Category: Political Editorials

               

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | [email protected]

Recently during a high level meeting arranged by the Official Opposition in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Free National Movement, reportedly there was contention. The situation boiled over into an embarrassing, brutal physical altercation that left a noted party supporter seriously injured. Eye witnesses informed that he was savagely put upon by a fellow strong FNM proponent, who has differing views regarding Dr. Hubert Alexander Minnis who led the party to defeat last September.

The Hon. Michael Pintard is the sitting leader of the FNM. He attained such status in a democratic fashion, decisively. Dr. Minnis is the seemingly bitter former leader, who did not offer himself for the role when Pintard disposed of several others through the “in order” convention voting process.

As I pointed out in an earlier opinion piece it doesn’t appear that Dr. Minnis is going away. The view here is that he continues to grandstand, is not really respectful of Leader Pintard, and there is, accordingly,  this emotional spillover to his supporters. Thus the FNM party is in deep crisis. Pintard’s leadership is being assailed.

This is unfair and unprecedented in Bahamian politics.

This atrocious scenario never came about before because politicians and their followers of the past, though many of them were strong-minded, their characters did not lend themselves to violence against each other. 

The country’s first political party, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) saw the leadership pass from Henry Milton Taylor to Lynden Oscar Pindling. Taylor and a few others were bitter about the new kids on the block taking over, but there was not much of a thought of challenging the new order.

After Pindling’s 30-plus years of leadership, Perry Gladstone Christie emerged as leader. There was the expected resentment and disappointment felt by those who preferred Dr. Bernard Nottage, but the party moved on handsomely. Christie delayed his time in PLP leadership, by failing to live up to his own reported time table to demit office. However, present PLP Leader and Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis bided his time, and look where he is today!

The second political party in the country which produced the first government, the United Bahamian Party, had a very smooth transition from the longtime leader Sir Roland Symonette  era to Sir Jeffery Johnstone.

The FNM itself,  went through many changes, in true democratic fashion, never burdened by anything such as inside troublemakers, apparently trying feverishly/violently to frustrate the leadership of one Michael Pintard.

This is not right. Let the man do his job in peace. 

From Sir Cecil Wallace to Sir Kendal Isaacs and back to Sir Cecil; to the three-time prime minister Hubert Alexander Ingraham; to Dr. Minnis; with interim leaders in place such as John Henry Bostwick, Cyril Tynes, and Tommy Turnquest; the FNM never faced anything even close to the present debacle.

It is therefore incumbent upon Pintard and the others within the FNM who have rationale, to immediately put the house in order. 

By Fred Sturrup | GB Editor | [email protected]

The present administration that governs the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is that of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis. There is an unusual development that is most disrespectful, I think, to the nation’s chief executive.

I have noted that certain governing politicians are getting into the custom of mouthing these words: “The Davis/Cooper administration” in reference to the present government, headed by one man. That man is the one who carried the Progressive Liberal Party to a resounding victory over the Hubert Alexander Minnis’ FNM administration. That is Philip “Brave” Davis.

Those who have referred to the government of Philip “Brave” Davis in that manner ought to cease forthwith. Now, let it be understood. I do not wish to accuse the parliamentarians who have disrespected their PM, perhaps innocently, of being devious or seeking to achieve a goal in an underhanded manner.  No, not in the least. 

However, it is appropriate to bring this lack of protocol to the attention of those parliamentarians and others.

I have been observing politics closely from the days of the United Bahamian Party (UBP) governance era.  Although Sir Stafford Sands was known to be quite influential, the UBP Government was Sir Roland Symonette’s administration. Then came the Pindling (Sir Lynden) administration (acknowledged as such despite his deputy being the great freedom fighter Arthur Hanna); the Ingraham (Hubert Alexander) administration; followed by the Christie (Perry Gladstone) administration; and the other Hubert (Alexander Minnis) administration.

The administration today is headed by one person; the one who appoints all of the Cabinet ministers, and who can also fire each of them.

In the USA, presently it is the Biden (President Joe) administration.  The Andrew Michael Holness administration runs the government in Jamaica. Horace Anthony Chang is the Deputy Prime Minister. It’s the Holness administration in that country, not the Holness/Chang administration.

