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In the past few days, the Premier has moved to ­terminate the head of the Civil Service, placed a ­loyalty oath before his ministers and ­ordered his government to stop communicating with the public through two local newspapers. We regard these actions as evidence of a dictatorial and insecure state of mind.

We have come to a point where the politics of an ­individual is interfering with and subverting the good governance of the country.

His take-no-prisoners style is challenging the ­integrity of three pillars of a democratic society - the constitution, the civil ­service and the free press.

If his behaviour is not checked, Bermuda will slip further down a slope where the government becomes the agent of one-man rule rather than community-based leadership.

Its power will be used to strike down dissent and hard-earned freedoms will be trampled upon.

Protest

These actions run counter to Bermuda's political culture and its democratic aspirations.

What is happening is not right for the island.

All Bermudians should signal their opposition to the Premier's actions, whether by email, letters to the editor or protest.

They threaten the ­relationship between the government and the ­individual citizen and ­divert attention from some of the most serious challenges facing the island in its modern history.

Bermuda should not be made to suffer due to the ­internal politics of the ­Premier and the PLP.

Two aspects of the ­current crisis warrant more specific comment.

Firstly, the Premier's ­loyalty oath represents a ­direct challenge to the good governance of the island.

This is because it places loyalty to him above loyalty to Bermuda.

Each government minister under the constitution has signed an oath to act "for the good management of the public affairs of Bermuda".

The Premier's oath, by definition, comes between ministers and their constitutional oath.

All ministers should ­resist it and be seen to do so.

Bermuda should be and must be their first loyalty, not Dr. Brown.

Scapegoating

Secondly, Wednesday's edict stopping government communications with two local newspapers is ­childish, cowardly and an­ ­affront to the public's right to know about their government.

It is clear that the ­Premier is trying to hobble these newspapers, which are read by tens of ­thousands of Bermudians who want to know - and have the right to know - what is going on in the ­community and with their government.

What we are witnessing is the politics of scapegoating, an age-old tactic to ­divert attention and place the blame for failures onto a third party.

We urge the Premier to man-up on this front - he should accept the ­conditions of a free press, just as every other leader in a ­democratical society does.

Free societies are strengthened by a free press, just as they are ­weakened by a government that seeks to destroy a free press.[[In-content Ad]]

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