If you're going to pull the pin and roll out a grenade, the correct etiquette is to at least shout "Fire in the hole".

Instead, the PLP Government whispered "Policy Statement and Notes for the Acquisition of Residential Property by Non-Bermudians", hoping to distract us from the coming explosion with boredom.

Then, in an act of supremely strong leadership, Cabinet thrust a civil servant out on point to absorb the shrapnel, while the politicians ran for cover.

And while the majority of ink over the coming weeks, months and potentially years, will most likely be devoted to the relative wisdom of the PLP's attempt at market manipulation, it's worth setting the policy itself aside briefly and focusing on the potential fallout from the way this major policy change was implemented.

The old adage that if you say something often enough people will start to believe it, is very appropriate in the New Bermuda. And what are we told the most often? We're told that this is a Government that listens and consults.

Reasonable people would then expect that a move such as this, that stands to be hugely controversial with widespread and far-reaching social and economic implications, would be more than deserving of this much-heralded but rarely witnessed consultation. Nope.

How's about gambling? Of course we'd receive widespread consultation on this most contentious of issues, particularly when all the polls suggest that we're split right down the middle. Nope. Just a press conference to say Government has decided on our behalf.

But it's not always this way. We are being 'consulted' on Independence for example, the issue almost all of us don't want. Evidently, because the overwhelming majority of the population don't want something that the Government are salivating for, we're in need of some consultation (translation: re-programming) on the subject.

An issue however, like drastically altering the dynamics of the real-estate market and the value of thousands of people's most significant investment however, is worthy of only a press conference to announce the done deal.

Government by press conference. How quaint.

So what's up with this consistently inconsistent approach to consultation from the PLP? The answer lies in the excuse we inevitably hear after poor consultation or unpopular initiatives. The word is 'leadership'.

After the votes are counted and the victor crowned, the PLP Government feel entitled to make unilateral declarations on any issue, whether part of the campaign or not, or whether the administration exists as a result of a swiftly executed coup only minutes after the election.

When a Government without a mandate undertakes this type of social engineering and wealth redistribution, something you might recall the Premier recently vehemently denying he was about to engage in, the consequences can't be predicted.

Mandate-less Governments that don't consult are by no means providing leadership, they're a destabilising threat. This is why the events which culminated in the formation of the Alex Scott administration should necessitate an even greater ? not reduced ? level of consultation. But we're seeing nothing of the sort.

Most reasonable people are aware that you can't just rock the foundation of the Bermuda real estate market and walk away unconcerned.

But there's a pattern here. We've been through this politically motivated meddling before. Last week's events are strikingly similar to another act of non-consultative heavy-handedness.

In July of 2003, shortly before the election, the Government rolled out the work permit term limits grenade ? yet another politically motivated policy initiative with potentially destabilising effects.

In that case, then Labour Minister Terry Lister proudly declared that all non-Bermudians would be sent packing after six years (with the nice ones allowed to stay for an additional three). And it might just have worked, judging by the 70 or so votes which decided the election Island-wide.

But what occurred shortly after the election results were in ? and Jennifer Smith's colleagues demonstrated that they had her back, by stabbing her in it ? is more revealing.

The new Minister discreetly put the pin back in the grenade, and gutted the term limits policy of any real teeth. The election was over and the policy had served its purpose. Now there's leadership.

So with the Premier's poll numbers rapidly plunging to Jennifer Smith-like levels, we're witnessing more dangerous politicking through class warfare. Because this isn't about housing, it's about politics (and taxes).

But unlike the term limit turnaround, which was easily revoked, this latest unilateral action isn't. We'll be feeling these shock waves for a long time, and not just in the real estate market.

Governments can't, without preparing the stakeholders, fundamentally affect capital markets overnight without undermining the confidence and stability of every sector of our economy.

Serious doubts will have been created in our continued desirability as a business jurisdiction. No longer can investors be assured that their money can be put to work free from undue political interference.

While any one move alone might not be enough to tip the boat, the cumulative effect of term-limits, an unpopular independence initiative and now this real estate policy could be severe.

Our economy exists solely because of a well-deserved reputation as an attractive and stable destination for capital investments. The moment the PLP Government decided to devalue real-estate prices overnight ? without advance warning or consultation ? it generated significant doubt and instability.

That's not leadership.

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