carries the emotional weight of the country.

That is why he remains limited.

The Bahamian people may disagree with the government on issues.  They may complain about the cost of living, crime, bureaucracy, and the pressure of daily life.  But disagreement with the government does automatically become support for the opposition.  The FNM assumed public frustration would be enough. It was wrong.

People may want better.  That does not mean they want Pintard.

This is the central failure of his leadership.  He has been unable to turn public concern into public confidence.  He has been unable to turn criticism of the government into belief in himself.  He has been unable to make the FNM feel like a government-in-waiting.

That is a personal political failure.

The FNM must now decide whether it wants to keep managing Pintard’s image or begin rebuilding the party.  It cannot do both.  A party serious about renewal must be honest about why the public pulled away.  It must listen to what the country has already said.

Bahamians have made their judgment.

They do not see Michael Pintard as the answer.

And until the FNM accepts that, it will continue to confuse movement with progress, noise with leadership, and opposition with readiness.

The FNM has a Michael Pintard problem.

The longer it denies it, the longer it will remain exactly where the Bahamian people have placed it: in opposition.

Source / Comment

The Official Opposition, Free National Movement (FNM) party is in political upheaval

Inside troublemakers who support the return of the former FNM party leader, Dr. Minnis are apparently trying feverishly/violently to frustrate the leadership of one Michael Pintard

Dr. Hubert Alexander Minnis is the seemingly bitter former FNM party leader who refuses to "Get Lost!"

Leadership challenges faced by Pintard historically infamous

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | sturrup1504@gmail.com

Recently during a high level meeting arranged by the Official Opposition in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Free National Movement, reportedly there was contention.  The situation boiled over into an embarrassing, brutal physical altercation that left a noted party supporter seriously injured.  Eye witnesses informed that he was savagely put upon by a fellow strong FNM proponent, who has differing views regarding Dr. Hubert Alexander Minnis who led the party to defeat last September.

The Hon. Michael Pintard is the sitting leader of the FNM.  He attained such status in a democratic fashion, decisively.  Dr. Minnis is the seemingly bitter former leader, who did not offer himself for the role when Pintard disposed of several others through the “in order” convention voting process.

As I pointed out in an earlier opinion piece it doesn’t appear that Dr. Minnis is going away.  The view here is that he continues to grandstand, is not really respectful of Leader Pintard, and there is, accordingly,  this emotional spillover to his supporters.  Thus the FNM party is in deep crisis.  Pintard’s leadership is being assailed.

This is unfair and unprecedented in Bahamian politics.

This atrocious scenario never came about before because politicians and their followers of the past, though many of them were strong-minded, their characters did not lend themselves to violence against each other. 

The country’s first political party, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) saw the leadership pass from Henry Milton Taylor to Lynden Oscar Pindling.  Taylor and a few others were bitter about the new kids on the block taking over, but there was not much of a thought of challenging the new order.

After Pindling’s 30-plus years of leadership, Perry Gladstone Christie emerged as leader.  There was the expected resentment and disappointment felt by those who preferred Dr. Bernard Nottage, but the party moved on handsomely.  Christie delayed his time in PLP leadership, by failing to live up to his own reported time table to demit office. However, present PLP Leader and Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis bided his time, and look where he is today!

The second political party in the country which produced the first government, the United Bahamian Party, had a very smooth transition from the longtime leader Sir Roland Symonette  era to Sir Jeffery Johnstone.

The FNM itself,  went through many changes, in true democratic fashion, never burdened by anything such as inside troublemakers, apparently trying feverishly/violently to frustrate the leadership of one Michael Pintard.

This is not right.  Let the man do his job in peace. 

From Sir Cecil Wallace to Sir Kendal Isaacs and back to Sir Cecil; to the three-time prime minister Hubert Alexander Ingraham; to Dr. Minnis; with interim leaders in place such as John Henry Bostwick, Cyril Tynes, and Tommy Turnquest; the FNM never faced anything even close to the present debacle.

It is therefore incumbent upon Pintard and the others within the FNM who have rationale, to immediately put the house in order.

Source 

Michael Pintard Commits Political Suicide in Support of Adrian Gibson

Michael Pintard Drinks From Adrian Gibson Poisoned Chalice

The FNM Burns Out in Support of Adrian Gibson

By Dennis Dames

Ms. Loretta Butler-Turner, who is a press liaison officer for the Water and Sewerage Corporation board, said the following publicly as it relates to outstanding audits of the corporation – under the watch of The incompetent FNM administration of 2017-2021 - and Mr. Adrian Gibson, Long Island MP, Board Chairman:

“Actually, when this board came into being, there were two outstanding audits,” she said.

“It was 2018 and 2019 that the previous board never even signed off on. We have just recently gone through those to ensure that that is done. As a corporation, there should be an official audit done each year and tabled in the House of Assembly. So, you see, now, it would be going on four years that such an audit has not been tabled in the House Assembly.

“The job of the board now is to ensure that those two that were just waiting for the board’s decision to agree to, which we have now done, and the two that are outstanding, that they are completed.”

If this is indeed the case, then it’s a poor reflection of the FNM administration of 2017-2021 – under the inept leadership of Prime Minister, Dr Hubert Alexander Minnis – MP for the Killarney constituency. To make matters worse, the FNM party in opposition today are fully unified in their support of the incompetent Long Island MP, Mr. Gibson; whose board did no even sign-off on the 2018 and 2019 audits!

Mr. Michael Pintard, the now leader of the Official Opposition, hapless FNM party, and the Member of Parliament for the Marco City constituency - has unwittingly signed his political death warrant on this matter – in my humble opinion. His unwavering public support for the outright wrong on the part of ‘No-tabled-audits’ Mr. Adrian Gibson - as Chairman of a vital national entity – is political suicide, no doubt.

No Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas for you, Mr Pintard. You have shown that you are simply a political puppet of the sweetheart movement – in my view.

Hubert Minnis, The Political Pariah of The Bahamas

Rejected Hubert Minnis, The Bahamas Most Notorious Political Outcast 

Dr. Hubert Minnis:  "A Politically Persona non grata".

Minnis Falls Far Short of Other Major Parties’ Official Leaders

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | sturrup1504@gmail.com

Dr. Hubert Minnis is considered to be a political pariah.  He certainly fits the description of an outcast, much more so than any other leader in Bahamian political history, I submit.  This man has been rejected by the national voters in great numbers, and within the party he hangs on to, the Free National Movement (FNM), it is understood that the great majority wish he would just go away, resign, and get totally out of the picture.  Killarney could very well do with another representative.

 

The fall from political grace that, in my view, is the largest aspect of his legacy, puts Dr. Minnis in the ignominious category of one.  Given what happened under his watch; the questionable contracts, the inflated budgets, the attitude etc., I know of no other major party leader who bore as much or more public disgrace or shame.

  

Let’s go through the list of political leaders in the modern Bahamas.  For the now-governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), the leaders include Henry Milton Taylor, Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, Perry Gladstone Christie and Phillip “Brave” Davis.   The first government of the country, the United Bahamian Party (UBP), had Sir Roland Symonette and Godfrey Johnstone.  The Free PLP/FNM’s list is longer, inclusive of short-term leaders.  The prominent chiefs were, of course, founding-leader Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, Sir Kendal Isaacs and Hubert Ingraham.  Then, there were Cyril Fountain, Cyril Tynes, Henry Bostwick, Tommy Turnquest and Michael Pintard (currently in charge).  All of them, their faults noted, were thought to be honourable men.

What about Dr. Hubert Minnis?  The truth be told, there is the view that he sours the FNM.  And, he won’t go away.

In an earlier commentary in GB News, it was predicted that Dr. Minnis would be a great obstacle to Pintard’s leadership.  He seems determined to undermine the younger politician who has been widely accepted by FNMs across the length and breadth of this nation.  Pintard is certainly more dignified.  The antics of Dr. Minnis are disgusting.  He lost the election of 2021 and the FNM opted to change him and go with another at the helm.  That was the logical conclusion.  His decisions in leadership, for the most part, were not sound ones at all.  

Think about it for a moment.  Dr. Minnis could still be the executive leader of this country.  His Cabinet Ministers could still be moving about in the political style befitting their portfolios.  In particular, they could still be earning their salaries.  Cabinet Ministers each lost more than $60,000 because of the decision made by Dr. Minnis to call an early election, September 16, of last year.  He dealt serious blows to his party and the pockets of ministers, other parliamentarians and supporters with lucrative contracts.

Yet he sticks around, seemingly making every effort to upstage the sitting FNM Leader Pintard.  In that earlier commentary, I warned Pintard about what he was likely to face in Dr. Minnis. It is not a pretty scene for the FNM.  On the one hand there is Leader Pintard, trying valiantly to make his party relevant with the voters once again.  On the other hand, Dr. Minnis appears to be disdainful of Pintard and his status in the country as Her Majesty’s Loyal Official Opposition Leader.

 

The time has come for those who care deeply for the FNM to take a strong stand alongside Pintard, and insist that Dr. Minnis moves on.  If not, a fractured party will be the result and the FNM will not be able to go to the people for voting support as a unified body.

Source

Bahamians Should Be Concern About Lost Opportunities because of the country’s unqualified workforce says Senator Michael Pintard

Bahamians Should Be Concern About Lost Opportunities
BY KENDENO N. KNOWLES:



Bahamians should be concerned about the number of job opportunities being lost because of the country’s unqualified workforce, according to Free National Movement (FNM) Senator Michael Pintard.

He was making his contribution to the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) Bill debate in the upper chamber yesterday.

The senator said foreigners are constantly being brought in to take on thousands of local job opportunities – something he says Bahamians should be concerned about.

Mr. Pintard was referring to the 5,000 plus Chinese workers that Baha Mar Resort is planning to bring in for construction on the mega luxury resort property.

"It is with some distress that I heard recently the intention of one of the developments in The Bahamas to import a large number of foreign workers," Mr. Pintard said.

Baha Mar officials recently confirmed that the Chinese workers were being brought into the country in stages to carry out specialty work, which executives claim Bahamian workers are unable to carry out.

"At the time when Atlantis was in its early stages of its development the identical statement was made, which I also heard recently. [That statement by developers of the new resort property] pointed to the fact that there were not enough qualified Bahamians to populate the various positions," Mr. Pintard said.

"If this is the case then all of us have good reason to be concerned because the development pattern of this country is such that we must have seen additional developments such as the one coming on stream."

He questioned why there has not been anything done in order to prepare Bahamians to take advantage of these opportunities.

"I recall quite distinctly drywall courses being offered at BTVI in conjunction with Atlantis to create a cadre of workers in order to take advantage of the opportunity and any other subsequent opportunities," he said.

"Again, it is crucial that we never find ourselves in a similar position in the future. It is my hope that in the execution of what emerges from this bill that we put ourselves in a position where we carefully assess the emerging needs on the horizon in order to prepare our population to be the chief benefactor of these opportunities. BTVI must also continue to deepen its relationship with industry partners locally, nationally and internationally. Luckily this wonderful bill speaks specifically to this issue."

He continued: "It is important for us to train persons to populate all fields in technical and vocational areas, including the fields that others are claiming we do not have the requisite skills."

May 6, 2010

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