usted Premier Alex Scott has warned his successor's promise to speed up change could backfire and threaten Bermuda's economic success. Reflecting on his removal by Progressive Labour Party Delegates late last month he said they had wanted more done faster.

He told : "My whole project was that you have to do it judiciously, you cannot race change into place.

"You have to protect the economy, if you scare off the business community and the partners in the international business community there is no way you can fund the change that the people want.

"Without jobs, without money in circulation it just becomes an idle dream."

Asked if there was now a risk of that decline he said: "There is always a risk of that if you don't manage prudently or judiciously.

"I would hope as Government we continue to manage ourselves prudently but it is something to watch."

Asked if he was surprised to lose he said "nothing is guaranteed in politics" and that he had become a victim of his success in uniting the party.

"Folks felt comfortable in considering changing from myself.

"They felt I was making haste slowly. They were correct.

"You don't tinker with the most successful economy in the world.

"Bermuda isn't broke. I wasn't trying to fix it. The delegates said we want the benefits to accrue to us faster.

"The plight of Bermudians has improved dramatically. Some Bermudians are saying we want more and we want it now. I don't know if that is need or greed. I am not too sure."

He conceded there were too few black managers in the corporate world which concerned him.

"But there is a limit to how fast you can change things without scaring away the goose that lays the golden egg."

Characterising himself as a "manager of change" Mr. Scott said he was not bitter about Cabinet ministers he had appointed who then campaigned for his opponent.

"That is a point for their conscience."

And on his successor Dr. Brown, Mr. Scott said: "The Premier has said it himself it had always been his ambition to be leader of this country.

"He pursued a personal ambition. I didn't. I was pursuing what was in the best interests of the party and country.

"It is easier to pursue your own interests than the interests of everyone.

"He was loyal in the sense that he was part of a Cabinet pursuing common goals. But he was also working to promote himself so he could realise his dream.

Recalling the dramatic night at Devonshire Rec which saw Dr. Brown romp home comfortably, Mr. Scott said he believed he still had a fair amount of backing from the delegates when he took the rostrum to make a speech which was poorly received ? although a faulty microphone did him no favours.

"It wasn't the same one as the Premier used. The one I used was breaking in and out.

"Whether folks heard what I was saying as cleanly as what he said?

"I am not saying that made the difference but it was something I had to wrestle with in making sure I was heard."

Asked if he would have changed the speech which flopped, unlike his effort at the conference opening two days, earlier he said: "I thought about it."

But he said he wanted to give play to his record over the three years.

And he said the damage had already been done by the time of the crunch vote with Dr. Brown working the delegates in a two-week blitz. "I could not because I was running the country at the same time."

Former Tourism and Telecommunications Minister Ren?e Webb has criticised Mr. Scott for relying too much on advice from civil servants and not consulting with colleagues.

But Mr. Scott said: "I did both. You can't run the Government without the civil service. It would be a naive person who attempted to do that.

"You do have to consult with your colleagues. But I think Ms Webb's experience with tourism shows that she had a flawed perspective on how to run a Government ministry.

"You do have to earn the trust and support of your civil servants. Then they will go over and beyond what is expected.

"But if you don't work closely with them and give that trust then the people suffer."

He declined to say when he would have called an election if he had still been in office but he doubts it would have been fought on independence.

But he said: "We were going to keep Independence before the public. It is a natural and necessary step.

"Bermuda is one of a diminishing circle of territories that remains dependent. You can't be world leader economically in insurance and reinsurance and still not be a full-blooded democracy.

"As long as another country holds a say and sway over any aspect of your governance you are not a democracy.

"Whether it would have been an issue for the election platform? Probably not.

"But we certainly we would not have let the initiative we put on the table be removed from the table. We would have continued."

Asked about any regrets he said he felt for those loyal to him who had fallen by the wayside in the Senate, Cabinet and Civil Service since his departure.

He said the public had been very supportive since his departure with letters, emails and personal thanks coming his way every day since he left office.

Now he plans to manage his family's estate while he mull offers for PR and communications work and will continue politics from the backbenches. Saying he is enjoying more time off Mr. Scott, 66, added: "You can get exhausted by a continual diet of politics.

"I used to be up until 12.30 or one in the morning and get up at 5.30. Now I don't have to stay up that long or get up that early."

Not that he had any immediate plans to quit if the PLP had backed him over Dr. Brown.

"I certainly would have been prepared to put in two complete terms."