Why I hope the UBP will win

I can't vote in tomorrow's election. I won't be able to vote in the one after that, either. The earliest I'll be able to do so is 2013, once I have been married to my Bermudian wife for 10 years.

When that day finally arrives, I hope that Bermudian politics will have matured sufficiently that I feel I have a real choice in how to cast my ballot. I don't mean a choice between the UBP and not voting, or a choice between not voting and spoiling my ballot. I want to feel that I have a choice between the PLP and the UBP.

Right now, I don't feel that I have any choice at all. There is simply no way that I could vote for today's PLP. I loathe their use of racially divisive rhetoric, be it Ewart Brown's "racist dog", Lovitta Foggo's "back to the plantation", David Burch's "house niggers" or Derrick Burgess' "maidservant of her master". I cannot abide the shrill tone in which the party conducts itself, hysterically denouncing their political opponents rather than offering calm, logical rebuttals of their criticisms. I am appalled by their lack of accountability, refusing to answer even the simplest questions about their performance and going to extraordinary lengths to try to muzzle the press. I dislike their chauvinistic championing of black Bermudians at the expense of white Bermudians and foreigners, who I think are often made to feel like second-class citizens. And I think that the party is generally incompetent, as evidenced by their passage of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act, legislation that even the Premier admits he does not understand.

In order for me to feel like I have a choice when I vote in the election after next, the PLP needs to fundamentally change. The racial rhetoric has to go. The shrill tone has to be replaced by a sober, mature manner. They need to demonstrate a willingness to be held accountable by the press and the public. And they must refrain from passing any more bad, discriminatory legislation like the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act.

The only way I see this happening is if the PLP lose tomorrow's election. A loss would be a powerful rejection of their conduct and might - just might - be enough to shock them into behaving in a more responsible manner. If they are shown that they can play the race card and still lose, perhaps they will recognise that it is no longer a card worth playing.

In contrast, a win would be disastrous. It would send the message that Bermudians favour emotion over logic, distortions over truth, evasion over accountability, chauvinism over inclusiveness. It would encourage the party to maintain the tone it has set during the campaign over the next five years of government, and embolden them to pass further ill-thought-out legislation. In short, it would entrench all the negative characteristics that the party so desperately needs to change if I am to ever consider it electable.

The other reason that I would like to see the UBP win is that I have never seen a UBP government. It's possible that once in power they will prove to be just as venal and incompetent as the PLP. However, I'd like to find out for myself.

That's why I hope that tomorrow Bermudians will vote for change.