1/20/2010 9:27:00 AM Politics: Who’ll succeed Dr. Ewart Brown? The pros and cons of the premiers-in-waiting Part II of II
Larry Burchall
When storming the ramparts and fighting in the streets, idealism is essential. When the fighting stops and rebuilding begins, practical, everyday management skills are required. At its inception, the PLP was a party of idealists. Having taken over government, the PLP had to become a party of pragmatists.
For more than three decades, strong leaders led the PLP. This resulted in the party placing great store in strong personal leadership. This led to the unavoidable and consequential structural weakness that the party tended to discourage delegation of power and sharing of authority. .
In the business world this happens when a company changes from being the closely-held brainchild of its entrepreneurial creator and becomes a major corporation with a Board of Directors and a wide spread of shareholders. Essentially, when the corporation changes from being run by one man to being run by a team.
In a country, it happens when the country changes from being run by a restricted minority - Apartheid South Africa, for example - to being run by a democratic majority - post-Apartheid South Africa. When that happened, we all saw that Prisoner 46664 - the idealist - had to become President Nelson Mandela - the pragmatist. We also saw that, eventually, Mandela had to be replaced - and South Africa the country had to keep running.
So with the PLP. Storming the barricades, 1963 to 1998. Running the country, 1999 to now.
The most intriguing aspect of Dr Brown's premiership is the insistence, voiced by his most vocal supporters, and surfacing in some angry e-mails, newspaper articles, and personal comments to me and about me; that Dr Brown is the 'only' man who can lead the PLP, and that I was being disloyal by criticizing his performance. This was like insisting that only Nelson Mandela could lead post-Apartheid South Africa and that all loyalty should be to Mandela the person - not South Africa the country.
There are alternatives
If a political party is mature and consists of intelligent, experienced and responsible people, then from within its own ranks, that party must be able to provide good persons who can lead, and who will be followed. The suggestions - to me - that 'only' Dr. Brown could lead, would have it that in all of the rest of the PLP, there was not one person who was equipped to lead.
If the assertion of 'only Brown' is correct, then the PLP would be endangering all Bermuda. If that assertion is not correct, then it means that the PLP is well equipped to change leaders and still lead and manage Bermuda.
The PLP has other intelligent, experienced, and responsible people. I therefore do not believe -nor do I accept - that 'only' Dr. Brown can lead. Besides, Bermuda's unique and complex society-cum-economy cannot be properly or well managed by a regime that consists of a 'cult of personality'.
With Dr Brown promising to get out of the picture - who else in the PLP is equipped to lead?
Paula Cox
A year ago, Paula Cox polled head-and-shoulders above anyone else. She was almost a shoo-in for next PLP Premier. However, and especially since June 2009, she has shown herself - in her own word - as politically 'neutered'.
She has let more than a million dollars a week of overspent funds slip and slide through her non-controlling fingers. Without so much as a whimper, she let national debt surge 73 per cent. She has fallen afoul of the new Auditor General. She has sat, seemingly immobilized, with unseeing eyes, spread fingers, and open chequebook.
She has lost a lot of credibility. She now appears weak and uncertain. Not firm and decisive. As neutered as she described herself.
Dale Butler
Dale Butler is the only PLP MP who stood on principle. Result? He grew in politcal stature. He is known for his flamboyance and energy and he has clearly shown his integrity. Crossing all barriers and boundaries, he is liked and respected by a wide range of Bermudians.
Could he, as a PLP Premier, lead the PLP and manage Bermuda? I reckon he could, if he wanted to, set his mind to it, and was given the challenge. He'd certainly be immensely popular.
Terry Lister
Terry Lister is another PLP MP who, much later but similarly, also stood on principle. That he needed to do some additional digging before he found the solid rock of plain honesty and clear principle suggests that he lacks the more open and faster thinking mind and clearer vision that Dale demonstrated.
From what I know and see of Terry, he is, though, a clear thinker who - as an experienced accountant - is given to using a fact-based process to make fact-based decisions that are not too clouded by ancient emotions.
Could he lead the PLP and manage Bermuda? I reckon he could. Probably not as much fun as Dale, but then Terry is an accountant, isn't he?
Wayne Perinchief
Wayne Perinchief? Now there's a 'dark horse' PLP MP. Once Assistant Commissioner of Police, and once a Cabinet minister who led that crazy Workplace Equity Act initiative. As it turned out, the Act was badly informed and ought never to have seen the light of day.
In recent months, Wayne has shown immense personal and political courage as he expressed national views that were in opposition to those of the Dr. Brown cultists, but which did reflect views held by other segments of the PLP.
Could Wayne lead and manage? Yes. Not so much fun as 'delightful' Dale, probably more interesting than 'tedious' Terry, just as able as either.
Benefit of hindsight
Alex Scott
Alex Scott, recalled? I'll bet that there are thousands of Bermudians who now see - in retrospect, and I'm among them - just how good Alex really was. How nationally expansive and how all-inclusive he was as opposed to the excluder who replaced him.
Would Alex re-run? He might not. Notwithstanding, could he lead the PLP? Sure, and - having learned the first time around, as Premier he'd probably be more forceful and less accommodating with his own ministers.
Dame Jennifer Smith
Dame Jennifer Smith? My, my. Isn't that lady's stint from 1998-2003 looking so much better nowadays? Would she come back? Probably not. Would we take her back? I believe Bermuda would welcome her back with hugs and kisses.
Lame duck
I can see other individuals in the PLP who can lead the party and who can probably manage Bermuda better than Dr Brown actually has.
A difficult year lies ahead. I do not believe that Bermuda, or any other country, is so well-protected that it can fritter away nine months of 2010 with a 'lame duck' Premier and a ruling party that is idling its brain and twiddling its political thumbs while waiting on the slow roll of its own constitutional calendar.
