By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis last night cautioned voters to be wary of voting for the Free National Movement (FNM), claiming that former Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette’s return to frontline politics is proof that the party is representing the interests of the “Bay Street Boys” as opposed to “ordinary people”.

Mr Davis, speaking to a crowd of supporters during a town hall meeting at the CV Bethel High School last night, hit out at the FNM’s slogan “It’s the People’s Time”, suggesting that even though the Hubert Minnis-led party is trying to “present themselves different this time”, the return of Mr Symonette, the son of United Bahamian Party (UBP) Leader Roland T Symonette, is proof that the FNM “ain’t got no love for our people”.

Mr Davis also surmised that Mr Symonette’s return was due to the latter sensing “a weak leader” in Dr Hubert Minnis, and that Mr Symonette consequently “thinks it’s his time to get in.”

The Cat Island MP also suggested that the ringing of the election bell could come “very soon”, charging that “soon and very soon” Mr Christie is “going to do that thing”. “He has been dropping hints here and there,” Mr Davis said. “He has advised it is only a short time now, just a small window and time to get registered.”

Mr Davis also excoriated Dr Minnis for his tumultuous tenure as leader of the FNM, calling the Killarney MP a “fellow who don’t know what to say unless someone tells him what to say”.

Mr Davis further said it would be a “joke” if “someone who is hiding from debates in Parliament, someone who can’t keep his party together, someone whose senators have had to resign in disgrace because of scandal after scandal, that someone like that should be considered to run this country.”

“With (Dr Minnis) and the FNM you would get change, but you wouldn’t get progress,” Mr Davis told supporters. “On the one hand you have an experienced, wise leader who knows how to represent the Bahamas in turbulent times. And on the other hand you have a fellow who don’t know what to say unless someone tell him what to say. Hubert Minnis ain’t no leader. He’s always been a follower, and he’s still following. And in times like these we need real leadership.

“His own colleagues have said the most terrible things about him. They call him incompetent and complained that he just can’t be trusted. They say that he can’t be trusted, and then they are asking you to trust him now that it’s election time. Boy, they must think we’re foolish. It would be a joke, that someone who is hiding from debates in Parliament, someone who can’t keep his party together, someone whose senators have had to resign in disgrace because of scandal after scandal, that someone like that should be considered to run this country. That is not a joke. It’s dead serious.”

Turning his attention towards Mr Symonette, Mr Davis said the former Deputy Prime Minister’s re-entry into politcs, along with the FNM’s ratification of another candidate, Dionisio D’Aguilar, for the Free Town constituency, suggests the party is seeking to appeal to the interests of the “Bay Street Boys” and other elitist factions within the country.

“They try to present themselves different this time,” Mr Davis continued. “This time they say it’s the people’s time. I don’t think they mean regular Bahamians. When they say that it is people’s time, they can’t be talking to us ordinary Bahamians. Which people you think they talking about?

“To me, I see the Bay Street Boys. That’s what I see. Who you see back there? Brent Symonette. He’s back. He sensed a weak leader in (Dr Minnis), and he thinks it is his time to get in.

“While he was in retirement, he was like the buzzard hovering, waiting for the carcass to lay out, and now he sees the carcass is sputtering, he is now landing. That’s why he’s back, after saying he was resigning from politics. Now you know how he got there, and you know how he goes.”

Mr Davis added: “Now along with Brent, you got (Mr D’Aguilar), who throw rocks at the PLP for spending money on the people for Urban Renewal and Social Services. That’s what he’s done, that’s what he does. They ain’t got no love for our people, so I don’t know whose people’s time they’re talking about. But the PLP has always been about the people and, in particular, us ordinary people.”

Mr Davis added: “(Dr Minnis) is nothing but a puppet, one being used to fool the Bahamians.”

Last night also saw speeches from several other PLP members, including the Prime Minister and PLP Leader Perry Christie, party Chairman Bradley Roberts, Pinewood MP Khaalis Rolle, Bamboo Town candidate Greg Burrows, and South Beach MP Cleola Hamilton.

Mr Christie, during his remarks, said the PLP is the best option to lead the country, boasting of members and candidates who are “the best in the country.”

“We are a fantastic team, made up of good candidates,” he said. “So as you move around this island, as you talk about the coming general elections, the one fact that is beyond debate: we, the PLP, have the best team. And we have no evidence that the FNM has a team. They have not demonstrated it. In fact, it’s difficult to determine whether they have a real leader.”