Ingraham return ‘not in the realm of possibility’

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham’s return to frontline politics “isn’t in the realm” of possibility, according to former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson.

Mr Watson, who served in the first Ingraham administration, said the former prime minister had “given everything he could give” to nation building over the course of his lengthy political career and had now decided to enjoy the comforts of retirement.

Mr Watson was responding to questions centred on whether the FNM’s decision to hold an early convention in July had anything to do with a possible return by Mr Ingraham.

“I don’t know who all will be involved in the upcoming convention . . . but I am fairly certain that the former prime minister has made up his mind that it is over for him,” he said when asked of potential front-runners heading into the three-day conclave.

“But you can’t blame him, he has done three terms as (prime minister) with the FNM and he has been involved at various levels of politics for a long time. He is a person you can look and say, ‘he has given all he could give to The Bahamas’ and be absolutely fair in saying that.”

During a special meeting called last Thursday, the party’s council announced that it will hold a “full convention” from July 27 - 29 at the Melià resort.

The decision was made after six of the FNM’s ten MPs gave Dr Minnis an ultimatum: call an early convention or they would write to Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling to have him constitutionally removed as leader of the Official Opposition in Parliament.

Mr Watson said he, like many of the FNM supporters across the country, dreaded the direction of the party in recent months.

According to the former Adelaide MP, the party had descended into a state of chaos in which policies of law and order took a back seat to personalities and factions. He said while the move away from the former prime minister was necessary, the inability to grow and develop the organisation illustrated that something was “obviously missing.”

He insisted that while the decision to move the party’s convention from November to July was “the best move possible,” those persons vying for leadership positions should spend the coming weeks resolving the internal woes of the party and forming connections across the “unnecessary divide.”

“I am looking forward to this,” he said of the convention. “This will end all the talk and turmoil within the party. Everyone will have their say and then we can move forward as a united party. All of the deception, the disagreements and so on, all will be done and concluded after July.”

“That is what everyone should look forward to, a united party, a formidable unit ready to contest the general election. I think that a convention will determine it all, and that is good.”

Comments

Publius says...

The Tribune is ridiculous and trite. Hubert Ingraham can speak for himself, no? Why does the Tribune keep running to Frank Watson for what is going on with the former prime minister? If the Tribune as a newspaper wants to know that, they can certainly ask him since their publisher communicates with him often. We never seem to tire of the tiresome games in this country constantly publishing what this man truly cannot speak to, while being very dubious about what he could speak to fully - BEC under his watch! But getting back to the story, the only person who could make a headline like this credible is the person named in that headline. Otherwise the Tribune is one again with the agenda pushing.

Posted 6 June 2016, 2:15 p.m. Suggest removal

jackbnimble says...

Isn't Watson one of his best friends? Guess it's as close to grove as they will get for a statement.

Posted 6 June 2016, 2:24 p.m. Suggest removal

Publius says...

If I want to write a story about what is in your heart and mind, that can really only come from you. Anything else is hearsay and conjecture. And that's if you are just an average Joe. We are talking about a former prime minister here and what he may or may not do that would have far reaching ramifications for a major political party and a country. The Tribune repeatedly quotes Watson speaking about what a former prime minister may or may not do as if that former prime minister is somehow incapacitated. It is ridiculous and embarrassing journalistically. If the former prime minister's answer to the question is truly no, then the Tribune should have no difficulty getting him on record as saying "no". Ingraham is a man who has said on record "I need no spokesman and no interpreter." Well when did Watson suddenly assume those two roles in the Tribune's mind?

Posted 6 June 2016, 2:29 p.m. Suggest removal

ohdrap4 says...

can we keep frank watson trapped in that realm too?

Posted 6 June 2016, 3:41 p.m. Suggest removal

sangeej says...

heard that before, :)

Posted 6 June 2016, 10:15 p.m. Suggest removal

cmiller says...

I really like Ingraham, and am seriously loving the roads he gave us, but I do not want to see his generation back running this country!!! We have invested millions of dollars in our young people to go off and get multiple degrees and when they get back here, the power hungry old folks won't go away to provide opportunities. And don't tell me anything about experience because there is no place in this world to go learn how to govern a country, You learn to do by doing!!!! Old people in government and in ministries need to let go now and go enjoy retirement like Ingraham did.

Posted 7 June 2016, 8:49 a.m. Suggest removal

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