Government Ministers could have made better use of the US Consul General's office in Bermuda, Dennis Coleman said last week.

Mr. Coleman called this newspaper to clarify comments he made about his office's relationship with the Bermuda Government.

He said he did in fact initiate contact with the Government but was given the silent treatment by some Ministers.

But he had glowing praise for Premier Alex Scott who, he said, was always quick to return calls.

Pressed on who the worst offenders were, Mr. Coleman reluctantly singled out Tourism Minister Renee Webb and Attorney General Larry Mussenden.

“While I was in Bermuda, I was there to represent the US Government and its policy. It's up to Bermuda to decide how best to make use of the office,” he said.

“They made virtually no use of the office so they must have thought they had all the answers. There were three instances where I called Minister's Webb's office to invite her to lunch but she never returned phone calls. Two weeks ago in the Senate, (Attorney General) Larry Mussenden made the comment that there was regular contact between the Consul General and the Government. I called him back because I wanted to correct his misunderstanding but he never returned my phone call.”

“Any references to the former US Consul is a matter you can direct to the Premier,” said Mr. Mussenden.

“Like I said, the Bermuda Government and the US Government have a long history of mutual respect and admiration based on economic, social, familial, cultural and sporting ties.”

Ms Webb said Mr. Coleman once suggested lunch, she couldn't make it and has not received any calls since from Mr. Coleman.

“I always return calls whether it's from Dennis Coleman or Jeremiah Johnson. I think that's a minimum courtesy to extend to anybody.”

Mr. Mussenden said his office had asked what Mr. Coleman was calling about and he did not give an answer, “but I also direct those queries to the Premier's office”.

Mr. Coleman said he could only characterise Government's response to his efforts to reach out as “somewhere between ambivalence and disdain. It was certainly a desire on the part of the Government to put some daylight between itself and the Government of the United States.”

He added: “They wanted a relationship that did not appear to be as close as it historically was. What the reasons for that were, I cannot speculate.”

But Mr. Coleman said he was speaking out to clarify matters, not to score parting shots, and he stressed that Mr. Scott had an excellent habit of returning phone calls.

“You have to wonder what is going through people's minds when they don't return the phone calls of the personal representative of the President of the United States. And I am not including Alex Scott in that comment because he is excellent in returning phone calls. How can you have communication if people are unwilling to have dialogue?”

Mr. Coleman continued: “The Island was figuring out how to address itself to the United States and they were forgetting that there was someone on 16 Middle Road that they could deal with. If people think they are a player on the world stage and not return the phone call of the biggest players they are going to have a hard learning curve.

“I hope that when another Consul General is appointed, I would just urge whoever are the responsible parties at the time, to make use of that person.”

Mr. Coleman resigned his posting ahead of time due to health reasons. Bermuda will not have a US Consul General until some months after the upcoming presidential elections.