Bran McCartney is in for a “rude awakening” at election time, says the FNM candidate for Bamboo Town, Cassius Stuart.
Mr Stuart, the former leader of the Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM), said he is confident that Bamboo Town is, “the bedrock of the FNM”. He thinks Mr McCartney “confused the whole thing” when he decided to quit the FNM halfway through his term and form the Democratic National Alliance (DNA).
“He thought the votes were for him,” Mr Stuart said, “but Bamboo Town has always been and will always be FNM.
“His perception is bigger than his reality and that’s going to be his downfall.” Stuart reportedly said of Mr McCartney during an interview with a local newspaper.
Mr Stuart disbanded the BDM party last year and joined the FNM after a decade of failed attempts to get a foothold in politics.
“We had to take a practical way to politics. I determined that the people of Bahamas love either the FNM or the PLP, while the third party gets less than one per cent of the vote.”
Stuart said he wanted “to be a part of affecting the direction of the country,” and that wasn’t possible with the continued losses of the BDM.
Mr Stuart went to both the PLP and the FNM, expressing his interest in joining one of the main stream parties. While he waited months for Perry Christie to answer, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham responded “within one hour”.
After months of negotiation, Stuart joined the FNM feeling that the party has proven themselves to be a party of action, versus the PLP.
“You can see the fingerprint of the FNM, that is the difference. It is evident throughout the Bahamas.”
And it was Mr Ingraham’s “strength” that made it easier for him to “submit” to the FNM.
“One leader to another, it’s difficult to submit to a leader weaker than you,” Mr Stuart said. “It’s like if you’re a student and you’re smarter than your teacher – it doesn’t work.”
