Nassau Guardian EDITORIAL:
There are times in politics when trying too hard to seize the narrative only reveals how lost a party truly is.
For example, the Free National Movement (FNM) ended up looking at turns desperate and silly yesterday, as a poorly conceived gambit to latch onto the political momentum of somebody else’s gripe with the current administration blew up in its face in a most humiliating manner.
The FNM’s latest stunt – joining a protest of hundreds led by the Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) and the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) – ended in embarrassment.
The image of the FNM leader, deputy leader, chairman, and several candidates pressed up against the police line, shouting alongside protesters, was clearly a hastily arranged spectacle designed to score political points.
To make matters worse, the party instructed members not to wear party colors.
We must ask why.
To pretend the FNM’s presence was not political?
Did they wish to blend in with the crowd even though they stood behind the barricades?
It was amateur hour on display as the political stunt played out, and the prime minister effortlessly placated the unions and showed the FNM what actual political acumen looks like.
The image of Davis walking out of the House of Assembly holding hands with union leaders not too long after the peak of the protest must have made FNM supporters wince.
Davis went on to greet the previously agitated union members, promising they would be paid before Christmas, which has already been said.
Davis looked in charge; he appeared to be the adult in the room.
Meantime, FNM members, who earlier sat in the road over a fight that is not theirs, looked much like rebels without a cause.
The FNM’s leadership team seems to be in crisis.
It seems to have lost its sense of judgment and proportion.
Criticizing government policy and standing up for workers’ rights is the job of any responsible opposition.
But knowing when not to insert oneself into someone else’s moment takes actual wisdom.
The unions had legitimate grievances.
They wanted clarity on promised salary increases and assurances that the government would follow through.
Davis didn’t hide or send an intermediary.
He came out, held their hands, and gave a clear commitment and defused the situation.
The government appeared responsive and empathetic.
The unions got their assurance.
And FNM members were left outside the barricades, looking confused about why they were even there in the first place.
Davis, like any Bahamian politician worth their salt, knows that unions are only loyal to their own self-interest.
It’s how the Progressive Liberal Party played the National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas while in opposition.
He just dangled the promise of money for workers in front of the unions yesterday, and they folded. That is perhaps not surprising, given that is what they were seeking.
But the FNM emerged as the saddest player in Wednesday theater.
The party’s supporters have reason to be very nervous.
As it should be providing a credible alternative to the current administration, each week brings a new misstep or tone-deaf statement that chips away at the party’s claim to be a viable government-in-waiting.
The FNM is acting like a party so eager to be noticed that it has forgotten how to be respected.
It seems trapped in a cycle of knee-jerk responses, unable to set the agenda or even anticipate the government’s moves.
It is simply reacting to Davis administration policy and throwing in its five cents as public occurrences gain national notice.
It doesn’t look like it really has its own independent motion.
The result is a steady erosion of public confidence and a growing sense that the FNM, as presently led, is simply not teachable.
The next general election remains an open question, and Bahamians will likely weigh their options carefully.
But if the FNM continues down this path, it would keep disqualifying itself in the eyes of the very people it hopes to win over.
The FNM has held government numerous time – not that one could tell from how it is currently operating.
Recovery is still possible.
But they have to understand they cannot turn another’s clout into credibility.
They must display discipline, consistency, and principle.
Until the party rediscovers these virtues, it will continue to look less like a government-in-waiting and more like a group of politicians waiting for something to stick.
