by Adrian Gibson
In the wake of yesterday’s coup d’état within the Free National Movement (FNM), the political landscape in the Bahamas has shifted. The FNM is in a state of flux, it is in a state of alarm.
Yesterday, history repeated itself as the FNM - a party that has been subjected to many divisions and factions over the years - now finds itself knocking on the door of history for an encore.
Yesterday, a petition by seven of the 10 FNM MPs was moved to replace the organisation’s leader Dr Hubert Minnis as leader of the Her Majesty’s Official Opposition in the House of Assembly.
Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins, Central and South Abaco MP Edison Key, North Eleuthera MP Theo Neilly, Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner, St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman, Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn and Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant all submitted a letter of no confidence in Dr Minnis to House Speaker Dr Kendal Major and to the Governor General, Dame Marguerite Pindling, yesterday morning revealing they have voted to be led in Parliament by Mrs Butler-Turner. Whilst the constitutional manoeuvre has to be approved by the Governor General, the move has sent shock waves through our archipelago.
This was a Machiavellian plot that is likely to hamper the FNM’s push towards the next general election. One wonders if this was a political plot that was devised with an end goal or merely a revenge plot to embarrass the leader and derail the party going into the next general election. I’m inclined to believe the latter. Most of the seven MPs - except Mrs Butler-Turner - have not been ratified as candidates for 2017. They have no seat to lose; they simply have nothing to lose. Yesterday, they donned their political suicide vests and decided to blow the FNM to smithereens, causing the party to reset and find itself in a state of emergency.
Notably, Dr Minnis remains party leader. This creates a conundrum within the FNM as the party will have one leader in the House of Assembly and another person leading the party. There will be lots of pulling and hauling. What’s more, this manoeuvre was employed a little more than five months before the next general election.
I have heard calls to expel the rebel MPs. That is a decision for the FNM. If those MPs are expelled, one wonders if that would settle the infighting in the FNM or lead to the formation of the much talked about “starfish” party. As it stands, the so-called starfish party would become the new Official Opposition and the FNM would become the third force in the House of Assembly.
The Progressive Liberal Party is no doubt in jubilation today. They sense a victory at the polls. The Opposition parties are splintered. The main Opposition party is facing internal warfare.
Whilst the seven MPs pulled a constitutional lever that was lawful and fully available to them, the short term impact on the FNM will likely cause many Bahamians to doubt if the party is ready to become the next government. I truly understand why many of the MPs are disgruntled. I have been told some of their stories. I have heard stories from Dr Minnis’ camp as well.
Something has to break! Either the seven MPs must resign from the FNM and form a new Opposition party (or possibly merge with the Democratic National Alliance or another) or Dr Minnis would have to resign. I do not believe that Dr Minnis and Mrs Butler-Turner can harmoniously co-exist. There is no trust.
The mantra of the FNM used to be that it is a matter of trust. Today, FNMs are no longer trusting each other and everyone seems to be rightly overcome by a sense of paranoia, anxiously waiting to be backstabbed by long knives. This is not the FNM of old. The FNM must recapture the magic that made it great, that caused people to deem its governance “government in the sunshine”.
Yesterday, Mrs Butler-Turner’s camp checkmated Dr Minnis. This is undoubtedly not the end of an ongoing rivalry that - notwithstanding the dancing, the re-nomination of Mrs Butler-Turner and the promise of her support - is likely to persist for years to come.
Dr Minnis, too, is not without fault. Both of the leaders of the “new” FNM have contributed to the disunity we now see. The disrespect has come from both camps. That said, Mrs Butler-Turner never respected Minnis’ leadership and one must first learn to follow before they can lead. I have always had difficulty with what appears to be a spirit of entitlement that engulfs Mrs Butler-Turner.
The FNM last had a leader in the House and one outside the House in 2005. Then leader Tommy Turnquest lost his seat. This is perhaps the first time that both leaders will sit in the lower chamber, both serving as elected members of Parliament. I cannot wait to see how this new arrangement works.
As it stands, Mrs Butler Turner commands the respect and allegiance of the majority of her colleagues. Her grouping is a coalition of former political enemies, with Dr Andre Rollins - who she once slapped - now embracing her leadership and being one of the signatories to the letter.
Like many Bahamians I was surprised. Amazingly, these MPs managed to keep a secret and delivered a blow that no one expected. Finally, even if it was by nifty political choreography, Mrs Butler-Turner and company outfoxed Dr Minnis. During their last contest, Mrs Butler-Turner withdrew at the last minute, with Minnis on the cusp of delivering a five-to-one thumping at the party’s internal run-off.
Mrs Butler-Turner has now become the first female Leader of the Opposition. Notwithstanding how that came about, in all fairness, such an achievement must be acknowledged.
Interestingly, Dr Minnis directed all of his senatorial appointees to resign their posts. Last night, there was a wave of resignations in the party. It will be interesting to see who Mrs Butler-Turner appoints and what happens next in the FNM saga.
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First published in the The Tribune under the byline, Young Man's View, here…
View Adrian Gibson's archive here…
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