my5cents
01-25-08, - 11:13 PM
A victory for Christie
Opposition leader Perry Christie appears to have won the first scrimmage against opponents in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) who are seeking to have him ousted as leader.
That certainly is the conclusion to be drawn from a statement made by Obie Wilchcombe, PLP Member of Parliament for West End and Bimini, in a story published in The Freeport News on Tuesday. Wilchcombe claimed that no elections would be held for leader and deputy leader of the PLP when the party holds its convention February 21 to 23. But he confirmed that elections would be held for all of the other party positions.
Wilchcombe's statement contrasts sharply with the contents of a press release on Sunday from outgoing PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby, who noted the following: "As is the norm in all of our conventions, all of the leadership positions are open for contest and we have scheduled Thursday 21st February at 2:30 p.m. for the nomination of Party Officers. Persons who wish to nominate must be official delegates at the Party's Convention."
Wilchcombe's declaration that there will not be an election for leader or deputy leader must at the very least be a total embarrassment for Rigby. Could it be that because he has already called for the resignation of Christie as leader of the PLP, Rigby already has been stripped of his powers as chairman and is no longer considered to be a spokesperson for the party, although technically he still holds that position until a new chairman is elected at the convention. The decision not to hold elections for leader and deputy leader also indicates that the resignation of Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson has stirred up such a turbulent atmosphere within the party, it was decided not to conduct a leadership election at this point because it would create a deep division in the party, one from which it would take many years to politically recover.
Christie was expected to face a strong challenge for the leadership, possibly from Dr. Bernard Nottage with support from Wilchchombe, who reportedly is interested in being deputy leader, and Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin, who is seeking to become chairman. What Gibson's resignation did was shine a spotlight on the behind-the-scene acrimony that the leadership race had been generating. In fact, following Gibson's resignation, some PLP members openly suggested that Wilchcombe and Martin encouraged Gibson to resign.
Although he denied this, Wilchcombe — when asked on several occasions to comment on the issue — vehemently refused to criticize Gibson's decision to resign; rather, he argued strongly that the door should be left open for Gibson to return to the party. Who does Wilchcombe think he is kidding? There is no way that Christie and Gibson can sit down and break bread together in a peaceful atmosphere after the bitter verbal exchanges between the two of them in the aftermath of Gibson's resignation. Wilchcombe can't possibly believe that Christie can be talked into forgiving Gibson for remarks that Christie himself said were "painful" to both he and his family.
Clearly Christie is now in the position to shed his weak image by utilizing all of the influence and power that undergirds the position of leader of the PLP to demonstrate that he is still the best choice to lead the party at this point in time. With the grassroots support he has generated as a result of Gibson's resignation, he is now in the position to crush all opposition to his leadership. Politically, he would be wise to leave not doubt about this in the minds of both Dr. Nottage and Wilchcombe.
Opposition leader Perry Christie appears to have won the first scrimmage against opponents in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) who are seeking to have him ousted as leader.
That certainly is the conclusion to be drawn from a statement made by Obie Wilchcombe, PLP Member of Parliament for West End and Bimini, in a story published in The Freeport News on Tuesday. Wilchcombe claimed that no elections would be held for leader and deputy leader of the PLP when the party holds its convention February 21 to 23. But he confirmed that elections would be held for all of the other party positions.
Wilchcombe's statement contrasts sharply with the contents of a press release on Sunday from outgoing PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby, who noted the following: "As is the norm in all of our conventions, all of the leadership positions are open for contest and we have scheduled Thursday 21st February at 2:30 p.m. for the nomination of Party Officers. Persons who wish to nominate must be official delegates at the Party's Convention."
Wilchcombe's declaration that there will not be an election for leader or deputy leader must at the very least be a total embarrassment for Rigby. Could it be that because he has already called for the resignation of Christie as leader of the PLP, Rigby already has been stripped of his powers as chairman and is no longer considered to be a spokesperson for the party, although technically he still holds that position until a new chairman is elected at the convention. The decision not to hold elections for leader and deputy leader also indicates that the resignation of Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson has stirred up such a turbulent atmosphere within the party, it was decided not to conduct a leadership election at this point because it would create a deep division in the party, one from which it would take many years to politically recover.
Christie was expected to face a strong challenge for the leadership, possibly from Dr. Bernard Nottage with support from Wilchchombe, who reportedly is interested in being deputy leader, and Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin, who is seeking to become chairman. What Gibson's resignation did was shine a spotlight on the behind-the-scene acrimony that the leadership race had been generating. In fact, following Gibson's resignation, some PLP members openly suggested that Wilchcombe and Martin encouraged Gibson to resign.
Although he denied this, Wilchcombe — when asked on several occasions to comment on the issue — vehemently refused to criticize Gibson's decision to resign; rather, he argued strongly that the door should be left open for Gibson to return to the party. Who does Wilchcombe think he is kidding? There is no way that Christie and Gibson can sit down and break bread together in a peaceful atmosphere after the bitter verbal exchanges between the two of them in the aftermath of Gibson's resignation. Wilchcombe can't possibly believe that Christie can be talked into forgiving Gibson for remarks that Christie himself said were "painful" to both he and his family.
Clearly Christie is now in the position to shed his weak image by utilizing all of the influence and power that undergirds the position of leader of the PLP to demonstrate that he is still the best choice to lead the party at this point in time. With the grassroots support he has generated as a result of Gibson's resignation, he is now in the position to crush all opposition to his leadership. Politically, he would be wise to leave not doubt about this in the minds of both Dr. Nottage and Wilchcombe.