To Mr. Fred Mitchell: [PLP Leader] Mr. Perry Christie's indecisiveness is not FNM propaganda

Fred Mitchell talks of FNM propaganda
tribune242 editorial



FRED MITCHELL has urged Bahamians to ignore the "biased opinion" of American diplomats who in their reports to Washington have characterised former prime minister Perry Christie as a procrastinating leader who "often fails to act altogether while awaiting elusive consensus in his Cabinet."

Mr Mitchell expressed surprise that US diplomats would "simply rehash the same unvarnished propaganda of the Free National Movement to describe the leader of the PLP and the policies of the PLP."

It would be interesting to know which face of Fred Mitchell has made this statement.

It is obviously the political Fred Mitchell, preparing for the hustings and anticipating a hard battle to return his party with its indecisive leader to the seat of power. However, in quiet conversation with his own conscience, the other side of Mr Mitchell must know that his statement is not true.

The indecisive leadership of Mr Christie is very much an election issue. It certainly wasn't an FNM faction within the PLP in 2009 that wanted Mr Christie removed as leader because it did not think it had a chance with him at its head. This group felt so strongly on the issue that someone within the party leaked the Greenberg, Quinlan and Rosner report on the reasons for the party's 2007 election defeat. This report, commissioned by the PLP after the 2007 election to analyse why the party lost an election it was so confident of winning, was made public by the dissident group to inform the public and to try to convince its own membership that Mr Christie was too indecisive to be at the helm.

The consultants' report, for which the party must have paid a "pretty penny", was blunt. In a nutshell, it said, the PLP lost the government after only a five-year test run, because at its helm was a nice, but weak leader heading what the public perceived to be a corrupt and scandal-ridden party. Maybe, the political side of Mr Mitchell would have us believe that the Rosner report was written by an FNM analyst. However - the other Mr Mitchell and his conscience knows otherwise.

Obviously, the report was ignored because recently three senior party members in a private letter -- again leaked to the press -- advised Mr Christie that he could prove to the public that he was indeed a decisive leader by blocking the nomination of certain politicians who were perceived to have led to the party's 2002 defeat. These were the same ones studied by the Rosner report and found wanting.

However, it appears that Mr Christie has chosen to ignore this letter. Instead he is "taking the high road" and looking "forward to a vigorous debate." And so, the Christie-led PLP is heading into an election with the same baggage that their highly paid consultants advised cost them the 2007 election.

Mr Christie's weakness for indecision was spotted early in his administration. One of the first acts of a government is to appoint its boards so that its administration can function smoothly from the beginning. The PLP won the government in May, 2002. By July no boards had been appointed. Mr Christie was being criticised for his procrastination. His reply to the criticism was given in a speech at Mission Baptist Church. Said he:

"The press and some people want to kill me because they say I ain't name them (government boards) yet. Well let 'em wait. Let me say this to you, I have been Prime Minister long enough to see that unless I do it the right way, I am wasting your time doing it the quick way."

And this was the story of his five-year administration. That is why when the FNM was returned in 2007 it found so much unfinished business, and agreements yet to be finalised.

And so, Mr Mitchell, Mr Christie's indecisiveness is not FNM propaganda. In five years Mr Christie did an excellent job in building his own reputation -- as the Rosner report concluded: He is a nice man, but a weak leader.

The serious times now facing this country demand a strong and decisive leader. We shall perish with indecision.

May 31, 2011

tribune242 editorial