Did she jump or was she pushed?

That?s the question this morning after Tourism and Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb?s surprise resignation yesterday.

Ms Webb said last night that she had tried to resign twice times before but had been talked out of it by colleagues.

But she also gave ?irreconcilable differences? with Mr. Scott as the reason for her resignation.

Just what those were is anyone?s guess.

Still, there is no doubt that the Stonington scandal overshadows Ms Webb?s resignation and she may well have felt she did not receive the support she deserved from Mr. Scott when she came under fire for the negotiation of the lease to Coco Beachowner John Jefferis.

Similarly, when Tourism Department civil servants protested to the Cabinet Office and the Bermuda Public Service Union about Ms Webb?s management style, Mr. Scott?s defence of his Minister was lukewarm, and in the end a civil servant investigated the complaints, which largely cleared Ms Webb.

From Mr. Scott?s perspective, Ms Webb had undoubtedly become a magnet for criticism, both over Stonington and earlier controversies.

Mr. Scott remains a PR man at heart, and it must have been clear that the Stonington scandal was not going to go away, especially when Ms Webb had so vigorously defended her Ministry?s actions in the wake of the Auditor General?s highly critical report.

So Mr. Scott has shown his ruthless side in letting Ms Webb go, having previously persuaded her to remain in the Cabinet.

The shame of this is that Ms Webb, as divisive as she could be, was also an effective Minister. Her tenure in Telecommunications and E-Commerce was mainly happy and mostly successful, aside from some concerns over cronyism.

Her tenure in Tourism has been stormier, but she did accomplish a great deal, especially with regard to refocusing the Ministry after the late David Allen?s energetic but scattershot approach to the Ministry.

What cannot be said for certain is whether the industry is really recovering. It looked like the decline in tourism was going to ?bottom out? in 2003 until Fabian struck and wiped out the last quarter of the year.

And this year?s arrival figures have been hampered by the lack of hotel beds, again as a result of Fabian. Only now is the hotel industry anywhere close to the number of beds it had before September 5 last year and that is probably too late to save 2004.

New hotels at Lantana, Daniel?s Head, Belmont and Club Med remain a year or more away, although when they come on line, coupled with the increases in airline flights, Bermuda may see a revival in tourism?s fortunes.

If that happens, then Dr. Ewart Brown is likely to be the beneficiary, which will be somewhat ironic. It was Dr. Brown who secured most of the new flights, but he may now be able to take credit for some of Ms Webb?s work. It can also be argued that he is now the most powerful Cabinet Minister aside from Mr. Scott himself since he has added the Tourism Ministry to his Deputy Premiership and Transport portfolio, at least for now.

Indeed, this will be considered a ?victory? for the rebel camp in the Cabinet, since Ms Webb supported former Premier Jennifer Smith in last summer?s party split. Now Dr. Brown is a step closer to the leadership and the Smith wing has one less MP in Cabinet.

Mr. Scott has promised a further review of the Cabinet during the summer recess and it will be interesting to see if he will bring in a Smith supporter or a Brown supporter in what is still a divided parliamentary group.