PLP's Brown: 'Don't rule out the OBA'

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: The fledgling OBA could win an election, former PLP Senator and political pundit Walton Brown said tonight.

 “No one should ever take any election for granted and we should not disrespect the voters by assuming we know how they will vote,” Mr. Brown said.

“It would be a foolish party that believes it will win under any and all circumstances.”

He was speaking as he took questions from the audience at a launch event for his new book Bermuda and the Struggle for Reform: Race, Politics and Ideology: 1944-1998.

“Is it possible for the OBA to get elected? Of course,” Mr Brown said. “We have a two-party system. Yes, it’s probable — I’ll rephrase that, it’s within the realms of possibility.”

Mr Brown declined to speculate on when the new party would be able to make an effective challenge to the ruling PLP.

He said: “If any political party holds power, if you demonstrate you do not fully respect voters, if you demonstrate you have taken certain things for granted, then you raise the prospect of losing power because the public are discerning.

“Never take the public for granted and never look at voters in a one-dimensional way.”

Mr Brown said that the voters have yet to realize that they hold the real power — and should not be afraid to use it.

He added: “Parliament is a sluggish vehicle for reform, in large part, because the public have not fully appreciated the power they have.

“They have given away power – power always resides with the people. When you realize that, you effect change.

“We have gone to social activism by proxy — people think if you write something on Facebook, that’s political activism.

“It’s too easy to call up a talk show and make your speech. That’s not activism and that’s not moblizing for change.

“The public have given away too much power to the politicians. I’m an aspiring politician, but I have no illusions about where power really lies.”

Mr Brown said he had yet to see what the new OBA actually stood for — or if it had the stomach for genuine reform of a social system that still had in-built advantages for a white minority.

“They haven’t advanced policies on key issues,” Mr Brown said. “They’ve been able to generate interest and excitement because of the discontent that exists.

“But until they advance their views on key issues, the public can’t know what they stand for.”