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Part II of II.

"I think the next election is not so much a referendum on the PLP's governance as on the United Bermuda Party's future or absence thereof."

M.P. Maxwell Burgess*.

A poll published two weeks ago offered a glimpse of a hopeful and welcome trend: support from likely white voters has increased for the PLP from a low of roughly 1.8 per cent at the previous poll, to approximately five per cent.

This has occurred against the backdrop of a newly reinvigorated PLP Government under the leadership of Dr. Ewart Brown, which has been open, frank and yes - assertive in honestly beginning the process of tackling our racial issues.

And I can only assume at this point that this trend will continue. We may find at the next general election that support for the PLP from the white community may approach anywhere from 7 to 10 per cent of that electorate.

In a country such as Bermuda, where invariably, in every election since the advent of universal adult suffrage the only swing voters for the most part have been black, the above projection is nothing to sneeze at.

Understandably, some within the community have viewed these trends ominously and have made the claim that if this analysis holds true, that it would represent the death knell of the UBP and furthermore, usher in a de facto "one party state" dominated by the PLP. While there have been a growing number who have predicted as such, I will only go as far as saying that this outcome is highly unlikely; for even if the UBP folded its tent and disappeared entirely from the political landscape, it is not likely that that vacuum would exist for long. After all, power, like nature, abhors a vacuum.

Already, there are serious back room discussions of new political groupings and organizations being formed, not to serve as a third party foil, but rather to inherit the mantel of opposition now tenuously held by the UBP. This then speaks to the strength of our democracy rather than to our weakness, as some would suggest.

More important, from my perspective, it will close a chapter on four decades of political life in this country represented by racial polarization along political lines - one that white Bermudians, in the main, have fostered and maintained. The irony of it is that when all is said and done, it took black Bermudians, employing the same strategy - that is, block voting - to break it.

Let me return briefly to the recent comments of Tony Brannon and Shawn Crockwell. In the past, I have explored the view that black Bermudians have likely been conditioned over generations to always defer to white interests; to always appease white opinion, no matter how harmful and injurious that opinion and the actions which stemmed from that were to the interest of the black community.

Beyond the Brannons

Unfortunately, it has been a dance that has gone on for too long. Brannon and Crockwell's comments afford us confirmation that that dance as described above still does occur, with the dominant partner calling all the shots.

The response to their comments however - along with the poll numbers - only confirm though that it is one that is quickly going out of fashion.

Obviously, these roles were limiting and oppressive.

The new era unfolding liberates us from this stereotypical and destructive relationship and sets the conditions for a new and far healthier era to emerge, socially, economically and politically; one in which the majority of black Bermudians and now a small, yet growing number of white Bermudians, seem all too eager to embrace.

The country is growing beyond the Brannons and Crockwells and all those who may share those views; and both black and white Bermudians will be the better for it.

* Quote from the Royal Gazette.[[In-content Ad]]

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