Whoever becomes leader of the Free National Movement may have no alternative but to emulate some of the rough tactics the Progressive Liberal Party used as it clawed its way up and out of the rubble of political defeat. The truth, today, is that the FNM is now in the enviable position of having nowhere to go but up. Defeat can become one of the best teachers in the world. This is where vision, will and means can come together to create miracles.
Ultimately, Senator Tommy Turnquest and any other FNMs who would wish to lead will be judged not by what they say in Convention, but what they do to capture the imagination first of FNMs and second that of Bahamians who can be persuaded to support them.
Barring an upset of cosmic proportions, it is all but certain that Senator Turnquest is set to be confirmed in his post as Leader of the Free National Movement. Having come through a baptism of fire in the last general elections and having survived any number of in-house intrigues over the question of leadership, the senator is deserving of the highest respect.
As important as this question is, it pales when contrasted with a more important question, namely as to how or if the Free National Movement can recapture the imagination and support of the Bahamian people, sufficient to make them an appropriate and legitimate alternative to the Progressive Liberal Party.
This is particularly important for The Bahamas since it is currently faced with a series of extraordinarily important challenges, among them issues relating to the economy, threats to sovereignty and governance in a time of heightened risk. Having been called to govern in another time of high risk and uncertainty, the Free National Movement has some experience with governing and delivering the goods to a people which had become disenchanted with the status quo.
So, while Senator Turnquest will – no doubt – have his work cut out for him if he prevails, he will be called upon to whip the once mighty – but now humbled – Free National Movement into fighting form. Granted the noise in the political market place, Mr. Turnquest will be called upon to dig deep to find those reserves of strength his most ardent supporters say he has.
The proverbial ball is – so to speak – clearly in this leader’s court. If he fumbles the play, he and his supporters will have no one but themselves to blame. But, true too is the alternative. If Senator Turnquest succeeds, he will emerge as the undisputed moulder and shaper of the Free National Movement.
Mr. Turnquest and others should be given every opportunity to prove their capacity. Since nobody is barred from becoming a member of the FNM, no one should be allowed to second guess the collective wisdom of the hundreds of delegates who will, this week, be called upon to elect a leadership for that party.
We emphasise this question of ‘leadership’ because it goes to the heart of the challenge facing anyone called upon to be leader. Whoever is elected ‘leader’ will be obliged to fashion a team which will be acceptable to the Bahamian people. The people who will ultimately be the arbiters of the entire process will be watching closely and attentively, ever willing to weigh would-be leadership to determine if those who would run thing have the right stuff.
The Free National Movement should be mindful that their mission is not merely that of creating a leader or leadership team, but to put together a coalition sufficient to persuade the people that they are viable. Our interest in this matter is predicated on the notion that a democratic Bahamas thrives when the government of the day has an opposition which is forceful, purposeful and dynamic.
The argument can be made and sustained that the FNM was routed and defeated precisely because it allowed itself to drift too far away from the common-sense wisdom of so called ordinary people. In today’s radically different situation – in its season of defeat – the FNM has a wonderful opportunity to build from the ground up. Paradoxically, Senator Turnquest and his supporters can and should learn lessons from their nemeses in the Progressive Liberal Party. A decade ago, having been soundly beaten and seemingly devastated, the PLP sought to fashion a leadership which could ride out their wilderness years.
As the record copiously documents and attests, that party went through its season of ‘prune and purge’, which eventuated in the leadership combination of Perry Gladstone Christie and Cynthia Pratt. The rest of that story is – as it has been put – history.
Editorial, The Bahama Journal
