Beware the unseen hand on the OBA tiller

Christopher Famous

Published Sep 28, 2018 at 8:00 am (Updated Sep 28, 2018 at 10:13 am)

Yogi Berra-like: former premier Craig Cannonier was sworn in as Leader of the Opposition at Government House on Monday (Photograph by Akil Simmons)

“It feels like déjà vu all over again”

— Yogi Berra

Headlines that reached the local media some time ago:

• Political party ditches leader in secret coup

• Political party ditches Senate team

• Political party says it will get rid of United Bermuda Party image

• Political party says it wants to fight to unify Bermuda

Where have we heard this before? Oh, I know, it was in the year 2011.

“Bermuda Democratic Alliance leader Craig Cannonier yesterday called for the United Bermuda Party to call it a day ‘for the good of the country’”

— The Royal Gazette, November 19, 2010

So, some eight years later, what are the headlines that we see?

• Political party, once again, ditches leader in secret coup

• Political party, once again, ditches its Senate team

• Political party, once again, says it will shed the UBP image

• Political party, once again, says it wants to fight to unify Bermuda

“One source predicted that Mr Cannonier, who led the party to victory at the polls in 2012, would launch ‘a night of the long knives’ to remove one-time MPs from the former United Bermuda Party from the OBA ranks in Parliament.”

— The Royal Gazette, September 26, 2018

One could be rightly forgiven if they were of the opinion that they had seen this movie, or should we say soap opera play, already. You know the type of soap opera — such as The Young and The Restless where Nikki Newman is constantly torn romantically between Jack Abbot and Victor Newman.

The type of movie where it seems like Joe Bermuda is the character Phil Connors in Groundhog Day, played by Bill Murray.

Essentially, the exact same script with the exact same characters.

The challenge for the One Bermuda Alliance at this point in time is that Bermudian people, while in need of an effective opposition, are not going to be fooled again with the same song and dance about bringing fresh perspectives to the table.

Moreover, they will not gullible when words such as “openness”, “honesty” and “transparency” are trotted about.

Why is that?

Simply put, when the OBA was in government, it did nothing of significance for the everyday grassroots Bermudian, and they were anything but open and honest.

Quite the polar opposite from his claims of 2010, Craig Cannonier as Premier brought nothing but the same old characters, mindsets and tricks of the United Bermuda Party back into ministerial positions in government. So much so, that at one point, 90 per cent of OBA ministers were former UBP ministers.

So, you see, Bermudians are no longer going to fall for the “rope-a-dope” when it comes to the Opposition.

Here is the thing: Opposition leader Cannonier could not have started the Bermuda Democratic Alliance on his own.

He could not have started the OBA on his own. He has had willing and able partners both at the forefront and in the background.

For sure, he could not have become Opposition leader once again in 2018 on his own.

We have only to ask ourselves a singular question: “Who was one of the chief architects of both the BDA and the OBA?”

The one name that immediately comes to mind is former senator and minister Michael Fahy.

It feels like déjà vu all over again.

• Christopher Famous is the government MP for Devonshire East (Constituency 11). You can reach him at WhatsApp on 599-0901 or e-mail at cfamous@plp.bm

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