THE continuing rift that appears apparent in the FNM – between party leader Michael Pintard and former leader and prime minister Dr Hubert Minnis – shows no signs of healing.

Another former leader – this time of the DNA – commented on the situation. Branville McCartney, a former FNM and goodness knows what party allegiance now, said it would be unwise for the FNM to leave the former PM on the sidelines in the next election.

He said: “Why wouldn’t you want to run a man who is in Killarney, who’s been there. I think this is going to be his fourth or fifth time running, who’s well-liked, who will win? Why don’t you want to run him?”

Mr McCartney skipped over the part where Dr Minnis was roundly rejected by the electorate at the general election, and by the FNM ranks as leader, which overwhelmingly chose Mr Pintard ahead of him.

There do seem to be some manoeuvres in the background.

The FNM seems set on requiring training sessions for all potential candidates – even those such as Dr Minnis who have been there, done that for many years.

Is this giving Dr Minnis a hoop to jump through solely for the purpose that you know he won’t do so? Thereby giving a reason to exclude him from consideration?

Mr McCartney, of course, may well have personal reasons for advocating for Dr Minnis. He had previously backed Dr Minnis in the failed leadership campaign, and had said he would return to the FNM if Dr Minnis won.

That statement brought some pushback from long-time FNMs who felt some apprehension at someone who had run a whole party against the FNM only to come knocking back at the door.

Now he says he supports what is best for the country, even while pitching in on internal FNM matters.

It does appear that tensions between the former and current leaders continue to simmer. There is a feeling that there are moves afoot to sideline Dr Minnis, there is a feeling that the current leader lacks the full-throated support of his predecessor.

Dr Minnis is now 70 years old – younger than the current prime minister but old enough that it is reasonable to consider the torch being passed to the next generation.

There comes a time when how you help the next person to lead is as important as how you led in the first place.

Whatever is going on behind the scenes, this rift will not help the FNM in its countdown to the next election.

After all, if a leader cannot unite his party, what likelihood is there they will unite the nation?

Resolving these tensions behind closed doors is a very important step in the journey towards the election for the FNM – and they should endeavour to do so promptly.

 Turning words into actions

 On Saturday, it was International Women’s Day.

A lot of positive words were said about how important women are to the nation. Colleagues were lauded, friends supported, family members exalted.

Now the events to mark the day are over, we should note that there remain a number of areas under the law where women are still not equal.

Just as one example, how about the continuing disparity between men and women when it comes to passing on their citizenship to their children?

We have committed internationally to eliminating inequality for women. Women have been praised locally to mark the occasion.

How about now turning those words into action?

The next International Women’s Day is a year away. If nothing has changed by the time the next one comes around, question how much meaning is really behind those words.

Platitudes are not need. Action is.