Prime Minister Davis ought not have to speak to this local “political administration” matter at all. Deputy Prime Minister Cooper should personally take responsibility to ensure that this trend is stopped.  He knows that he works for the People of the Bahamas in the administration of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, the man who appointed him to high office. He knows that the leadership is not a shared one and that he works at the behest of Davis.

There is one chief, not two.

So, Cooper should politely speak to those parliamentarians who talk about a Davis/Cooper administration. Yes, he should have a private conversation with them.

The view held here is that there is no such thing as a joint administration leadership.

Indeed, there is one chief, not two!

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | [email protected]

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! 

The announcement by the Prime Minister Philip Davis led Government of the Bahamas, on Wednesday, that the Electra America Hospitality Group had purchased the Grand Lucaya properties in Grand Bahama for $100 million, heralded the great opportunities for gainful employment residents have been wishing, hoping for.

Based in Florida, Electra certainly came to the table with a bundle of credentials. Its marketing promo follows: “Electra America Hospitality Group (EAHG) is a unique joint venture between Electra America, a leading real estate operator and capital provider, and AKA, a leading provider of long-short term luxury accommodations. The partnership is designed to capitalize on dislocation in the hotel industry. Marrying Electra’s expertise in value-add investing and repositioning with AKA’s unique, design-driven philosophy and loyal customer base, EAHG generates premium returns for investors through the acquisition, renovation and management of well-located hotel resorts with upside potential in major U.S. markets.”

The Grand Lucayan properties certainly fit the bill, and all of The Bahamas, from a business perspective, is considered an extension of the U.S. market.
Moving about Grand Bahama in the days following the announcement, the name Philip Davis was heard spoken of highly by all and sundry. Frankly, although he is the maestro of the governing political party, the signing by Electra transcended politics.  Folks view the development as something joyful for all; and PM Davis and his associates in the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Grand Bahama are accordingly complimented. 
As for the Prime Minister, he continues to overachieve, when one considers how he was perceived during the early years after he ascended to the helm of the Progressive Liberal Party and when the most recent general elections campaign began. His transformation to what he is today, has been nothing short of magnificent. There is no doubt that, as the head coach, he makes the jobs of his Cabinet Ministers so much easier.

The PM has orchestrated a comfort zone in this country not experienced throughout the entirety of the Free National Movement Dr. Hubert Minnis’ governance or during the latter portion of the Perry Christie administration’s second term. In less than a year, Davis has gone to a lofty height, whereby he can legitimately be talked positively about in the same FNM-Hubert Ingraham and PLP-Perry Christie conversation.  It was Ingraham who was the catalyst behind the emergence of Atlantis, that great resort empire on Paradise Island; and likewise Christie is to be thanked for the Baha Mar grand hospitality facility in New Providence.  In both cases, the day was saved for the country financially, as Atlantis and Baha Mar ushered in climates for economic security through thousands of steady, part-time and sourced out jobs.  For Grand Bahama, finally, there is the substantive sign of economic revitalization. Prime Minister Davis, is indeed charting his own course, but functioning similar to a phrase coined by Ingraham: “I say what I mean and mean what I say.”  Just a couple of months into his prime ministership, right in Grand Bahama during a press conference, Davis said it’s time for there to be much more than just talk about what needs to and will happen with Grand Bahama economically.  Well, his government is placing substantive action alongside the talk.

Grand Bahama is better off with his leadership.

QUALITY NATIONAL LEADERS

SHAPING UP WELL

A POLITICAL PARIAH?

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | [email protected]

Dr. Hubert Minnis is considered to be a political pariah. He certainly fits the description of an outcast, much more so than any other leader in Bahamian political history, I submit.  This man has been rejected by the national voters in great numbers, and within the party he hangs on to, the Free National Movement (FNM), it is understood that the great majority wish he would just go away, resign, and get totally out of the picture.  Killarney could very well do with another representative. 

The fall from political grace that, in my view, is the largest aspect of his legacy, puts Dr. Minnis in the ignominious category of one. Given what happened under his watch; the questionable contracts, the inflated budgets, the attitude etc., I know of no other major party leader who bore as much or more public disgrace or shame.  

