Bermuda’s new Premier had no last-minute stage fright or pre-election jitters, according to the woman who knows him best.

Wanda Brown said last night that her husband was no different than normal as the couple prepared for what was to become the defining moment of his political career.

“He was actually the same as always,” she told The Royal Gazette. “We had a lot of things to do so he’s a busy guy. He didn’t seem unusually nervous.”

She stressed that Dr. Brown was not over-confident, but added: “He thought that it looked good. He was confident that it looked good. We were just waiting to see what the delegates had to say.

“He’d been working very hard talking with the delegates, trying to share with them his vision. Many of them had voiced their support.”

The Island’s new First Lady admitted that she too felt unusually calm as the count came in. “For some reason it was not nerve-wracking. I had this feeling that everything was going to be OK.

“I didn’t know but I thought he was going to be OK. People had said that it might be closer but I wasn’t surprised.”

Mrs. Brown said the realisation that he had won hit her when delegates started standing up as the count progressed. “It was just sort of weird because we got the vote one by one so it was sort of a slow thing and then we realised he had it.

“Everyone was standing up and was excited. I just told him: ‘Congratulations’.”

Mrs. Brown described herself as “very, very happy for the country and for my husband”. Asked how she felt about her husband taking on an even bigger workload, she said: “I don’t know how that could be possible. He just is very, very, very busy. I don’t know how much more time could be devoted.”

She turned to her husband to ask him whether he would continue working one day a week at his medical clinic. Dr. Brown replied: “I definitely won’t be able to participate on any regular basis.”