Tommy Turnquest was “born with a silver spoon in his mouth” and was “uninspiring”, but had a “reputation for honesty”, says U.S. Embassy officials in Nassau

Turnquest examined in cables

By CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com


Former FNM leader viewed as uninspiring


As someone who went head to head with Perry Christie, a formidable opponent in 2002, Tommy Turnquest was closely analyzed by the Americans, who met with him more than once to discuss various issues of a political and national nature, reveals several cables obtained by The Nassau Guardian through WikiLeaks.

U.S. Embassy officials wrote that Turnquest was “born with a silver spoon in his mouth” and was “uninspiring”, but had a “reputation for honesty”.

The meetings those officials had with Turnquest occurred while he was in the political wilderness — a senator as he had not won the Mount Moriah constituency race.

An embassy official wrote that Turnquest’s failure to win the seat in May 2002 was “a humiliation”, given that he had become FNM leader only two months earlier.

In 2004, Turnquest spoke to those officials in his capacity as leader of the Free National Movement (FNM).

An embassy official recorded that he was born to the wealthy family of Sir Orville and Lady Edith Turnquest (now deceased).

The cable said Turnquest admitted that he comes from "privilege".

He subsequently married into a wealthy Bahamian family as well, it said.

“As a shareholder of Focol, a Freeport-based oil company, the Turnquests have a steady stream of income,” the cable noted.

“Many Bahamians see this as a barrier to his political career. Whereas his father was a self-made man, Tommy is seen by some Bahamians as a spoiled brat.

“His three children are all attending/have attended exclusive prep schools in the United States and all are bound for similarly-expensive Ivy League universities.”

Further analyzing Turnquest’s personality, an embassy official wrote that in The Bahamas — “a small country where the ‘Cheers’ phrase ‘everyone knows your name’ really is true — charisma and dynamism, both personally and publicly, are prerequisites for a politician.

“Bahamians expect their political leaders to ‘perform’ when giving speeches. As the son of the former Governor General Sir Orville, Tommy's opportunities to date have come because of his family lineage,” the cable said.

“Privately Turnquest does not project the ‘gravitas’ expected of a leader, nor publicly the rivalist oratorical skills expected of a politician.”

According to a 2004 cable, during a meeting with embassy officials — one of them being Charge d’Affaires Robert Witajewski —Turnquest maintained fierce loyalty to the FNM and queried repetitively the U.S. view of the performance of the Christie administration.

“He ranted that Prime Minister (Perry) Christie's slow decision-making has wasted valuable Bahamian resources, lost many contracts and put the Bahamian people at a disadvantage. On the FNM website, Turnquest gives the PLP an ‘F’ for effectiveness,” the cable said.

In 2005, in a move that Turnquest said took him completely by surprise, Hubert Ingraham effortlessly snatched back the leadership of the Free National Movement, saying he had come back after so many FNMs asked for his return.

While many pundits agreed that the move left Turnquest further humiliated, he assured Ingraham that he would never have to watch his back and that he fully supported the former prime minister as party leader.

An embassy official wrote that Turnquest had to “step down” to “make way” for Ingraham’s return.
“Turnquest assumed leadership of the FNM from Ingraham in 2002 in the face of near-certain electoral defeat and gracefully relinquished his leadership to Ingraham in time for 2007 elections,” the cable said.

In November 2005, members of the FNM voted almost two to one to reject Turnquest, opting instead to replace him with Ingraham.

Not long after he regained full power of the party, Ingraham was asked by reporters to respond to a statement Turnquest had made that he had gone back on his word.

Ingraham explained that he did not decide to run until the morning after he spoke with Turnquest, advising him that he would not seek the leadership again.

Ingraham said “the calls were incessant, the demands were great by party supporters and others throughout the country and I decided the following morning that I will allow my name to go forward”.

In 2007 when Ingraham became prime minister again, he appointed Turnquest minister of national security, a key position during any period of national development, but particularly at that time when there were growing worries about crime and the fear of crime.

One of the cables said Ingraham’s decision to appoint Turnquest to that post “will strengthen party unity”.

According to the cable, “Turnquest's loyalty and self-sacrifice for the party has clearly kept him in Ingraham's inner circle.”

It said, “Turnquest does not have a strong national security background, although his experience as immigration minister will serve him well.

“With a reputation for honesty and a good relationship with the embassy, Turnquest should be an effective partner in ensuring continued close law enforcement and military partnerships. This portfolio has traditionally been the purview of the Deputy Prime Minister, and gives Turnquest an opportunity to demonstrate his ability to lead the party in a post-Ingraham era.”

5/24/2011

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