Let’s go through the list of political leaders in the modern Bahamas. For the now-governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), the leaders include Henry Milton Taylor, Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, Perry Gladstone Christie and Phillip “Brave” Davis.   The first government of the country, the United Bahamian Party (UBP), had Sir Roland Symonette and Godfrey Johnstone.  The Free PLP/FNM’s list is longer, inclusive of short-term leaders. The prominent chiefs were, of course, founding-leader Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, Sir Kendal Isaacs and Hubert Ingraham. Then, there were Cyril Fountain, Cyril Tynes, Henry Bostwick, Tommy Turnquest and Michael Pintard (currently in charge).  All of them, their faults noted, were thought to be honourable men.

What about Dr. Hubert Minnis?  The truth be told, there is the view that he sours the FNM.  And, he won’t go away.

In an earlier commentary in GB News, it was predicted that Dr. Minnis would be a great obstacle to Pintard’s leadership. He seems determined to undermine the younger politician who has been widely accepted by FNMs across the length and breadth of this nation. Pintard is certainly more dignified.  The antics of Dr. Minnis are disgusting.  He lost the election of 2021 and the FNM opted to change him and go with another at the helm. That was the logical conclusion. His decisions in leadership, for the most part, were not sound ones at all.  

Think about it for a moment.  Dr. Minnis could still be the executive leader of this country. His Cabinet Ministers could still be moving about in the political style befitting their portfolios. In particular, they could still be earning their salaries. Cabinet Ministers each lost more than $60,000 because of the decision made by Dr. Minnis to call an early election, September 16, of last year.  He dealt serious blows to his party and the pockets of ministers, other parliamentarians and supporters with lucrative contracts.

Yet he sticks around, seemingly making every effort to upstage the sitting FNM Leader Pintard. In that earlier commentary, I warned Pintard about what he was likely to face in Dr. Minnis. It is not a pretty scene for the FNM. On the one hand there is Leader Pintard, trying valiantly to make his party relevant with the voters once again.  On the other hand, Dr. Minnis appears to be disdainful of Pintard and his status in the country as Her Majesty’s Loyal Official Opposition Leader. 

The time has come for those who care deeply for the FNM to take a strong stand alongside Pintard, and insist that Dr. Minnis moves on. If not, a fractured party will be the result and the FNM will not be able to go to the people for voting support as a unified body.

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | [email protected]

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe is deemed by many to be out of order for comments made regarding a plea agreement which enabled a man recently convicted of having intercourse with a minor to receive a prison term of just four years.
He was quoted:”If I was advising the accused and someone gets seven years for raping somebody, I wouldn’t be advising my client to agree to four years for unlawful intercourse. I would say that if we go to court, you would say to the judge, “He didn’t rape her. She consented.” A release from the Ministry of National Security claimed that Minister Munroe was regretful that his comments “caused concern.” His defense continued with the following: “When I provide my analysis of a legal matter, as I have done in recent interviews, I do draw upon decades of experience practicing law.”  
Indeed, Munroe is a noted attorney; but in his capacity as Minister of National Security, he does not have the luxury to act or think, only, as a lawyer. Protocol dictates that he functions, in particular while in public, in the interest of his ministry. He seems, based on his comments, sympathetic to the convicted individual, and not very much concerned that a child under the age of 16 has been interfered with sexually, her innocence violated. Quite frankly, at that age, she is unable to give legal consent.
From throughout this country and the wider Caribbean Region, reportedly the outcry against Munroe has been great. He thus sits, it is submitted, as a cancer in the Cabinet of the Most Honourable Prime Minister Philip Davis. Cancer should be removed.
PM Davis is batting on a really fine wicket. His detractors are hard pressed to criticize him with any sense of logic. His cabinet ministers can be his downfall though. Voters have long memories.  I suggest that the prime minister takes his mind back to the 2002-2007 first Progressive Liberal Party governance term of Perry Gladstone Christie. The economy was booming, things were going well in the nation; but Christie lost respect when he failed to handle properly, in the view held here, the BAIC (Bahamas Agriculture and Industrial Corporation) debacle and several other national matters of great concern.
The same can happen to Davis four and a half years down the road.
PM Davis, I urge you to remember how Sir Lynden Pindling functioned as prime minister, especially during those early years of a quarter of a century of leadership.  I mention for emphasis the names of Simeon Bowe and Ervin Knowles. There was the case of the PVC pipes. It was a huge controversy, although Bowe was not thought to be personally involved. Bowe was a dear friend of the then prime minister and one of the heroes of the eastern district. He stepped down from his ministry post, however, so the government could move forward without that baggage.
In the case of Knowles, a matter regarding a contract for BAIC was his downfall. Just like Bowe, he was very close to Sir Lynden, and not known to have been the culprit. However, it was on his watch and convention dictated the honourable path. Knowles took it.
This controversy Munroe is now involved in, is highly sensitive and he is in a quandary of his own doing. The matter won’t die.

