With a convincing mandate from party colleagues and a ?man in a hurry? approach to life, Ewart Brown might have been tempted to bring policy changes in his first days as Premier.

But so far his approach has differed markedly in style but little in substance from his predecessor Alex Scott.

The Throne Speech, delivered just a week after Dr. Brown became leader, was given a complete rewrite and was much shorter than recent efforts with no overriding theme.

One PLP source said he was disappointed it didn?t promise more. ?It was vague and generic. Not something you could get your teeth into.?

But one Opposition MP said he thought it was typical of Dr. Brown?s style ? ?he would rather promise one thing and deliver five than promise ten things and deliver nothing.?

Perhaps the most significant policy change in the Throne Speech was the ditching of sustainable development.

Out went not only the ?sustainable development? term ? and soon after out went Sustainable Development Round Table member Stuart Hayward.

The PLP source said: ?He?s a Premier who very much wants to see development. I think he got rid of people who might, in any way, oppose that.?

Clearly the biggest news within the Tourism portfolio has been the controversial Southlands Development. The five-star hotel is planned on a 37-acre stretch of South Shore, Warwick, previously zoned as legally-protected space. And Premier Brown has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with developers as they push for a Special Development Order to bypass the normal planning process.

For UBP supporter Christian Dunleavy the rush to build is worrying.

?I may be a little odd but I think process is important. It isn?t Dr. Brown?s private business ? it?s the public?s interest he?s representing.

?I accept Government should not move slowly but it should move slow enough to make sure the people have bought in.

?He?s saying if you have got concerns about Southlands you are not Bermudian. You are trying to prevent tourism.

?Are we working for Dr. Brown or is he working for us?

?I don?t accept that any politician has carte blanche to just charge ahead with what they want to do, particularly if that leader was not in place at the last election.?

However, for political scientist and PLP supporter Walton Brown the promise of hotel development, 25 years after the last one was built, is a sign of a Premier going places.

And he argued sustainable development was still interwoven, if no longer explicit, in Government?s plans and no leader could govern for long without thought to the long-term future of the country.

?There is a somewhat semantical talk about whether he makes a separate category called sustainable development or whether you do it in everything you do.?

And Mr. Brown said those expecting a massive policy shift were missing the point.

?You won?t see a fundamental break on key issues ? it?s the same party in power. He doesn?t represent a different vision for the party.?

Mr. Brown said he was not worried about the lack of promises and predicted the Ewart Brown administration would be distinguished by the fact it got things done.

?We have someone whose clearly very charismatic and articulate. Clearly he has aspects that people have an issue with.

?His style ? people say he is arrogant ? that?s one side of being sure-footed. He is confident and has no problem in making a decision and telling you what the decision is. He?s very direct.?

And Mr. Brown said the totally new Social Rehabilitation ministry was an area where the Premier would leave his mark.

?There?s talk about arrogance, the Premier?s elitist approach,? Mr. Brown said, but the ministry showed another side to the Premier, who was ensuring the Government explicitly focused on the disadvantaged.

Virtually everyone has noticed a more presidential style from the Premier, not seen since the days of John Swan.

The Premier?s four-day gala weekend, graced by celebs like Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, was a departure from more low-key PLP functions of the past as the party ramped up its fundraising drive ahead of the election.

Mr. Dunleavy said: ?To me it?s more of a party of one person ? a cult of personality.

?Under Alex Scott it seemed a bit of a loose coalition with people all off doing their own things to a certain extent ? Ewart was certainly doing his own thing.

?Now there is a lot more control, it?s a lot more focussed.?

Party discipline seems tighter, noted one Opposition source.

?Before you could bar hop on Friday night and find out everything that had happened that week. Now it is as tight as a drum. People are not talking.?

Mr. Dunleavy said he hadn?t seen much of a shift in policy other than an acknowledgement that some things had been neglected.

The Throne Speech contained a promise to refocus on the Island?s struggling public education system.

?Education is the big one, that?s going down to the perennial inquiry.?

Mr. Dunleavy said there had been some progress in tourism. ?There is definitely movement though I don?t think it is as glorious as it?s been told.?

Currently the atmosphere resembled ?an extended Christmas time ? everyone is getting money ? football, the social clubs are promised a lot. Maybe it?s indicative an election is imminent.

?There?ve been no dramatic policy shifts ? maybe a shrewd escalation of the conflict with the Governor ? the age old tactic of trying to manufacture a row to justify Independence.?

Dr. Brown had a lot of potential and tremendous flaws, said Mr. Dunleavy. ?When I hear about results, I question what they are.?

He said Dr. Brown had gone missing on the two big education stories ? the mould at CedarBridge and the terrible graduation rates.

?But he is happy to stroll down to Collector?s Hill to cut a ribbon. It seems superficial.?

The Collector?s Hill ceremony was also mentioned by a PLP source spoke to who saw it as blatant electioneering.

Mr. Dunleavy noted that Dr. Brown had admitted he wanted Governor Sir John Vereker to take more heat on the crime issue as a way of redirecting criticism. But the polls show the Premier?s style is working with nearly 52 percent now have a favourable opinion of Dr. Brown.

And with the election likely at any moment the PLP are more than 16 points ahead of the divided UBP.