including the reduction of the number of seats in the House of Assembly and the introduction of single seat constituencies, will go through as Premier Jennifer Smith expects.

That means that there will be a debate in the House of Assembly, possibly as soon as tomorrow, in which the Government majority will ensures that the message to the Governor is sent.

Then the Boundaries Commission will consider how many constituencies the Island should be broken into. That report will go back to the House where it will be debated and then passed by the Government majority.

Then, presumably, the whole package would be approved by the British Government as an Order In Council and Bermuda will have its new Constitution, presumably just in time for the next General Election.

That, in a nutshell, is the process under which Constitutional change would take place, at least as this newspaper understands it.

There is no telling whether these changes will have public support or not.

Government's majority -- assuming it holds up -- ensures that the changes will be carried through, including any changes which the Premier may wish to make to the Boundaries Commission report, although radical changes to the report would be politically risky.

That's politics and the Premier has proven she is prepared to tough out challenges thrown in front of her.

There is another way. The Premier has the opportunity to build some popular support on this issue when she addresses a public meeting tonight on the subject.

This may be the only time that Ms Smith will put her argument for constitutional change directly before the public -- as opposed to the representatives of the public in the House or via the media or over the radio airwaves.

And she should get a fair hearing because even among her opponents there are many people who recognise the flaws in the existing system and may be predisposed to support single seat constituencies over other forms of electoral systems. What they object to is having it rammed down their throats without discussion.

Others may want to debate the merits of single seat, first past the post systems against others before coming to a decision.

It is ironic that one of the fundamental flaws in the Westminster system -- the possibility that one party may win a majority of the seats and the other the majority of the popular vote -- may be happening right now in the US, where George Bush may win a majority in the Electoral College and the Presidency while Al Gore captures the popular vote.

Does Bermuda want to replace one flawed system with another, or does it want to develop a "more perfect system'' which will suit the Island best? As the leader of the Country, and not just of a political party, Ms Smith should ponder that question before she takes the stage tonight.