Many stalwart members of the organization, including some on the executive council of the party, have visited Mr. Ingraham and have sought to cajole him to displace his handpicked successor Tommy Turnquest.
However, Mr. Ingraham has been resisting.
With speculation rife regarding his alleged attempt to make a comeback, Mr. Ingraham has reassured Mr. Turnquest that there is absolutely no truth to these reports.
Mr. Ingraham has also indicated to the Journal that he has no interest in taking back the helm of the party. But he wished not to discuss the matter further.
A senior official of the party told the Journal this week that Mr. Turnquest was having serious concerns regarding rumours of a “change of heart” by Mr. Ingraham, who is now a backbencher in parliament.
Those concerns reportedly peaked last August during a rally in Grand Bahama where Mr. Ingraham delivered a fiery address that overshadowed Mr. Turnquest’s keynote speech.
The former prime minister ended his speech by saying, “We are all in the FNM together in opposition to the PLP.
Frankly, it no longer matters why we lost. What matters now is that we win again and we deserve to win again and God willing, win we shall next time.”
Mr. Ingraham also said, “finally FNM’s I must leave you now, but God’s willing I’ll be back.” His declaration was met by thunderous applause.
Mr. Ingraham reportedly met with both the FNM leader and deputy leader Sidney Collie to reassure them that he will not be back as leader.
The Journal has learnt from several sources within the party that some FNM supporters, who want the party to be better positioned to possibly topple the PLP government in 2007, are saying that Mr. Ingraham is now the only hope for that to happen.
Many of them are urging the former prime minister to launch a bid for re-election to the party’s leadership, saying that there is no great love or enthusiasm for Mr. Turnquest.
Such talk is reportedly serving as a divisive force in the party.
Senator Turnquest on Thursday said discussing such issues is divisive and he said that as far as he is concerned, Mr. Ingraham has no interest in one day becoming party leader again.
“There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that he is not interested in coming back,” Mr. Turnquest said. “He’s been very helpful to me as leader…He’s my predecessor as leader of the FNM and he did a wonderful job as leader.”
When pressed on the matter, Mr. Turnquest told the Journal, “It would be good if we focus attention on issues that move us forward rather than issues that tend to divide us…I’ve said all I have to say on that.”
Many of Mr. Ingraham’s confidants and close supporters have admitted that the former prime minister made a major political blunder when he backed Mr. Turnquest for the party’s leader and Dion Foulkes for the deputy leader.
They believe that Mr. Ingraham has come to regret that decision.
Mr. Turnquest ran against then Bamboo Town MP Tennyson Wells and former MP for Marathon Algernon Allen in August, 2001.
In a recent appearance on the Radio Love 97 Programme “Jones and Company”, Mr. Wells said that he would not wish to see Mr. Ingraham back as leader of the FNM.
He claimed that the Bahamian people do not need Mr. Ingraham running their affairs anymore. Mr. Wells said Mr. Ingraham’s leadership style and the major mistakes in his administration cannot be forgotten.
Among the mistakes most politicians point to in the Ingraham Administration are what they call: the botched privatisation of Batelco; the mal-administration and design of the government student loan scheme; the ill-conceived inheritance legislation; the imposition of new labour laws which adversely impacted many employers; the failed referendum; and new banking laws which incurred widespread criticism by Bahamians involved in the financial services sector.
Now, those who are opposed to Mr. Ingraham’s return, say a new leadership is necessary to reassure the Bahamian public that the FNM can redeem itself from these follies of the past.
Detractors of Mr. Turnquest in the FNM, meanwhile, question whether he possesses the scholarship and the temperance necessary for the FNM to recapture the imagination of the Bahamian electorate.
Mr. Wells insisted that the executive of the council of the party is still controlled by Mr. Ingraham and Mr. Foulkes and not by Mr. Turnquest.
Mr. Turnquest, who lost his seat in the Mt. Moriah constituency in the last general elections, has been calling a number of press conferences and issuing press statements over the last two months as he says to keep the government’s feet to the fire.
In a recent interview, he said the party is being re-energized and there is a new sense of enthusiasm due to what he called the inability of the present government to deliver on its promises.
Now, Mr. Turnquest is apparently content that he enjoys the support of the vast majority of those who were delegates in the last FNM convention held last May.
A part from the wish of some FNM supporters for Mr. Ingraham to return, there appears to be no other threat present to his leadership.
The Bahama Journal
