By PAUL G TURNQUEST

Chief Reporter

pturnquest@tribunemedia.net

FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said the Free National Movement needs to take collective responsibility for its recent loss at the polls in the North Abaco by-election.

Refusing to take individual blame, Dr Minnis said he was “taken aback” when former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham gave what appeared to be a concession speech on national television following the PLP’s landslide victory.

“I think the press and everybody must realize that the former Prime Minister is no longer the leader (of the FNM). Dr Hubert Minnis is the leader, and therefore the former Prime Minister does not speak for the FNM.

“I speak for the FNM. The former Prime Minister was the leader. He is no longer the leader. When he speaks, he speaks as a citizen and gives his views but he does not speak, and nor should the public or anyone interpret that he is speaking for the FNM.

“He has a right to speak his views and when members of the press put a microphone in front of his face and he speaks they must realise that he is speaking as a citizen and not as the leader of the FNM. I speak as the leader of the FNM and I am the leader of the FNM,” Dr Minnis said.

With many political observers interpreting Dr Minnis’ public rebuke of the former Prime Minister as being an indication of a growing rift within the party, the FNM’s leader said that such assumptions were utter “nonsense.”

“There is no rift between us. The only thing I am pointing out is that I am the leader of the FNM,” he said.

However, numerous sources within the FNM have started to question Dr Minnis’ long-term viability as leader of the party and whether or not he should lead the party into the 2017 general election.

Having heard these and other concerns himself, Dr Minnis said that he is prepared for any challenge to his leadership.

“Every leader goes through that. There has always been resistance, and there will always be. That is human nature and that is the way of society,” he said.

“I thought we ran a good campaign. They had the wrath and the whip of the government.

“The party lost the election and the people spoke. It’s the party’s loss. No one man can fight any battle, certainly not me. The party gave all it could. We had challenges of persons being threatened to lose their jobs, their livelihood, etc. We thought Abaco was somewhat resilient to that, not solely dependent on government and therefore we would be able to overcome that.

“We also had the challenges of individuals receiving money for votes, light bills, etc, being paid. It is not democracy really, and we have to move away from that. That was not what our constitution wanted. Our constitution wanted freedom of speech in a democratic society where individuals can vote and express whether they are PLPs or FNMs without repercussions,” he said.

Adding that it is not even up for debate the fact that the PLP out spent his party during this campaign for North Abaco, Dr Minnis said he is going to focus his energies now on ensuring that the FNM becomes the government in 2017.