Describing Prime Minister Perry Christie’s recent pronouncements in support of the death penalty as a “shameless case of mouthing” and – “pure pandering”, FNM leader and former prime minister Hubert Ingraham claims Mr Christie has resorted to this tactic, because “people no longer believe his promises.”
Mr Ingraham made the claim last night at the FNM rally in Long Island.
Also at the rally Mr Ingraham welcomed into the ranks of the party Long Island MP Larry Cartwright. “I welcome him on behalf of all the parliamentary members of the party, on behalf of all the officers of the party, on behalf of FNMs everywhere. Welcome, my brother.
“I should like to thank the party officers, members and supporters in Long Island and all who have contributed to this happy occasion: I appreciate your honesty and forthrightness; I promise you that the party and the new FNM government will listen to the voice of Long Island,” Mr Ingraham said.
Calls for Hangings
In the wake of calls for capital punishment to be carried out after the recent prison break, Mr Christie at the funeral of slain prison guard Dion Bowles said he was in favour of hanging.
“But don’t wait for them to hang anybody. This is a shameless case of mouthing what some people want to hear – pure pandering, nothing more. The hanging bandwagon is rolling and Mr Christie just wants to get on board,” said Mr Ingraham. The FNM leader claimed that the prime minister “knows he is in trouble so he will jump on any bandwagon he thinks will get him some votes.”
Mr Ingraham also described the Christie government as one of “reapers not sowers”.
“I don’t believe it is an exaggeration to say that most of their successes have come from riding on the coattails of the FNM; benefiting from the goodwill which we, the FNM, created nationally and internationally, getting our good name back; restoring confidence in our economy and creating a framework for expansion in the tourism and financial services sectors.
“I hear them talking about this policy they seek to own as theirs which provides for the development of ‘anchor’ properties on each of the Family Islands,” he said.
Mr Ingraham said government speaks as if a policy to promote Family Island resort development had not been conceived, developed and planned by those who preceded them in office.
“In government they’ve been busy with committees, commissions and consultants. They’ve been trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. Four years into their single term in office they continued to come up woefully short,” Mr Ingraharn said.
As for the FNM loss in Long Island in the 2002 election, Mr Ingraham said it pained him that dissension “in the family divided us against ourselves in 2002 not only here in Long Island but also elsewhere across our islands; we so painfully learned -‘divided we fall’.
“But that is behind us now. We have settled our differences and buried our dissent. I am happy to be able to say without equivocation that we in the FNM are united; united by a single purpose: to wrest the reigns of government from the self-centred and selfinterested people now in control of our country,” Mr Ingraham said.
The FNM leader said that FNMs are united in their quest to return the control and direction of government to a caring FNM whose only interest is to make life better for all-the Bahamian people. “Together we will build a better and brighter future for Long Island and The Bahamas,” he said. Mr Ingraham said that it is clear that many people were hoodwinked in 2002 with those chants of “help and hope.”
By RUPERT MISSICK Jr Chief Reporter
