Inertia, indecision and an inability to "front up" to major problems have been the prime complaints against the current government.
Others take the view that – all in all – the ineffectual but relatively benign regime of Perry Christie has been a marked improvement on the previous PLP administration, even though that's not saying much. To test opinion, INSIGHT has been canvassing the views of pundits in the media, academic and political worlds to identify the aces, kings, jacks and jokers among the PLP hierarchy. Because of the word's gender connotations – and the recent "pansies in parliament" allegations following the Brokeback Mountain controversy – there is no "queen" category in this straw poll of informed analysts. So here goes…
ACE denotes a top performer, with a real command and understanding of the post and the communication skills to get his or her message across.
KING is an above-average rating for someone who is obviously competent if unspectacular at the job.
JACK is an adequate but not exceptional performer who probably needs to do better.
JOKER is someone who has fallen short in the role, sometimes but not always to the embarrassment of the country at large.
Overall; the PLP's performance was characterised by those taking part in the vote as below par, betraying an incapacity or unwillingness to make the big decisions. It was also seen as having presided over a worrying decline in law and order and educational standards.
However, analysts also felt that the FNM had done insufficient at this stage to make them natural successors at the polls in 2007.
"What we need is a single major issue on which the vote will turn," said one observer: "So far, the FNM has failed to produce one. They need to get moving over the next few months if they really want to unseat a government which has been far from impressive."
THE LIST:
JACK:
Prime Minister Perry Christie is an affable man who, whatever his faults, has kept his Cabinet more or less in line. "One wonders what might have happened had he not been there," said one observer.
"He does not come over as a strong leader, but in his quiet way, I believe he is a balancing influence in what would otherwise be a free-for-all. No-one could ever describe him as a great prime minister, but he has not been as bad as he might have been."
Having suffered a stroke last year, Mr Christie has to be commended for holding his own against considerable odds. Many might well have bowed out of public life in the circumstances, but he ploughed on. One observer said: "I don't think Christie should ever be under-estimated."
His extremely late Cabinet reshuffle means many of the following assessments are based on a minister's first portfolio rather than his or her new job.
Strength: Steady presence under fire.
Weakness: Indecision
JOKER:
Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt (also Minister of National Security) is seen as insufficiently worldly for the job of controlling law enforcement.
"She naively takes the view that the police and Defence Force are beyond reproach when it's clear to everyone else that they are not," said a media source.
With crime and. corruption rampant, she – invokes God too ofen for some tastes. "Some of her comments are extremely inappropriate in the modern age," he added.
In addition, the shambolic prison situation has to be laid at her door, even though its faults pre-date her ministerial career by many years.
However, she did well when deputising for Mr Christie following his stroke last year, showing a sure-footedness which took many by surprise.
Strength: Well-intentioned and honourable.
Weakness: Too trusting.
JOKER
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell is probably the biggest joker in the pack, having completely botched up the Cuban dentists' crisis, making the Bahamas look bad in the eyes of the world. One wonders whether, without pressure from The Tribune and Fox News, the dentists would still be enduring the filth and stench of Carmichael Road Detention Centre.
He has also failed to address the continuing alleged visa scandal, though whether this is the result of unwillingness to act or inability to master his minions is not yet clear. Either way, he is currently seen as an indecisive minister who is driving the Bahamas into the arms of leftwingers like Castro and Chavez while alienating the country's greatest friend, the United States. In our vote, one dissenter rated him "quite clever" and felt he deserved a higher place in the appraisal.
However, he was described as having a petulant manner which does not point to great leadership potential.
Strength: An ability to create an illusion of efficiency.
Weaknesses: Indecision, pettiness, inability to confront major issues and a misguided belief in his own intellectual superiority.
ACE
Obie Wilchcombe, Minister of Tourism, is seen by observers as one of two true success stories of the Christie Cabinet. He appears well organised and in control of his brief, overseeing the Bahamas' success in attracting five million visitors in a single year for the first time.
