The Trouble With Grant
When an opinion piece written by the spokesman for the PLP suggests that the Leader of the Opposition may be a liability to his party, you have to question whether he actually sees the man as a threat. At least, you would if a lot of other people weren’t saying much the same thing.
Certainly some of Scott Simmons’ comments in today’s Royal Gazette were off-base. To try to link Dr. Grant Gibbons to the Enrons and Tycos of the world simply because he leads a party that believes in capitalism was foolish. And his third paragraph, in which he seemed to be castigating the UBP for acting like, well, an Opposition, was mostly incomprehensible gibberish.
But some of his other criticisms were bang on. It’s not impossible to be a ‘New’ party while also stressing continuity with your past, but it does make it look like you’re trying to have your cake and eat it too.
His comments about Dr. Gibbons being clever, honest and able – but lacking the empathy and charisma necessary to be a popular leader – are not new. But they’re not wrong either. I’ve spoken to many people – those who support the UBP and those who do not – who have said the same thing. In an unscientific poll on this site last year, Dr. Gibbons was the fourth choice for party leader, behind Trevor Moniz, Jamahl Simmons and John Barritt.
Dr. Gibbons is far from being the worst choice to lead the UBP. But he's not the best either.
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The UBP can choose a popular leader but if that person is not capable of proving to the majority of Bermudians they are qualified to be the leader of the country, it does not matter who the leader is. There are very few who have the leadership experience and competent enough to be the Premier. I don't know how far back you have to go too find a Premier with a team of Ministers who worked together for a better Bermuda, maybe never. You have a much better chance of making a qualified leader popular than you have of making a popular leader qualified. At this time the UBP is a group of individuals in a political party and not a team working together to present a positive image to Bermudians. Find a leader who can unite the party and unite the country too.
Posted by Spin Doctor on 22.03.05 at 02:16
Spin Doctor you do not live up to your name. You have hit it Bang on centre concerning the "NEW" UBP. They are not a team and the results speak for themselves.I think you should change your name from Spin to Bang On!
Posted by big bad wolf on 22.03.05 at 07:04
That is what is wrong with politics....charisma and popularity. Would you rather have a taxi driver who was really cool and outgoing but had no idea where he was going or a taxi driver who lacked charisma and an outgoing personality but knew where he was going?
Posted by OURS on 22.03.05 at 11:38
OURS - I'd prefer a taxi driver that was knowledgable and charismatic.
People look to their political leaders for inspiration as well as efficiency. And if you have a leader who finds it hard to empathise with a large section of the population, those individuals are going to feel uncomfortable about his ability to represent them.
Posted by The Limey on 22.03.05 at 12:50
The problem with Grant is not his lack of charisma, it is that he is white from a high profile white family. If he were black, the chances of the UBP getting elected would increase substantially. The fact is that although many black Bermudians are prepared to vote for a political party led by a white Bermudian, almost all black Bermudians would strongly prefer to have a black leader. As a result, I predict the UBP will not be re-elected to power until it adopts a black leader. This is a bit like the problem that dogged the PLP for years. As long as the PLP maintained its wacky left of centre ideology, it could not get elected. For years the PLP was unable to put aside this ideology as a point of principle because of their origins. However once the PLP was prepared to move to the centre, it got elected. It meant the PLP had to reject its old ideology, an issue that remains pretty contentious in PLP circles. The UBP idealistically believes that it can be elected with a white leader. In fact it believes that the race of its leader should not matter. In an ideal world that is true. But we are not quite there yet. The UBP needs to put aside its idealism and face up to the reality that it needs a black leader. Until the UBP does that, the PLP will remain in power.
Posted by Lickinalong on 22.03.05 at 13:06
Lickinalong is right. We need a "leader" of the UBP with charisma. I am less concerned about abilities, that can be handled. Look at George Bush, the man is not an intellect, he isn't running the show. Surely to god the UBP can field someone who won't put their foot in their mouth as much as Alex.
From this you would suggest that I am an avid UBP fan. Not so, but we have a two party system and I simply feel the UBP has more ministerial depth on balance than the PLP. I also believe it to be a more disciplined party. Not a great reason to support a party "on balance they aren't as bad in the ranks". But you play with the cards your dealt.
Posted by Intrigued on 22.03.05 at 13:40
Yes and as long as the PLP plays the race card at every election we will continue to see them in power for some time. They will bring race into this independence issue soon too; it is the only card they have.
Posted by Somers on 22.03.05 at 13:45
Somers writes:
"Yes and as long as the PLP plays the race card at every election we will continue to see them in power for some time. They will bring race into this independence issue soon too; it is the only card they have."
And so what is this "racial atonement" initiative that is being headed up by David Dodwell? Is this not a race card? It certainly wasn't played by the PLP. The UBP are always prepared to play whatever card they have at their disposal when it is convenient for them. Such is politics.
Posted by Onion on 22.03.05 at 14:29
What did the PLP base their campaign on, and what did the UBP base their election campaign on? I believe one party had a plan with which they based their campaign... the other released their platform a day before (was it actually a full day??) votes were cast. How disappointing. No opportunity for debate and questions - ironically much the same way we are witnessing occurring in Parliament these days. Poor governance any way you play it.
I for one am disappointed - black, white, brown, yellow or red - I am very disappointed.
And Graeme - if you resurrect the NLP, I may just vote for you next time.
Posted by Somers on 22.03.05 at 16:43
Onion
I don't dispute that there is certainly some political motivation behind the creation of Dodwell's position (this is politics after all). However, in my view, there is a big difference between the establishment of this position and its goal of seeking to provide unity between races and opportunity for all Bermudians versus the PLP who use race, especially and almost without fail around election time, as a divisive issue in order to fire-up a certain (hopefully) minority of their core supporters.
Posted by Point on 23.03.05 at 10:51
In some ways I feel sorry for Dr. Gibbons. The guy appears to live a respectable lifestyle (closet skeletons beware), and no matter how heated things get in politics, he doesn't play too dirty. Sure he says some negative things and unnecessarily exploits some minor issues, but who would be a better leader of the UBP? Gibbons actually presents himself as a moderate member of the UBP who is obviously not in anyone's pocket. He doesn't have to suck up to anyone for favours, which is a big thing. To build up credibility he just needs to follow through. If he is going to put out a Ministry of Race Relations, then he has to follow through on issues like Ashay. When he doesn't he robs himself of credibility. Failing to speak on Ashay makes it look like one grand hoodwink, and blacks would see it for the gimmick that it is.
Posted by Simon on 23.03.05 at 11:38
I don't know which is more disappointing:
The PLP's performance since 1998 or the UBP's performance in Opposition.
Grant Gibbons is a likeable person and could be the first white UBP leader since 1972 to win an election if they could shake loose the skeleton of its past. If they could find a black self-made millionaire - another John Swan - curtains for the PLP. They haven't yet.
And so, the PLP will win again. Not that I'm upset or anything...
Posted by boogie on 23.03.05 at 20:12
The real problem is that everyone thinks that person HAS to be black. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Posted by Somers on 24.03.05 at 11:44