IF Premier Alex Scott survives tonight’s leadership challenge from Ewart Brown, it could cost the ruling Progressive Labour Party the next General Election.<$z$>That is the view of party activist Rolfe Commissiong, a supporter of Dr. Brown, who urged the PLP delegates, whose votes will decide the contest for the top job, to think beyond internal party wrangles and to bear in mind what the man on the street wants.

Many pundits expect Mr. Scott to hold onto his job tonight, after popular Finance Minister Paula Cox declared her full support for him this week and announced her intention to become Deputy Leader.

But a poll published this week in The Royal Gazette <$>showed that Dr. Brown outscored Mr. Scott on a ratio of two to one. Mr. Commissiong said the statistic was a telling one.

“I think we should all be keeping an ear to the ground to hear what the people are calling for,” Mr. Commissiong said. “Average PLP voters, who are not members or delegates, want a change.

“Polls over the last year have given the PLP a lead of between two and four per cent over the United Bermuda Party (UBP).

“At the next election, under Alex Scott I believe we would get, at best, a marginal victory at the polls. And there is an outside chance we could even lose the Government.

“On the other hand, I’m convinced that after six to 12 months under Dr. Brown, we would have a sizeable advantage over the UBP, I would say seven to ten per cent.”He said Mr. Scott represented the “old guard” of the PLP, along with stalwarts like Dame Lois Browne Evans and Dame Jennifer Smith. That regime had taken too much time to realise the changes its supporters had expected.

Although Mr. Scott had started coming to grips with issues like economic empowerment and the plight of black males, he had made little actual progress.

“There is a perception that what would take the ‘old guard’ seven or eight years to do, Dr. Brown would get done in two to three years,” Mr. Commissiong said.

People wanted action instead of more words, he added.

“I do not have confidence that under the current leadership we will tackle these issues, but I do have that sort of confidence in Dr. Brown and I believe the community does too.”

Dr. Brown resigned from the Cabinet two weeks ago to challenge Mr. Scott in tonight’s vote of PLP delegates.

Mr. Commissiong defended the right of Drug Control Minister Wayne Perinchief and Environment Minister Randy Horton to openly express their support for Dr. Brown in what was “an open and democratic process”.

Mr. Scott said this week the pair should “consider their positions”.

That comment belied the Premier’s claims to have been a unifier over the past three years since he became leader, Mr. Commissiong said.

He became Premier after the rebellion of PLP MPs following the 2003 General Election led to the ouster of former Premier Dame Jennifer Smith.

“I was one of those calling in the Central Committee for a post-mortem after the trauma the party went through in 2003,” Mr. Commissiong added.

“I even wrote a critique that could have been used as a template for the process and gave it to (then party chairman) Neville Tyrrell, but I presume the document disappeared in File 13.

“The party has not handled situations like that in a mature fashion and I believe that was a signal error.”

‘Scott win could cost PLP next election’