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | [email protected]

There are those who claim very good genes, and factually so.
And, then there are folks with superlative genes.
One such lady who has climbed the steps of an incredible genealogy to become one of the Bahamas’ greatest nation-building matriarchs, is Allyson Maynard-Gibson.  She was recently appointed Chairman of the University of The Bahamas (UB) Board of Trustees, yet another portfolio from which enhancement of a nation and its people will be definite given her all-round pedigree of success.  No doubt, her genes have factored in the consistent efforts over the last four decades or so of excellence which put Maynard-Gibson in a very special category of Bahamian heroes.  When my immediate family of three – my father, mother and I moved a block further east from the Mackey Street North/Okra Hill Community in the summer of 1958, William Street was our destination.  In a famous home on that street lived Dr. Roland Cumberbatch and Meta Davis Cumberbatch, one of the most noted married couples in Bahamian history. I was one of the many youngsters afforded kindness by Dr. Cumberbatch and Mrs. Cumberbatch, not at all cognizant at the time of the historic individuals who touched our lives.  They were the maternal grandparents of Maynard-Gibson.
Seven blocks west of William Street, on Shirley Street, was the homestead of Georgiana Symonette one of the anchor icons of the Women’s Suffrage Movement (which fought for the rights of women to vote).  Ms. Symonette was Maynard-Gibson’s paternal grandmother who brought forth Clement and Andrew “Dud’ Maynard. The former became a pivotal unionist and later deputy prime minister of the country. The latter, for many years, helped shape the progress of  the country under a Progressive Liberal Party Government led by one Lynden Pindling who would later be knighted and accepted as the Father of the Nation when independence was ushered in on his watch.
So, coming from that ancestry, Maynard-Gibson understandably was earmarked for progressiveness – personally and in all that she had jurisdiction over.
She is a no-nonsense diplomat of the highest order. It is a characteristic rarely found. Normally the straight-shooters don’t particularly care about diplomacy. On the other hand, the usual diplomat is concerned mostly about being politically correct.  Maynard-Gibson combines both elements with grace.  Her voice level never changes no matter the heat of the discussion or the significance of the matter at hand, be it legal, political, or otherwise.  She is a barrister supreme, a Queen’s Counsel; a former Member of The House of Assembly and Senate; the country’s one-time Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs; a past Minister of Financial Services and Investments; and now UB Chair, the first woman so elevated.
Accordingly, this lady with the uncommonly prominent genetic background is positioned to continue her fantastic legacy of contributions to this country.
Congratulations Dame Maynard-Gibson!
Not yet? Well, perhaps in the near future.

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | [email protected]

The Sir Lynden Pindling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leadership legacy continues.
The Most Honourable Philip Davis, QC, MP, was not among that initial group of Pindling leadership politicians, each considered to be a protege. No, that list included Kendal Nottage, Darrell Rolle, Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie, primarily. (The latter two succeeded Sir Lynden in the high political seat of Prime Minister in the country).
However, there was a great PLP stalwart known as Edward “Big Brave” Davis, a fierce, fiery fighter in politics. The story goes that Sir Lynden very badly wanted to bestow an appointment of high honor on this giant of the political trenches who hailed from Old Bight, Cat Island. “Whatever you have for me, Mr. Prime Minister, give it to my boy.” Reportedly, that was the essence of that particular conversation between Sir Lynden and Big Brave Davis.

