Grant Gibbons is a "gift horse" for the ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP), a radio audience heard this week.

But the United Bermuda Party leadership is unruffled by such sentiments.

Political commentator and PLP supporter Rolfe Commissiong, speaking on VSB radio this week, had some harsh criticism for his party's leader as well.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gibbons, the United Bermuda Party's (UBP) recently elected leader, told The Royal Gazette that he did not want to dignify Mr. Commissiong's comments with a response.

Deputy leader, Erwin Adderly, felt the same way. "I don't wish to give Mr. Commissiong a platform," he told The Royal Gazette when asked to comment.

Mr. Commissiong had earlier said: "Grant Gibbons is by anyone's estimation a gift horse for the Progressive Labour Party. I just have a feeling that the Premier may look this gift horse in the mouth. Now I was saying sometime ago that the only group that could resurrect the United Bermuda Party would be the present leadership of the Progressive Labour Party - astounding but in my opinion quite accurate. And I think that's what's at risk here - in terms of having a type of leadership that would continue to alienate certain significant sectors of Bermuda's electorate who may make possible the likelihood of the United Bermuda Party being a very, very strong contender in the next election - something that no one would have thought only a year and a half ago, for example."

Asked to explain what he meant by referring to Dr. Gibbons as a "gift horse for the Progressive Labour Party," Mr. Commissiong told The Royal Gazette that the Opposition Leader represented a "return to the past" for many in the black community.

"What else is problematic for the United Bermuda Party is that by the selection of Grant Gibbons they appear to be in denial about the nature of racial polarisation politically in Bermuda," he said.

"They were at pains to try and distance Grant from the perception that he is a member of the white elite and they were bending over backwards to persuade the people that he should be judged by the content of his character not by the colour of his skin - clearly paraphrasing Martin Luther King which is really a technique employed over the last decade by very conservative parties."

Said Mr. Adderly : "The people of Bermuda will either accept him as our leader or they won't. Obviously we chose him because we believe he has the best to offer."

Asked how the United Bermuda Party can jettison its historical baggage, Mr. Commissiong said that Dr. Gibbons had missed an opportunity when he was first introduced to the country as UBP leader.

"Instead of trying to skirt the issue of race, he should have tackled it head on," he said. Dr. Gibbons could have told the country of the support his grandfather's business had from the black community, Mr. Commissiong continued.

"He could have also acknowledged that his party and his community has not really been honest about the issue of race in Bermuda and that he intends to be a different kind of leader. That would have made a big difference and taken the issue off the table - if, of course, his words were followed by actions. I think he had a great opportunity to hit a home run and he failed."

But much of Mr. Commissiong's criticism on VSB radio was directed at Premier Jennifer Smith. He referred to a recent Royal Gazette interview with the Premier as "something out of a Kafka novel".

The Premier has been doing a "fairly good job" at being the government's chief executive, but the interview, he said, revealed her as "manifestly incapable" of performing the role of "head of state".

"That role is one which I liken to some degree to the role that a minister performs on behalf of his flock - setting forth the gospel being able to articulate a vision for the Government being able to speak authoritatively, not on the minutiae of the various ministries or on the issues, but on the broad philosophical direction and opinion that she wishes to convey to the Bermudian people. The premier has failed once again to rise to that occasion."

According to PLP supporter Roy Richardson, however, a number of Progressive Labour Party supporters are of the opinion that the interview was a "set up" and part of an ongoing conspiracy by this newspaper to undermine the ruling party and embarrass its leaders.

• The Opposition United Bermuda Party has declined a call to distance itself from a letter written by supporter Mark Selley.

The Royal Gazette was criticised in some quarters for printing the letter which brought up Mr. Commissiong's past convictions and questioned his credibility.

In a letter to the editor in Saturday's newspaper, Lynn Millet described the Selley letter as a "vile and crude attempt to assassinate the character of one of Bermuda's most important writers and commentators."

She criticised The Royal Gazette for printing the letter, saying the decision confirms that the newspaper holds racial biases and is "too aligned" with the UBP.

"To date neither yourself, Dr. Gibbons or the United Bermuda Party has publicly distanced itself from the Selley letter," she wrote.

Contacted by The Royal Gazette, Dr. Gibbons said that, in his view, the matter was between "two private citizens" and he did not want to comment.