In the wake of its “trouncing” last night at the polls, the One Bermuda Alliance faces an “exorcism of the ghosts of the United Bermuda Party”, according to former attorney-general Phil Perinchief.

Meanwhile, the victorious Progressive Labour Party should be vigilant with its “embarrassment of riches” in its sweeping win, the political veteran added.

Mr Perinchief saw hope in the youthful side of both parties: David Burt, 38 and soon to be Premier — and Jeff Baron of the new opposition.

“Where do they go from here after this kind of devastation?” Mr Perinchief last night told The Royal Gazette of the OBA.

“Let’s face it. They can’t look back at the old guard. That’s why the Jeff Barons of Bermuda will be able to have a fresh start, if the party jettisons the Monizes, the Gibbonses, the Dunkleys — and, quite frankly, the Cannoniers.

“The majority of OBA members expected a change, and a movement towards a one Bermuda. And they felt let down that they got the same old, same old.”

Mr Perinchief said that the OBA would need to have Mr Baron “at the forefront” and working with Mr Burt to reach across the island’s deep-seated divisions.

“They could work collaboratively to identify these divisive elements — to heal some of the wounds and hurts of this contentious election.

“What we’ve seen in this election is the OBA supporters acting the same way in 2017 that the PLP supporters demonstrated in 2012. They’re saying that they want change; they don’t want to be ignored, and they want our leaders to act on the things that have been brought to their attention.”

The likes of Mr Baron “will have to rebuild — but he should not put old wine into new wineskins”.

Mr Dunkley, now a former premier, should “apologise to his supporters and members for not shepherding in the manner that he ought, and announce that the party has to rebuild around Jeff Baron”.

In a verdict that would surprise few observers, Mr Perinchief also laid the OBA’s failure squarely on its inability to communicate.

“The OBA had great ideas but did an extremely bad job of communicating those ideas to the people,” he said, describing the message as “paternalistic — it felt like it was being rammed down their throats”.

“It started with the Pathways to Status debacle — the chill on the Hill,” he added.

“And what was to have been the jewel in their crown, the great America’s Cup, was essentially muted at the eleventh hour by the announcement that largely Bermudian vendors would be confined to limited boundaries, which really meant that the America’s Cup truly was not for them.”

Mr Perinchief noted a grave misstep in Mr Dunkley calling a snap election when faced with a motion of no confidence in the House of Assembly, leaving his party fatally unprepared.

“The PLP, although also caught short, can scramble on its political feet, in a way that the OBA does not. They got to people through rallies, through social media and the like. With so much negativity in momentum against the OBA, the party did not have the time to neutralise it.”

As well as mobilising their base in a way that they failed to achieve in 2012, the PLP drummed up a hugely successful voter registration drive.

Now, Mr Perinchief said, Mr Burt will have to “stay the course and make up his own mind about how to go forward, without any kind of legacy influences”.

“This result has implications for both the OBA and the PLP. The PLP are left with their own spectre, of an embarrassment of riches — to the extent that sometimes to succeed too much is to make one cautious about what could happen.

“Let’s face it. Power corrupts; absolute power could, if not managed properly, absolutely corrupt. When that happens, one must be more vigilant.”

The new Premier, he said, should avail himself of “seasoned and sensitive people — who would guard against excesses of one kind or another”.