So, it followed that upon the resignation of Erwin Knowles as the representative for Cat Island in late November 1991, it was Philip (Little Brave) Davis who Sir Lynden endorsed to represent the PLP in 1992. The rest is history. Davis lost his Member of Parliament status during the 1997 general elections, but regained it in 2002 and has been that constituency’s political standard bearer ever since. Very early into his term as Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Davis is really the one looking most like Sir Lynden. He made a dramatic transformation with House of Assembly presentations and otherwise when bringing remarks at podiums, press conferences, etc.  The collective tag of hesitancy and rambling no longer fitted him. In fact, some two years prior to the 2021 September general elections, Davis started to make smooth deliveries and he became better and better as time went on. The masses of the people started thinking of him as “prime” Prime Minister material.
There was something else about Davis that I noticed, and I’m sure others did as well. The mannerisms of Sir Lynden could be detected at times in Davis.  There was this strong conviction and a high confidence level portrayed by Davis that was surprising.
He is not a Sir Lynden clone.  Nevertheless, much more so than Ingraham (a three-time non-consecutive PM) and Christie (twice the nation’s PM, non-consecutively) Davis resembles the Father of the Nation, Sir Lynden. Davis started out very well in appointing a magnificent Cabinet of The Bahamas. Then, inside his cabinet and outside he strategically placed others, including the most qualitative collection of women in parliament in the nation’s history, in key positions of governance.
The decision to allow the country to breathe by rescinding a lot of the restrictions imposed by a competent authority of the last government was huge. The return to nationwide normalcy began and continues despite the ever-present COVID-19 pandemic. If he can bring about the economic recovery of Grand Bahama and the revitalization of the wider country, he will further appear to be Pindling-like in leadership. How he and his ministers cope with national matters left in shambles by the previous government will determine just how much good he can do for the country, as did Sir Lynden.
At the present, PM Davis is off to a solid start. A nation now waits to see what the mega venture in Dubai produces.

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By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | [email protected]

For the first time in history there is a deputy leader who is not considered by many to be a true Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) product.   I. Chester Cooper, the Deputy Leader of the PLP and the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as Minister of Tourism, Aviation and Investments in Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ cabinet, was not even in the PLP mix during most of the last Perry Christie PLP Government (2012-2017).  Somehow, he surfaced as a PLP Candidate for the 2017 general elections after being thought to have initially decided to opt for the Free National Movement (FNM). 
In fact, during a House of Assembly session following his success in Exuma as an Official Opposition representative Cooper was accused on the floor of having changed his mind for the PLP rather than the FNM.  Whatever the case, his personal PLP link is relatively new.  This is where he differs greatly from all others who were deputy leaders of the oldest (established in 1953) formal political party in the country. When Lynden Oscar Pindling who would later be knighted and enshrined as the Father of the Nation came home from successful law studies and joined the PLP in 1953, he met Henry Milton Taylor (later to rise to the status of governor general) as the de facto leader of the PLP.  Taylor was not successful in the 1956 elections and Pindling evolved into the unquestioned leader of the PLP. There are different stories of Pindling’s ascension to the PLP leadership, but what was never in doubt was the absolute loyalty of his deputy Arthur Hanna (who would also later become governor general). Hanna was quite comfortable in his role as deputy leader of the party and deputy prime minister through 25 consecutive years of governance. It has been said far and wide that he never aspired to be party leader or prime minister. No one, not even Pindling or the late great Clarence Bain were thought of as being more PLP than Hanna.  Hanna lost in his election race in 1992 and easily slipped into the background of national politics. Perry Christie and Dr. Bernard Nottage emerged as the top choices to be Hanna’s successor as deputy leader of the PLP. In a one-day convention, Christie overcame Nottage and was officially established in the role Hanna performed so brilliantly for many years. Whatever can be said about Christie and his rise to the prime minister position for two non-consecutive terms, it was never doubted that his political career was rooted in the PLP and remained so. The political transition over time saw Cynthia Moxey-Pratt and Davis emerge as deputy leaders of the PLP, and once again, there was no questioning the distinct PLP background of the two. Now, there is Chester Cooper.  Because his FNM friends Algernon Cargill and Marlon Johnson and, I understand, quite a few others have remained entrenched in high, meaningful positions in this PLP Government; Cooper has drawn many sideways looks from PLPs, especially those who fought hard in the trenches and have received no flowers at all as yet.
This man Cooper does not have the bearing of a PLP.  He seems abstract to PLPism. Oh, he exists as a PLP hierarchy member, but the bet here is that only a small percentage of those who pay close attention to the political arena see him as a true PLP.  Such is the strange situation of historical dynamics he presents. That he has ambitions to be prime minister is not in doubt however.  This is where Davis ought to be careful and watchful; Cooper is 51, and Davis is 70. It seems an easy scenario, the younger man waiting comfortably in the wings for the older to serve two terms as prime minister. I don’t think this to be the case though.  I see Cooper fighting very hard to keep as many of his FNM buddies around, then eventually seeking to get them in the PLP ranks as part of his support base for the future. He is just a different kind of political creature; one never seen before around the PLP leadership table. 

