By MALCOLM STRACHAN

“You know, the challenge in politics is that it’s become so feral.”

Those were the words of Prime Minister Philip Davis at the end of last month – as he talked about how he would like to see more women in politics, but they would have to earn their place.

Barely a couple of weeks later and Mr Davis was contributing to the feral nature of politics himself with his criticism of his opponent in the FNM, party leader Michael Pintard.

Mr Davis continued at the time: “It’s so feral that it drives not just good women, but good men as well. So the good amongst us shy away from the dirt and the mud-slinging that they hear, and it’s always been my wish to see how we could clean this up.”

Always his wish to see how we could clean it up. Well, perhaps for starters, Mr Davis could avoid gathering a fistful of mud in his own hand.

Move forward a couple of weeks and Mr Davis was questioning whether Mr Pintard had ever held a “real job”.

That caught a lot of pushback – but it was not the only mud Mr Davis was slinging at the time. He also talked about deputy FNM leader Shanendon Cartwright, saying: “It is not brave to try to distract from a highly questionable tenure at Parks and Beaches by ineptly throwing the mace out of the window.”

And then he criticised another MP – likely Adrian White – for being “carried belly-out by the police for brawling in this House”.

Mud everywhere, it would seem.

The attacks on Pintard for whether he had a “real job” particularly caused issue. It seemed very much that Mr Davis does not take creative careers as seriously as others – and there are a lot of Bahamians in such industries. There are writers and singers, Junkanooers and dancers, there are filmmakers and producers, designers and artists.

Mr Davis tried to clean it up – saying he was not attacking creatives, though his line about being “a parrot not a poet” undermined his subsequent claim of giving “credit where credit is due. Pintard has done well with his poetry and acting”.

Mr Davis went on to ask: “What real job has he ever had? What has he ever built? What has he ever managed, outside of press conferences and political complaints?”

It is not the first time there has been criticism of Mr Pintard from the PLP corner – nor is that surprising given the nature of politics in general, let alone our politics.

But at the heart of the attacks, which seem like they will likely reoccur on the campaign trail, is a question over how Mr Pintard has made his money.

That is, in fact, a fair question. And it would be one to take seriously if the government showed even the slightest inclination to abide by the mechanism that is already in place to establish what is the source of every single parliamentarian’s finances – public disclosures.

It is now three months since the March 1 deadline, give or take a few days, and there is no sign of this year’s public disclosures.

Bishop Victor Cooper is the chairman of the Public Disclosures Chairman, and he is conspicuous by his silence.

Back in April, after the deadline, he said officials were still submitting disclosures. Let us note for a moment that this is a law that parliamentarians are required to follow.

Then there was an apparent issue with mould in the offices the commission operates out of, but last month we were told that the Cabinet Office was being used instead. Still no announcement, even with a better roof over their heads.

At this stage, we still do not know who has disclosed their finances – except for those who have volunteered the information publicly.

We have been told that all the FNM parliamentarians met the deadline – Mr Pintard included.

On the PLP side, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin, Grand Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, Labour and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle, Energy and Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis, Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg, Social Services Minister Myles Laroda, Central and South Abaco MP John Pinder, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Leon Lundy, Health Minister Dr Michael Darville, and Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis all said they had filed their disclosures.

Last week, the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) rightly noted the lack of information on this year’s financial disclosures. Long-time campaigner Matt Aubry said the public wants assurance that disclosures are submitted on time. More to the point, he highlighted the next step – what is in those disclosures and whether there are any conflicts of interests which should be addressed seriously.

This is a long-running problem, of course. Last year, Bishop Cooper said that 90 percent of parliamentarians had met the deadline – leaving of course ten percent who had not. The names of those who did not comply were never disclosed.

What is the penalty for not disclosing as required by law? Well, it can be up to two years in jail under the law. The law takes it seriously, the lawmakers do not.

So keep a watch on two things. First, see if this attack line on Mr Pintard’s career goes on – it shows all the signs that it will. It feels like this is something likely to reappear on the campaign trail.

Second, see if there is as much enthusiasm for ensuring the disclosures are published, complete with who did or did not meet the deadline.

If it is so important to see where a politician’s finances come from, then it is important to see where all politicians’ finances come from.

The law is there. The process is there. The willpower to do so is absent.

As for the concerns about slinging mud, it is hard to give any credence to supposed concerns about such an issue coming from those who do it themselves.

If you want to change the culture, you have to start from within.