By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Free National movement (FNM) Leader Tommy Turnquest said he does not believe Dr Hubert Minnis has the “leadership ability” or the “personality” to defeat the current administration in the next general election.

Speaking with The Tribune on the sidelines of the official launch of Loretta Butler-Turner and Dr Duane Sands’ campaign, Mr Turnquest said he supports the former for party leader because she “has what it takes to take the party to the next level” and “is comfortable in her own skin.”

“I have been intimately involved in the FNM since 1981,” the former minister of national security said. “I have been on the council from then. I have been in practically every sphere of the FNM and I know the inner workings of the party. I have seen the good in the FNM and the not so good in the FNM.”

“The FNM has always been made up of a group of different persons. The job of a leader has always been to bring those groupings together. It has never been an easy job and unless you make an effort to bring those persons together you will not be a good leader and Dr Minnis has failed to do this. Minnis did not (do) his job as leader successfully and I think the party needs to regroup and have a change in direction. Currently there are too many people being pushed aside in the party and not being utilised because they have a different point of view. That is not how a leader leads.”

Mr Turnquest said Dr Minnis has underutilised the talent in the FNM and he is unable to deal with “free thinking people.”

“The job of a leader is to find within the party the talent and then pull that talent out and Dr Minnis hasn’t done that. I am confident that Loretta is willing to take advice and she is willing to work with all the various groupings in the party and bring out the best in everyone,” Mr Turnquest said.

“You need a leader who is comfortable in their own skin to be able to deal with the free thinking people and I believe that Loretta is that person to do that.”

When asked if he thinks the Bahamas is ready for a woman prime minister, Mr Turnquest said: “We will see.”

However he added that what the nation needs is not a man or a woman, but a “competent leader who takes advice and different views into account.”

On Wednesday night, Mrs Butler-Turner called herself and Senator Sands the “best team” not only to lead the FNM, but also to take the country out of the hands of the “worst government the country has ever seen.”

The FNM’s convention is slated for July 27 - 29.