Should Davis be uneasy?

Well, certainly he would be best minded not to go to sleep on Cooper.

By Fred Sturrup | GB News Editor | [email protected]

Loretta Butler-Turner, after she moved from Grand Bahama back to New Providence quickly became a strong force within the Free National Movement party. She was a favorite of three-time Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. When he put his slate together on the way to upsetting the Progressive Liberal Party and Prime Minister Perry Christie in 2007 during the general elections, Ingraham had Butler-Turner on the Montagu Constituency ticket.  She won, and the achievement catapulted her almost immediately into Ingraham’s preferred group. He appointed her Minister of State for Social Development and other than making inroads in her portfolio and growing as a women’s rights advocate, Butler-Turner was admired nationally for her eloquent presence in the House of Assembly. By the time the third Ingraham Government was defeated in 2012, she had become one of the leading politicians not only in our land but in the region as well. During her first tenure in the House of Assembly, she also served as Vice President of the Inter-American Commission of Women.  Indeed, Butler-Turner had made her mark outside of The Bahamas. 
There would be much more to this lady who hailed from the Pond Community in New Providence.  She was, indeed, headed for more personal accomplishments of the historic kind.  
After heading to convention, Ingraham took responsibility for the resounding defeat of  his party (9-29) and resigned on election night 2012.  A convention was soon held. Butler-Turner became the first female to win the deputy leader post in a major party. She defeated Desmond Bannister and despite Dr. Hubert Minnis becoming the FNM Leader, virtually by default, it was Butler-Turner as the representative for Long Island who flashed elegance, eloquence and political acumen in the House of Assembly and during press conferences much more often than any other in the Official Opposition.  She overshadowed Dr. Minnis based on the reality of the circumstances. She was just several grades above her leader, politically and generally, and it showed. She was looking more and more like Prime Minister material, a lot more so than Dr. Minnis.
He couldn’t like that and perhaps he felt all along that her superiority over him would be obvious. Butler-Turner would later say that when the two became public adversaries Dr. Minnis told her she was not his choice for the deputy leader position in the FNM. The die was cast.  Dr. Minnis began to show himself for what he actually was – a person many (inside and out of his party) would not be comfortable with. The situation led to a one-day convention in 2014 and Dr. Minnis who had galvanized a lot of support because of his pledges to help the small man, easily beat his opponent.
The friction between Dr. Minnis and Butler-Turner increased though. She declared her opposition to him as the FNM leader. Eventually with the support of Neko Grant of Central Grand Bahama; Hubert Chipman of St. Anne’s; Theo Neilly of North Eleuthera; Edison Key of South Abaco; Richard Lightbourne of Montagu; and Dr. Andre Rollins of Fort Charlotte; Butler-Turner was able to upend Dr. Minnis and replace him as leader of the Official Opposition. It was history again. She became the first female to head the Official Opposition in Bahamian politics.  Dr. Minnis was left with K. Peter Turnquest, the East Grand Bahama Member of Parliament in his corner.  For sure, Butler-Turner displayed the attitude, in every way, of a Prime Minister to be. But alas, Dr. Minnis was getting a groundswell of support from those who would come to regret their decision. So, at convention time in 2016 Butler-Turner pulled out of the race and the FNM Party belonged to Dr. Minnis.  She had reached her political pinnacle as leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Official Opposition. It would end up being a bitter-sweet achievement because that development spelt the end for her in the FNM.
She ran in Long Island as an independent candidate in 2017 and lost.  These days, she and a lot more who closely observe the political arena are only left to wonder. What would have happened if Butler-Turner, after she lost to Dr. Minnis for the leadership during that one-day convention in 2014, had just bided her time? 
Would it have been better for her to simply lick her wounds politically, but remain firm within the FNM? Could she have just waited for Dr. Minnis to become the pariah Bahamians detested?
Yes, if only! History is what it is, but the view strongly held here is that one Loretta Butler-Turner was most definitely on the pathway to become The Bahamas’ first female Prime Minister.

(End of two-part series)