“You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time”— Abraham Lincoln

What follows is the Progressive Labour Party’s secret step-by-step blueprint for ultimately where it is taking Bermuda and how it will do so. Read to the end to find out how it was discovered.

Step 1: Usurp the “old guard” of the PLP who had a philosophy of Black empowerment and socioeconomic advancement through education. Replace them with opportunistic, morally compromised, financially greedy people willing to do and say anything to be a part of the new power brokers.

Gain control of the Government in 1998 by highlighting historical injustices of slavery and segregation justifying the need of the Black majority to replace the old oligarchs without having an actual plan to move the country forward.

Step 2: Come to power with a wasteful spending agenda to create an appearance of progress. The Berkeley Institute project, Dame Lois Browne-Evans building and the infamous Grand Atlantic condominiums on South Shore, Warwick spring to mind. The amount of dollars in cost overruns during this period set Bermuda on its course towards billions of dollars in debt.

Step 3: Govern a once-prosperous economy into the abyss by totally ignoring the supply side of economics. Treat the country as if its wealth is a never-ending pot of gold while ignoring the need to facilitate new and reliable streams of revenue. Take the once-prosperous tourism sector that was the lifeblood of the middle class and run it into the ground. Disrespect and show utter contempt for international business, causing 5,000 jobs to leave the country.

At the same time, increase deficit-spending to unprecedented levels, which is sure to impoverish the nation. This would create more underclass voters that would be sympathetic to the “suffering man” PLP rhetoric carefully crafted to exploit the conditions of the working class.

Step 4: When Bermudians see through this and choose not to vote in the 2012 election in protest, thus allowing for a One Bermuda Alliance victory, the PLP changes tactics. It accuses the new government of being tied to the old oligarchs and the worst part of Bermuda’s racial history — set Blacks against Whites more forcefully and magnify longstanding racial economic disparities between the two Bermudas that was actually widened by the PLP.

Forcefully emphasise any issue that can be used to make the country ungovernable — immigration and the airport project are perfect subjects. Any move by the OBA would be painted as a plan to undermine Black power, necessitating extreme government destabilisation measures by David Burt, as highlighted by Marc Bean, the former PLP leader.

Accuse the OBA of being anti-Bermudian although it attracted $1 billion of inward investment in only a four-year period. Put so much pressure on the Government to force it to stumble, and when it falls be sure it doesn’t have the possibility of ever getting back up.

Step 5: Return to power with false promises such as lowering the cost of living and then re-implement a tax-and-spend agenda on steroids. Grab civil servants’ pay and pensions to meet the shortfall and provide a mechanism for Bermudians to spend their pension money today because economic times are difficult and the national economy is deflated.

While the civil servants are disoriented, infiltrate the labour movement and turn its leadership against the working class to the PLP’s benefit. Always blame the former government, which governed for 4½ years, to deflect from its present record. Do the same when social and economic pressure affects the population. This is done in the hope that Bermudians will forget that the PLP has been in power for 20 years.

Any crisis is to be exploited to provide maximum excuse for the PLP’s leadership failures and outright blunders from poor decisions. Change the narrative so that the voters get used to the new economic and social reality of hardship; ie, this is the new Bermuda, “get used to it”. The good old days are gone, so accept the bitter truth that the PLP is your only choice because the other party is dead and David Burt is the best leader that Bermuda can offer.

Step 6: Make sure the country is threatened enough to know that you are either with the PLP or against it. Make promises to act when there is discontent but don’t actually follow through. Bermudians are feeling so hopeless that they are used to broken promises. Livable wage, lowering the cost of living, closing the gap between the two Bermudas, immigration reform, lower mortgages, fintech and a new pillar of the economy are all forgotten promises.

Signal that the end is near and that our economy will be able to serve and support seniors. Additionally, indicate that the reality is that Bermudian children will not see a bright future nor the same opportunities that their parents were able to realise.

Step 7: Amid all manner of national confusion, never forgo the opportunity to call a snap election to buy more time. Use any means necessary to keep the charade going for as long as possible. When “it” finally hits the fan, those connected with the PLP would be sufficiently set economically to live comfortably wherever they want for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Bermudians would be left to suffer the consequences for the past couple decades of failed leadership.

As stated from the outset, this secret plan is revealed by unravelling the track record of the PLP, as it is permanently recorded in our history over the past 24 years and is plain for even the blind to see.

• Vic Ball was a One Bermuda Alliance senator from November 2014 to July 2017, and more recently a candidate in the 2020 General Election in Smith's West (Constituency 9)