February 9, 2002

Dear Sir,

Black Bermudians have frequently responded to personality rather than to policies or issues. Most of us have heard a black person say “I'll never vote for him because he does not speak to me”. They would then vote for a white person who does not speak to them either. Some have declared that we are now more politically sophisticated.

It was therefore interesting, but not surprising, to hear on recent talks shows, former union supporters, and avid defenders of the “working class”, turn their anger on “the workers” who on that “Friday”, expressed their frustration with the indifference of the PLP government and its failure to respond to their written concerns by walking to parliament and demanding to see the Premier. These former avid supporters of the working class were angry with the expression of frustration by the workers because they were in support of a personality, the Premier, whom they felt that the workers should not have demanded to see. Apparently she felt the same way since she first sent out her deputy.

This attitude was very much in the tradition of many in the black community who frequently put “personality” above principles, issues, or commitment to the concerns of the black working class.

The sad irony is that the same multitude of workers had placed so much faith in the promises made by this Progressive Labour Party over the years that they even ensured that their interests would be significantly represented by sending their leader to parliament.

They had seen how closely the business and financial leaders and members from the Chamber of Commerce, the Employers Council and the banks had worked with the UBP, because they were in Parliament making the laws together with them. There was never any “conflict of interests” because they were a significant part of the UBP, in Parliament, in the Senate and in Cabinet. The workers must have been shocked when they heard their erstwhile supporters declare that their leader should not be in a LABOUR government because of “a conflict of interest”. Some of the workers had even naively expected that their Leader would have been a member of the Cabinet to ensure that the LABOUR government always represented their interest, just as the UBP had always represented the interests of the Business class and the managers.

Most workers are sufficiently self interested to realise that the PLP could not ignore the “moneyed” class as completely as the UBP could ignore the working class. However, they did anticipate that the PLP hierarchy would ALWAYS be completely aware of their concerns. No one had talked more about the “working class” than had Dame Lois throughout the years that the PLP was in the wilderness and she has always been close to the Premier. How could they not know? Without a doubt, if the LABOUR government had had the leader of the working class in the Cabinet they would have known that the workers frequent written concerns were being ignored by the Civil Servant under a Labour government.

Of course, any civil servant who was deliberately obstructing government policies can be moved, despite the tremendous power and influence that the civil servants exercise. We all know that, I was once told by a civil servant in the presence of her minister that a certain proposal would never be implemented if she did not wish it to be. I know the significance of the civil servants in implementing government policies. I also know that a Minister with any back bone and determination will ensure that the government policies are implemented. If that is not so why bother to go to the polls to change the government? And if there is a “conflict of interest” between a Labour government and the Workers Leader then they do indeed have a problem because they have nowhere else to turn.

Perhaps “Friday” will get the government's attention and it will be more responsive to the working class than it has been, or, since it knows that they have no where else to turn, it will continue to ignore them as long as the “moneyed class” are kept happy since it was their money that gave the PLP their 1998 victory, at least so I am told by some in the PLP hierarchy.

EVA N. HODGSON

Hamilton Parish