With his background as a journalist, Wilchcombe has also emerged as a good communicator, though his occasional idiotic remarks about the media do not sit well with the nation's image-builders. In addition to his ministerial skills, he is seen as a very good constituency MP.
Strengths: Good organiser and communicator.
Weakness: Tends to utter silly comments that make him appear less able than he is.
JACK/KING
Leslie Miller, Minister of Trade and Industry, who is now in charge of agriculture, began his Cabinet life as a surefire JOKER (remember the lamentable BAIC fiasco?) but has redeemed himself since then to become one of the most open and outspoken ministers in the government.
His stands on LNG and PetroCaribe are seen by some quite serious observers as the right ways to go. He also displays an apparently genuine concern for ordinary Bahamians and their living costs – a quality often absent among ministers once they get to power.
Though seen as somewhat rough-and-ready by some critics, he has likeable features which, in the final analysis, appear to have overshadowed his defects. However, critics say his sound-and-fury is often to little effect and his 'cheap fuel' campaign misguided.
Strengths: Outspoken support of the masses, determined pursuit of causes close to his heart.
Weaknesses: Sometimes tactless and unpredictable.
JOKER
Bradley Roberts, Minister of Works and Utilities, was fine-and-dandy as "the man who can put things right" when he was in opposition, but his management of the utilities corporations and Bahamasair have been less than stellar over the past four years.
Though he almost singlehandedly dislodged the FNM before the 2002 election with a string of devastating "bombshells" in the House of Assembly, his fuse went damp when it came to suiting action to word.
As a result, his portfolio was stripped to the bone in the Cabinet reshuffle, leaving him with just BTC and Water and Sewerage. Hardly a vote of confidence from the PM.
An aborted rape claim did not help his cause. He now seems to be limbering up for retirement from frontline politics.
Strength: Talks the talk.
Weakness: Unable to walk the walk.
JOKER
Alfred Sears, Attorney General and Minister of Education, was undoubtedly dealt a duff hand when he was asked to take on two of the most important ministerial jobs at the same time.
Predictably, he fell flat on his face in both areas, leaving the court system in chaos and the schools on the brink of breakdown.
Fundamentally a well-intentioned and quite able man, Sears suffered job overload and almost buckled under the burden.
It's probably too early to judge his true capabilities, but on the basis of performance to date, he has to go down as one of the government's failures.
Strength: Intellectually capable.
Weakness: Falls apart under pressure.
JACK/JOKER
Neville Wisdom, in his role as Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, will forever be blighted by the Junkanoo bleachers botch-up early in his ministerial career. Since then he has managed to keep his head down reasonably well, thus escaping being labelled a total JOKER.
Strength: Appears genuine.
Weakness: Erratic and impulsive.
JACK
Shane Gibson was a proactive Housing Minister and seems to be getting to grips with the Haitian problem in his new role as immigration minister, though the controversial Spanish Wells "swoop" will not have helped his cause.
He sees himself as a tough, no-nonsense character, but must not allow himself to be carried away by his own publicity. All round, though, he has emerged as one of the government's more successful ministers.
Strength: Ability to get things done.
Weakness: Impetuosity.
JOKER
Dr Marcus Bethel as Minister of Health presided over a department with grandiose ideas about its own importance.
He seemed to take the elitist view that public opinion was of no account, and was extremely evasive in all matters relating to the Haitian immigrants' impact on the health services.
"He always seemed reluctant to come clean on anything that he felt might have an impact on public order," said one commentator.
"This was particularly evident during the SARS alert. I got the impression we could all be dying of the disease before he would admit it was here," he added.
It has to be said that this view was not unanimous. Dr Bethel's performance is thought to have been adversely affected by a measure of disenchantment on his own part. One observer would have given him an 'ACE' rating.
Strength: None that was obvious.
Weaknesses: Evasive, elitist and unforthcoming.