Few events are within our national or full local political control. With all the gunshots going off around us, Bermuda clearly has a still-growing cancer of anti-social behaviour stemming from social problems too long unacknowledged and unaddressed.
Bermuda faces an external G20 war on tax havens and an internal war against Bermuda's rise in crimes of violence. Bermuda has to contend with a changing national and global business environment. What we must do is marshal our best brains and manage to the best of our ability.
Bermuda needs to manage and be managed far better today. Tomorrow is far away and in the unforgiving and fast-moving global environment within which Bermuda now operates, a critical change promised for tomorrow may prove a change too late.
No one political group or one politician transcends this country. Bermuda needs a fresh start today, not a long wait until far-off October. Grow up. Change. Admit and undo the now obvious mistake and move on.
Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Comment by:
Bruce McCl;arron / Arizona
Next premier in two words (I hope)...With some prompting by his peers - Dale Butler, "Gombey Hat" & bow-tie included!! Dale has the necessary CIC...Character, Integrity and Courage! At least he won't mislead the folks and I think he is quite a transparent person...with good intentions!
Oh, he has one other important 'Real quality'...He is actually a real "Homegrown" Bermudian and a great 'People Person'...Keep your fingers crossed!
Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010
Comment by:
sandgrownan
Rich - true to a point but to be honest I want some pragmatism and smarts in my leaders right now. I want a moderate and some common sense.
Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010
Comment by:
Eructus
What a disappointment that the UBP has been blind to the cross community appeal of John Barritt. He has a firm grasp of issues, is pragmatic, an excellent communicator and willing to help anyone navigate government services. He would facilitate much needed democratic changes and assist in healing a community torn apart by those too damaged to positively lead. Maybe when the people have wearied with the soap opera of the last several years they will make healthier decisions, for themselves and their families, as Man cannot live on bread and circus alone.
Posted: Saturday, January 23, 2010
Comment by:
Rich
@ sandgrownan
“The most able, academically gifted, experienced, rational, accomplished and unemotional potential leader is a member of the UBP.” See, I’m not entirely sure that is the ideal profile for the next Premier of Bermuda either. What you are describing is a good Cabinet Secretary, Chief of Staff, or Minister of Finance, or even a Prime Minister of France – ie someone who is able to effectively administer and manage things. But I’m not sure if we necessarily need emotionless automatons running the country and setting policy. The Premiership is not some glorified CEO of Bermuda.
There are so many bright and intelligent people out there that it’s almost a given for top leadership. Sure, the Premier needs to be gifted and experienced. But that’s just minimum requirements - at the end of the day, he has an army of bureaucrats at his disposal to carry out his/her programme. Above all, we need an ideas person, an agenda man/woman, someone who can articulate a vision of where we need to go as a country and to get us there. S/He needs to be an effective communicator. We need a person equally as adept with a velvet glove and an iron fist where appropriate. The Premier must be a man or woman of the people, but still armed with a healthy hubris to get the wheels of state in motion. We need someone who can get as wide a cross-section of the community as possible to sign on to the common project of citizenship and state. Above all, he or she cannot be politically tone deaf.
The Liberal Party in Canada is experiencing this very problem. Michael Ignatieff was fast-forwarded as leader of the Party out of some misplaced idealism he, as a cerebral academic celebrity would be able to reclaim the mantle of Trudeau and catapult himself to Prime-Minister-in-Waiting. He is impressively credentialed, but he has run his office with the diplomatic finesse of a student union representative.
The only two people in Bermuda that come close to fitting the above bill on either side of the House are Dale Butler and John Barritt. The vast majority of the House are well-meaning people, but not Premiership material. Some, certainly, comprise of wasted space.
And neither is Paula Cox that ideal person. All credit due should be given; she is an able administrator, but nothing more. She couldn’t stand up to one of the most unpopular premiers in recent memory, so how is she going to translate her ability into dealing with Cabinet members, Alaska Hall, Parliament, the public, the media, the churches, unions, the banks, international business, etc?
The moral of the story? Beware electoral and/or credentialed messiahs.
Posted: Saturday, January 23, 2010
Comment by:
Pour me another
Dale representing Bermuda overseas ... I can just see it now. Pulling out his gombey hat and putting it on and proceeding to invite all them 'foreigners' here so we can teach them how to bath and dress themselves... NOT ! !
Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010
Comment by:
Newyorker
To suggest that negative attacks only come from the UBP is ridiculous. It seems that no mater who the PLP select as their leader, within months the infighting starts and the party splits into factions.
Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010
Comment by:
sandgrownan
Daggers: The most able, academically gifted, experienced, rational, accomplished and unemotional potential leader is a member of the UBP. Unfortunately, to most, he's of hte worng skin colour and from the wrong family.
Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010
Comment by:
The daggers are out
to sandgrownan,
Identify the part of my comments that I assume all critism of the PLP are from UBP supporters. I'm requesting that L.Burchall and UBP supporters address the credentials of the UBP sitting members and their ability to lead a Bermuda Government. Open your mind.
Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010
Comment by:
sandgrownan
Daggers: Plain daft. First, you assume all criticism of the PLP muppets in Government is from UBP supporters. Plainly untrue. Second, you seem to imply ALL prominent PLP leaders are Muppets. Not true, Dale Butler being an obvious case.
Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010
Comment by:
The daggers are out
The daggers of the UBP supporters will always be ready to stab the personality of any leader of the PLP. What I would like to see L.Burchall and his backers comment on the achievemnts or qualifications of any member of the UBP's existing parliamentary group that can lead a Bermuda Government. Supply a background check.
