As the summer draws to a close and we enter the autumn season of party political conferences — with the One Bermuda Alliance’s party conference in September and the Progressive Labour Party’s following in October — here are two questions for you to ponder.

1, Are you better off than you were eight years ago?

2, Is Bermuda better off than it was in 2017?

Of course, 2017 was the year when our sitting premier, David Burt, won his first General Election as PLP leader. Way back in July 2017.

It is true that Mr Burt had a helping hand in some disastrous decision-making before 2017. Don’t forget that our outgoing premier was once the junior finance minister under Paula Cox’s premiership. That was in 2013 — more than a decade ago. Yet 2017 was the year when he finally seized the helm of our “ship of state” by becoming premier.

With Mr Burt’s repeated utterances to Parliament that he will step down as premier in October 2026, how do his past eight years look to you?

Is our island better off for his leadership? Are you better off?

Beware the victory lap

It seems slightly odd that Mr Burt keeps telling us he is leaving, but then — in the very same breath — declares he will remain as the Premier until the PLP party conference in October 2026? That’s more than a year away.

Students of politics may remember British prime minister Harold Wilson’s quote: “A week is a long time in politics”.

If one week is a long time, doesn’t 14 months seem exceedingly long for a victory lap?

What a tight grip David Burt must have on the PLP if he and he alone can dictate when he steps down.

Sticking with famous quotes, this next one may inform this circumstance. It was a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher — Christy Mathewson, of the old New York Giants, since you asked — who once remarked: “You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat.”

Wise words.

Beware the victory lap, Premier Burt. Now that people know you are leaving, some may seek to hasten your departure. And others will naturally have cause to reflect, and to judge a departing premier by his record.

Take Mr Burt’s record on tourism, for example. In the red corner, the OBA’s brief stint as the Bermuda Government saw the major development of the new Hamilton Princess marina and beach club. And several splendid new hotels opened, including The Loren, St Regis and Azura. Bermudians received an award-winning new airport, built without adding to the people’s debt — the PLP’s plan, if you remember, was to tack on yet another $500 million to our already sky-high debt. And under the OBA, the eyes of the world focused on Bermuda with the massive success of the America’s Cup.

What are the PLP’s tourism wins under Mr Burt?

Dame Flora Duffy’s spectacular triathlon victory is certainly one for the record books, although some may rightly feel Dame Flora deserves the credit for that beauty. The nifty renovation of Aunt Nea’s Inn in St George’s deserves special mention. Beyond that, well, you be the judge.

A debt of gratitude

For those who feel like Bermudians are treading water in a rising tide, there is some positive news coming soon. Don’t let your eyes glaze over, but let’s talk for a moment about the corporate income tax. The predicted tax take from our new CIT is due in soon, as my OBA colleague and shadow finance minister Douglas De Couto commented elsewhere.

This is the first year of CIT payments, so the numbers should be healthy, and possibly robust. Yet the promised tax-credit system still seems rather late to arrive? With the Tax Reform Commission’s Report having just been published, will Mr Burt deliver what is needed? And we would be wise to remember that those paying the CIT are international businesses — they could easily choose to pay the tax elsewhere.

You can be sure the Premier will be out there seeking to take credit for the taxes paid by our friends in international business. Yet instead of another victory lap, the Premier could and should do the one thing that would actually earn him a place in Bermuda’s history. He should use this singular opportunity to hack away at our stifling public debt, which remains above $3 billion. Will the Burt Administration make any real progress on the very real issues facing Bermudians today, including our Bermudians employed in the international business sector?

The next generation of Bermudians would then have a fighting chance, in a global rising tide that may not recede anytime soon.

• Scott Pearman is the Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs and the MP for Paget East (Constituency 22). He can be reached at spearman@oba.bm