supporters thought that the UBP could possibly win another election. People detected a wind of change and thinking which said, "Give the PLP a chance'', and "It's time for a change''. However not many people were so bold as to predict that the Progressive Labour Party could or would take 26 seats and lose Deputy Premier Jerome Dill, Cabinet Ministers Wayne Furbert and Maxwell Burgess and veteran MPs Quinton Edness and Ann Cartwright DeCouto. Even the pundits and pollsters who said it would be very close were dead wrong.

The PLP scored a clear and stunning victory plus doing very well in the UBP strongholds where it chose to run only one candidate. It also seems to have turned the traditional marginals which were once decided by only a few votes into PLP strongholds, Warwick West, Warwick East, Hamilton West. It also had no trouble routing Kenny Bascome in St. George's North. Its victory is reinforced by a large swing to the PLP in the popular vote.

Last night's PLP victory will be looked back on as a landmark in Bermuda's history. This is no fluke but a watershed, a major change in Bermuda.

The UBP campaign emphasis on the economy and on the dangers of a change in Government at this time was not enough to create a win. Disenchanted voters, fed up with party splits, Independence, Coxall and hamburgers, failed to heed Pamela Gordon's call to come home to the UBP when it was time to vote. The tide had turned towards the PLP in a much bigger way than even the PLP must have hoped.

The UBP has literally been crushed in the popular vote. The great challenge for the UBP now will be to keep the party together in Opposition. That is not going to be easy because what togetherness the UBP had was based on holding power. Today the blaming will start, probably with Pamela Gordon. But this loss was not her fault because she had too little time to make up for the four years her two predecessors wasted.

When the celebrating stops the PLP's big challenge will be to prove that it can manage the complex economy. It will have to prove that it will not drive out international companies, as has so often been predicted, or use taxation to divide the Bermudian people. It is not easy for any party to meet the very high expectations of Bermudians, the high standard of living they take for granted. If the PLP cannot do that then it will soon be out of favour with its own voters.

Its second challenge will be those Bermudians who have convinced themselves that the PLP has a magic wand and will provide instant solutions to complex and difficult problems.

Its third challenge will rest in the labour unions, many of whose members believe that the PLP will readily supply high wages and better working conditions. With power comes responsibility and the PLP, like the UBP, will be restricted by its responsibility to all the people.

It is traditional in many countries to give a new government a "honeymoon period'' and that is what Bermuda should give the PLP. The people have spoken and chosen the PLP overwhelmingly to be the Government. The party has never held power before and will need time, time to settle in, time to learn the ropes, time to become familiar with the workings of the Ministries.

To those powerful people who are distraught or angry at a sweeping PLP victory after some 35 years, let us simply say, give them a fair chance. This is Bermuda and the people have spoken. Do whatever you can to help the new leaders.

ELECTION REPRINT SPECIAL ISSUED 13th NOVEMBER 1998