It doesn’t take a political expert to determine that our Bermudian political arena has degenerated into a terrible mess, with revelation after revelation that honesty and transparency have been conspicuously absent in the conduct of the people’s business.

As one person said to me, “who would have thought things would have turned out this way, so soon after what the island experienced during the administration of the Progressive Labour Party?”.

Many in the electorate are more than disgusted by the we-never-did-anything-wrong syndrome that is so prevalent with politicians when they step away from transparency, and operate in a cloud of questionable haze.

The doing nothing wrong bit is not digestible with many people because anyone who is totally convinced that they did the right thing should never be willing to resign. The PLP Government had a minister resign once after public rage over a decision involving two other ministers.

In that instance, the minister resigned, as he put it, to avert further damage to the party image.

Doing nothing wrong and resigning either as a minister, or even the Premier, sends mixed signals when it comes to transparency.

No one should resign from any position, if they truly believe they have been totally honest, and clear, in all their dealings in serving the people. There is considerable confusion with a number voters, who wonder at times, whether honesty and transparency, is possible in the political arena.

It matters little whether it is the One Bermuda Alliance, the Opposition PLP, or any other group.

The people simply want a new type of political cleanliness that builds respect and confidence. It is a fact there are people who vote for a particular party, irrespective of what they do, as though allegiance is more important than truth and honesty. That is just the way it is.

The Jetgate affair, no matter what spin one wants to put on it, remains a grave error of political judgment, that could have been averted, with input from those who were supposed to be advisers on whatever steps were being taken to improve jobs for Bermudians.

Powerful people often like to exert that power in seeking various objectives, and politicians should always be on the alert for anything that has the slightest potential to backfire politically, even though no laws may have been broken. The OBA Government at the moment is falling short in convincing the electorate that the Jetgate issue, and campaign donations from overseas, has been fully cleared up.

The Opposition PLP should hold their fire while the OBA deal with internal political explosive matters that have shaken their post election status when most people were anticipating a new era of transparency.

Bermuda needs clear focus from our leaders in order to regain our economic and job security footing.

Our island is bogged down with serious issues such as the economy, education, illegal drug crime, better care for our seniors, hungry children as a result of family problems; the list goes on an on, and yet our politicians seem more concerned at times about their personal political status.

If ever we needed a commission, it should be for examining the entire political structure to determine whether the current arrangement is suited to serve in the best interest of the people with honesty and integrity.

Something needs fixing, but how to achieve this will require an unbiased approach with the utmost concern for fairness and justice.

A great deal of effort went into building the new hospital which is something everyone should be proud of.

The point is that nothing is achieved without significant sacrifice. Our politicians need to get their act together for the good of Bermuda. The people always lose when governments fail.

Most Bermudians wanted the PLP Government to succeed. When they fell short in what they had promised it provided an opening for the One Bermuda Alliance to cash in on a disappointed electorate.

That same public is now concerned about issues that fall short on OBA promises. As with the PLP, they would like for the OBA to succeed, but it will take strong leadership unwavering when it comes to transparency to re-build public trust, certainly not easy in the political arena. The last thing people want is a political mess that weakens our ability to tackle crucial issues collectively.