STEPPING BACK IS IMPORTANT TO THE GENERAL GOOD
Fred Mitchell, Chairman of the PLP, gave general advice to party supporters and how as we face the general election of 2026 we need to conduct our affairs. The piece reported in The Nassau Guardian by Taneka Thompson on 5 September 2024, based on a voice note to PLP supporters on 4 September 2024
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Fred Mitchell said yesterday public figures who have “run into rough weather” should step back from the spotlight.
Mitchell, who made the comment in a voice note sent to supporters, did not mention any specific person by name.
“Last week, I spoke about the convention with regard to conflicts between personal issues and public duties and how they are to be resolved,” he said.
“Another valuable lesson is, those who were once public figures and have run into rough weather should understand the need to step back from the public stage and operate in the shadows if they must at all.”
Mitchell, who is minister of foreign affairs and the member of Parliament for Fox Hill, also weighed in on issues within the Free National Movement (FNM).
He accused the opposition party of copying the PLP’s candidate training module and questioned if the FNM’s new training process is a way to purge supporters of former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis.
“When I was a child, there was an expression that we used to say ‘monkey see, monkey do,’” Mitchell said.
“There’s also an expression, ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’. That’s what gave me a good chuckle when Duane Sands, the chairman of the FNM, announced that they had copied the reforms of the PLP when we were in opposition, where no incumbent member has an automatic vie for a nomination and everyone has to go through a training module to qualify for a nomination.”
At a press conference on Monday, Sands said the party launched a training course for all aspiring candidates to ensure they are prepared to serve the country properly if elected.
He said every potential FNM candidate and incumbents, including the party’s leader and deputy leader, will be required to go through the program.
He also said incumbents will have to be vetted and go through the party’s internal selection process like every other aspiring candidate.
Mitchell said while the FNM’s training program seems like a good idea, he is cynical about it.
“Right now, I bet they are only doing this for one purpose and one purpose only and that’s to sanitize and purge the ranks of all MPs who did not support the now leader of the opposition, Michael Pintard, at that convention in the summertime,” he said.
“So you whistle and I’ll point. There’s a political target squarely on the backs of Hubert Minnis, former prime minister, and Iram Lewis, the MP for Central Grand Bahama.
“They didn’t get the memo, refused to drink the Kool-Aid, so now they are a target for elimination …”
Mitchell said the PLP’s own candidate training module will be announced shortly, adding that the party is almost finished with its midterm assessments.