By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday that the changes within the Free National Movement (FNM) that have resulted from infighting in the party have “raised a big question mark for the country”.

Mr Christie was referring to whether the party can galvanise voters ahead of the next general election and present a formidable challenge to the governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

“I think people in a country like The Bahamas, with the challenges that we have, must chose the greatest care when choosing the government,” he told The Tribune on the sidelines of the New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade.

“If you can see opposition, one to another, in a political organisation, then you have to be very careful what that means to the general good order of that in terms of a government. You want to be careful as you look at the level of stability of the organisation that represents itself as being able to govern this country.

“We believe that, notwithstanding the fact that Alfred Sears will run against me at the upcoming convention, we are a stable organisation capable of absorbing change. We have demonstrated the capacity to do unpopular things and to always do those things that are in the best interest of the country, to do sensible things when we must consult the private sector.

“VAT is a perfect example where we did not do it ourselves; we arrived at a decision by ourselves and let the private sector help us implement it. I think the Progressive Liberal Party when the people have to decide what are the issues they have to make a decision about, it is whether the FNM or the DNA has demonstrated a capacity to govern this country on the basis of knowing the country, having programmes that have been tested, that having people who are now tried and tested with the capacity to do the work.

“My final point is, there’s always this tendency on the part of persons to speak about corruption and again one must look on record to see where the certifiable issues of corruption have taken place, where the courts have taken place, and who has alleged all of the allegations that have come out of the FNM convention about propriety and good order and decency. Some of the comments border on allegations really of wrongdoing.

“We have a dynamic democracy. We’ve always credited our country as one that can absorb change from one to the next. The FNM, through the changes that have taken place, has raised a big question mark for the country. And that question mark has to be set and answered and it’s going to be very important for the organisations represented by those parties to understand that they are inviting people to support them for the next five years and in charting a course for this country that should take it upwards, onwards, together.”

The FNM has been plagued by infighting for several years, with many FNM parliamentarians upset with Dr Hubert Minnis’ leadership.

Last year, six FNM MPs gave the party an ultimatum: hold a convention earlier than the planned November 2016 date or the group would petition Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling to remove Dr Minnis as leader of the Official Opposition.

To avoid this, the FNM held a convention in late July, where Dr Minnis was unopposed, as challenger Loretta Butler-Turner dropped out of the acrimonious race hours before delegates were set to vote.

However, in early December, the six MPs, now joined by Central and South Abaco MP Edison Key, expressed no confidence in Dr Minnis through a letter to Dame Marguerite. Mrs Butler-Turner was sworn in as leader of the Official Opposition days later.

A tribunal has been appointed to look into the actions of the seven MPs, who face expulsion, suspension or a fine from the party.