After blowing his chances of leadership three years ago, a cautious Ewart Brown was covering all his bases in a carefully worded speech announcing his intention to run for the leadership.

Sometimes regarded as brash and self serving, Dr. Brown was careful to heap praise on Cabinet colleagues for his ministerial success. And the man who raised the delegates ire when 50 percent of the MPs rose against sitting Premier Jennifer Smith in 2003, made every effort to smooth ruffled feathers among the party's grass roots which now hold the key to his re-election chances.

Speaking about the delegates and the people, he said he was: "Humbly and respectfully submitting myself to their evaluation, their appraisal and their determination."

He admitted his now infamous phrase "we had to mislead you" made to delegates who had campaigned for Jennifer Smith only to see her booted out after she had won the party another term, could affect his chances this time around

He said: "It was an unfortunate choice of words, I will admit. But I never said 'we had to deceive you.' Some people have seen it that way and they continue to say that.

"What I meant was we had to do what we had to do at the time and we couldn't divulge all of the plans at the time which to me made political sense and was the appropriate thing to do."

And he argued he hadn't been the leader of the coup, but one part of a group. "What happened then was you had one half of the parliamentary delegation feeling there was a need for change.

"My emergence as the so-called leader of that group came at the end as a candidate from that group had to be selected in order to challenge the leadership position. To say I was the leader of the coup makes good copy, but we didn't see it that way and I think it's an insult to the ten other people who were committed to doing what they did."

Other detractors have slammed his American-style razzamatazz with some even going so far as to say they didn't regard him as truly Bermudian.

Dr. Brown, who lived in America from the mid 1970s to the early 1990s and who had held an American passport causing controversy when he was first elected, was at pains to push his Bermudian birthright.

In his speech he said: "Bermuda is the home of my birth and my heart ? it's a great Island nation."

And in another key passage Dr. Brown said he felt he had been preparing his whole life for the role of Premier. Certainly politics runs deep in his family.

His mother and aunt were UBP MPs Helene Brown and Gloria McPhee while his uncle was former Member of Colonial Parliament Russell Levi Pearman. On father's side, DA Brown was an entertainer and entrepreneur and an uncle was WG Brown, an influential political thinker in the early days of the PLP.

Dr. Brown said of his bid for the Premiership: "Since I was a youngster, it has been a dream of mine. I moved away to Jamaica for school, subsequently studied and lived in America, and throughout all that time, in my heart, always felt as if I was training and preparing myself to return home to serve my beloved Bermuda."

Pressed on this later he said: "Bermudians understand and appreciate Bermuda's historical connection to the United States.

"The fact I studied and lived in the United States would automatically mean many of my frames of reference are more American than British.

"But I also spent time in the Caribbean and part of my political thought process was defined there."

Despite his detractors Dr. Brown senses he has a better chance this time as he had more time to campaign.

He said: "When I lost last time it wasn't quite the same situation. I was nominated for the position on a Saturday morning and having the vote on a Saturday night. It didn't give me any time to make much of a difference. "There wasn't a vote but the nominations were in place.

"Then it was suggested by the late Eugene Cox that he would be willing to have me assume the position of deputy leader. Alex Scott and I agreed that was a way to united the party."

Asked if he regretted not having a clear fight then Dr. Brown said: "Both of us, as seasoned politicians, could read the mood of the house that night and we both knew something would have to be done to bring people back together. There was a great deal of acrimony in the room. Fortunately we found a way out. I might have lost the election but the PLP gained unity."

Some in the PLP have questioned his commitment to labour issues, pointing out Dr. Brown's instincts are pro-business. He said: "If you try to stick a label on me you are probably going to end up wrong. I refuse to be put into a category and thereby be defined by it. I want the best for Bermuda and will borrow from different approaches for things. I believe we have to be successful in business, we have to work hard. "I am pro-business when I think the business is good for Bermuda."

Asked if he would seek an early election if selected to his party to get a fresh mandate from the people he said: "I won't seek anything until I find out how the people feel and I surely would not want to put the cart before the horse ? first I would like to win the leadership."

He said is not standing on a ticket and doesn't have a Deputy leader in mind and even said he could work with Alex Scott under him. One of the most controversial names in Bermuda politics the mere mentions of Ewart Brown's name attracts a shrill chorus from his enemies.

But Dr. Brown said he had learned to take that in his stride.

"That has always been the case with me in politics. One of the reasons is I try to be very clear and I don't try to agree with the entire world in one statement. I take positions." But he said others would judge him on his results.