JACK
Melanie Griffin as Social Services Minister has emerged as competent and caring, but hardly a visionary with a firm handle on the the major issues confronting Bahamian society today.
What the job needs is someone who can pull up trees in pursuit of solutions to the country's many social ills. What she has provided is a safe pair of hands but no real strategy for the future.
Strength: Compassionate and conscientious.
Weakness: Lacks vision for the long-term.
JACK
Glenys Hanna-Martin's handling of the Transport and Aviation portfolio has been moderately effective, though she ﾠdoes not appear to be a luminary in this area. "She seems to rely very heavily on her staff," said one observer.
Again, transport is a crucial ﾠconsideration for the Bahamas and needs someone with a detailed idea of what can be ﾠdone to tackle the country's long-term needs. The airport, bus system and traffic congestion continue to be pressing problems.
Strength: Commitment.
Weakness: Has failed to articulate a blueprint for the future.
JACK/JOKER
Allyson Maynard-Gibson failed to impress as Financial Services Minister, despite high expectations in the business and financial community.
"She improved the publicprivate sector partnership in the financial services industry, but her performance all round was only average," said a commentator.
As Attorney General, she has a chance to redeem herself, especially as the court system is in such a shambles. Does she have what it takes to pull off a major shake-up before the election?
Public concern over the law-and-order system is now growing apace, and has reached the House of Assembly via former Attorney General Tennyson Wells, who last week attacked certain members of the judiciary.
It needs a firm approach to correct radical defects. Mrs Maynard-Gibson has a reputation for being a no-nonsense operator, but the jury's still out on whether she can pull this one off.
Strength: Firm attitude to the job at hand.
Weakness: Can be too confrontational for her own good, as shown by the Registrar General debacle, when she lashed out at Elizabeth Thompson in the House of Assembly.
JOKER
Alfred Gray as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Local Government was seen by observers as "ineffectual and clueless" with a remarkable capacity for putting his foot in his mouth.
Strength: Nothing discernible.
Weaknesses: You name it.
JOKER
Vincent Peet as Minister of Labour and Immigration was again seen as less than adequate in this dual role. The Korean Boats fiasco was laid at his door, though the hapless – Sidney Stubbs took the rap. The immigration portfolio has now gone to Shane Gibson, who is expected to take matters in hand with rather more gusto than his lacklustre predecessor.
Strength: Pass.
Weaknesses: Who's counting?
ACE
One man who always gets a favourable billing is Minister of State for Finance James Smith, who comes over as very sound in his field. "No-one has a bad word to say about him," said one analyst.
Also viewed positively is new Health Minister Dr Bernard Nottage, whose impact on the department is already being felt, though it's too early for him to be rated officially. He is expected to have a much more open approach than the secretive Dr Marcus Bethel.
Off-the-scale jokers in the PLP include Sidney Stubbs, MP for Holy Cross, whose short-lived bankruptcy was one of many blips in a four-year parliamentary career which has been almost totally calamitous.
Meanwhile, fellow MP Keod Smith (Mount Moriah) is viewed even by fellow PLPs as one of those unfortunate aberrations you sometimes get in politics.
When he was thrown into the 2002 election to fight the, FNM's Tommy Turnquest, he was not expected to win. When he did, the collective groan could be heard all over New Providence.
"With any luck, his constituents will see sense and consign him to obscurity, where he belongs, when 2007 comes around," said one media observer.
All in all, then, not a fantastically positive appraisal of the government of the day. Now, it remains to be seen whether ﾠthe FNM can capitalise on the PLP's weaknesses and claim victory when the votes are counted.
With so many jokers in the pack, the PLP's house of cards is not exactly standing on the firmest of foundations. Will it collapse when Hubert Ingraham begins his huffin' and puffin'? Time will tell.
What do you think? Fax 328-2398 or e-mail jmarquis@tribunemedia.net
By JOHN MARQUIS, From the April 24, 2006 INSIGHT Column in The Tribune
