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One of the less plausible aspects of the PLP's current re-election campaign is their attempt to paint themselves as the victim.

The general theme is that anyone who criticizes the PLP, its leader or the government is doing so because it's a black government. The argument goes that people never picked on the UBP like this, so it must be racial.

Accompanying this "we're-being-picked-on-because-we're-black" drone is an attempt to dodge accountability, either through denial ("It's not happening"), side-stepping ("it's not our fault") or the false argument that because the detractors are racially motivated the criticism is invalid.

As an example, the PLP wants credit for keeping the economy expanding. Certainly they haven't caused it to crash as some of their detractors predicted. But from my vantage point, in the eagerness to be seen as competent minders of the economy, the PLP has presided over a period of too-rapid economic expansion that may be costing us more than it pays us.

Some PLP leaders deny there is a problem, but the words of former Premier Alex Scott prove that not everyone in the PLP was blind to the problem. In a speech to the Overseas Territories Consultative Council Meeting in September 2004, Premier Scott said: "There is intense pressure on Bermuda's infrastructure, housing market, schools and roads. Unprecedented rates of growth and development have resulted in Bermuda nearing the saturation point, as environmental and social costs are beginning to outweigh the benefits of economic prosperity."

And there's plenty of supporting evidence. Despite our economic "success", the number of people having difficulty finding housing has increased to the point that we have overwhelmed even our emergency housing capacity.

Even a supposedly favourable outcome of prosperity has backfired. With the economy booming, people can afford to buy whatever foods they like in whatever quantities they wish. However, instead of a healthier community, we are discovering almost the opposite. According to recently released statistics, obesity among adults increased from 57 per cent to 63 per cent during the PLP's rein. Between 1999 and 2006, the proportion of adults with high blood pressure increased from 7 per cent to 25 per cent; the proportion with high cholesterol increased from 8 per cent to 34 per cent - those are astounding figures, alarming really. In addition to the lowered quality of life for these adults, the community pays out in higher health costs and the loss of valuable human resources due to shortened lifespans.

Some will argue that this is not the fault of the economy; that instead it shows a need for better education. But isn't public education a government responsibility, particularly about health and nutrition?

And let's not talk too much about education. One clear thread throughout the long history of black emancipation is the importance of education as the foundation for liberation.

Who would have imagined that a black government would have dropped this ball? One can argue about the graduation numbers but the bottom line is that the public's faith in the public education system has sunk to new lows under a PLP government. And while everyone agrees on the need for urgent and sweeping reform, virtually every step of repair seems plagued with its own, self-inflicted crisis.

The PLP government is not being criticized because they are black, but because they are the government. They are the ones who have the power to make and fund policy. They are the ones at the wheel of the ship of state since 1998.

Whether it's education, the rise in break-ins and violent crime, the shootings and muggings, the worsening traffic congestion, the lawlessness on our roads - there are good reasons for the PLP leaders to be given stick. The PLP government could be forgiven for not getting everything right. But to cry "wolf" and claim that legitimate criticism is race-based is to duck responsibility. It also fosters divisiveness. That's no accomplishment for a government to be proud of.[[In-content Ad]]

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