The challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for Bermuda

Do you think that the future looks good for Bermuda?

Of course. I think that Bermuda, despite us, I think sometimes we overrate our own importance.

I think that at the bottom of it all, Bermuda has some history and some strengths that we will need to draw because things are going to get, I believe, a little worse before they get better.

I’m scared though, I have to tell you. I am afraid not so much of the economic dislocation in the country because Bermudians have already proven that for the most part we can make lemonade out of lemons, we can do.

When I heard the other day that in the middle of this recession, there’s a group of Bermudians going over to watch a Bermudian play football in London, it tells me that there’s resilience in Bermudians.

So I’m not worried about that. And as concerned as I am about the education challenges that we face, I don’t think that that is going to be an apocalypse for us.

What concerns me is our collective denial about racism in Bermuda and I’m hoping with my fingers crossed that the current government will be true to the initial speech that was made concerning racism.

I thought it was a very eloquent and well-organised speech. But I want to make sure that the internal politics within the government do not paralyze the government from taking decisive steps.

I read where the Premier used the word ‘conversation’ and of course having worked with the Big Conversation, I thought that was interesting because it has to begin there anyway regardless of which government is in place.

I’m hoping because Bermuda could very well be in terrible shape with social unrest and violence if the issue of racism and the disparity of wealth are not addressed.

Do you think that racism is more of an older generation concern?

No. Racism slash white supremacy is not a generational concept no more than it is a geographical concept.

There’s people who say there’s racism in England but not in Germany. That’s ridiculous. It failed its geography exam, it’s universal.

And so those people who claim a post racial era, well we haven’t finished dealing with this era.

I think the people who claim that it’s generational and that it’s gone are those people who also support the concept of colour blindness.

And as I’ve said before, as I was taught in medical school, blindness of any kind is a disability. And so we should not be colour blind.

That is not the answer. To stick your head in the sand and say it’s not there because you can’t see it makes no sense. You cannot fix what you cannot face.

[Asked how his post-Premiership days compare to those of Alex Scott]:

 You know I try not to compare my experience with anyone else’s. I can just tell you about mine.

The first thing that I decided was that I would not engage in second-guessing whoever succeeded me and I didn’t.

I said at the end that I was leaving, having kept a few promises. One was to leave the PLP with a larger majority in Parliament than we had when I came in.

Two, leave the party with $250,000 in the kitty, having paid off the mortgage.

And thirdly, and I left the Opposition in total disarray.

From that point on, it was up to my successor to take care of business.

What is your legacy as Premier?

Mikaela, my legacy is what you guys write, I suppose. In my own mind my legacy is job done to the best of my ability.

There are people who will remember the Uyghurs. There are people who will remember Sally Bassett.

There are people who will remember different highlights of the four years.

But the one message that rings truth throughout the entire time is that it was a tireless energetic exercise that I did to the best of my ability.