Y common consent it was a rather dull General Election campaign that was fought out in the heat of July.

One prominent observer, Julian Hall, bemoaning the lack of meaty debate, even dubbed it "the Seinfeld Election", because it was "about nothing".

Perhaps it was down to the hot weather, but the turnout ? 70 per cent compared to 81 per cent five years earlier ? told a story of voter apathy.

The campaign itself was unusual in that one side seemed to be making all the running. While the Opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) released its platform and blitzed the media with advertisements featuring its detailed proposals, the ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) basically said: We'll continue what we've been doing in Government.

In fact, the PLP did not unveil its platform until July 21 ? three days before the poll.

On the same day, published details of Auditor General Larry Dennis' report on the financial affairs of the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC), which had been leaked to them.

The report was embarrassing for the Government in that two PLP MPs were revealed to have been heavily involved in dealings with the BHC, without disclosing their interests. The timing of the leak infuriated the PLP.

But it need not have worried.

On a sweltering July 24, the electorate voted in the PLP for a second term. In the first election under the new system of 36 single seats, the ruling party took 22 seats to the UBP's 14.

But the margin of victory was not as comfortable as the eight-seat majority might suggest.

Had the UBP won a total of just 80 extra votes in the tightest constituencies, it would have been a tied election. There were serious scares for Premier Jennifer Smith who held her St. George's seat by just eight votes from the UBP's Kenneth Bascome, while Tourism & Telecommunications Minister Ren?e Webb hung onto her seat by an identical margin over the UBP's Tim Smith.

Ms Smith led the celebrations at Alaska Hall, but her triumph was short-lived. Within ten minutes of the polls closing at 8 p.m., it was obvious that something was amiss. Half the Cabinet and a group of MPs were absent from the celebrations. It later transpired that the 11 rebels had been at the Hamilton Princess Hotel plotting the downfall of their leader. They asked that she came to meet them that night but she refused.

rift split the Parliamentary party in half, but the next day Ms Smith resolutely held a press conference to announce her new Cabinet made up from those MPs still loyal to her. It was an exercise in futility, as by the Constitution Ms Smith needed to command the support of more than half the MPs, 19, for the Governor to swear her in as Premier, support she did not have.

Just 24 hours after winning the General Election, the PLP held an emergency meeting at Devonshire Recreation Club to try to sort out the mess. Some demanded the rebels, who boycotted the meeting, should be expelled. Four-and-a-half hours of talks resolved nothing.

In a second, dramatic meeting, on July 27, also at Devonshire Rec., Ms Smith resigned.

Dr. Ewart Brown put himself forward for the leadership, but then withdrew. Finance Minister Eugene Cox lifted growing tension at the meeting, when he said he would step down from his post as Deputy Premier for the good of the party. Everything then clicked into place, as Alex Scott was voted in by acclaim as the new leader and Dr. Brown as deputy leader.

Mr. Scott was sworn in as the new Premier on July 28 and has since managed to hold his fragmented party together.

He named a compromise Cabinet, comprising Smith loyalists and rebels, including newcomers Patrice Minors (Health & Social Services), Dale Butler (Youth, Sport & Community Affairs), Michael Scott (Legislative Affairs) and Ashfield DeVent (Without Portfolio).

Ms Smith was offered a position but declined it.

Others to have their ministerial duties taken away were Nelson Bascome, whose Ministry had overseen the scandal-hit BHC. And the most loyal Smith loyalist of them all, Col. David Burch, who had never held a seat in the House of Assembly, lost his posts as Housing Minister and Government Leader in the Senate.

The memory of that in-fighting, during days when the PLP had so much to celebrate, is still fresh and is likely to have left deep wounds. Only time will tell how genuine is the unified front presented these days by the Government.

The UBP may have lost the election, but the voting figures nevertheless gave the Opposition hope for the future.

Having gleaned 48 per cent of the vote, the party that called itself "the new UBP" could feel that they were on the road to recovery after their disastrous showing in 1998.

Despite three members of his Shadow Cabinet having lost their seats, Opposition Leader Dr. Grant Gibbons' reaction to election defeat sounded more like a victory speech.

"Like a Phoenix, we have risen from the ashes," he said. "The Premier should have gotten the message that the Bermudian people are looking for fair, honest and open government. Our message of inclusivity resonated."

Mr. Scott told the he had got the message in his first in-depth interview since being chosen to lead party and country.

"It was closer than I would have thought and that means that the voter wants us to take note of the issues that came to the fore in that election and all I would say to the voter is message stamped, message received," said Mr. Scott.

He also hinted at a new era of co-operation between the major parties, though there has been little evidence of bipartisanship since.

S always in politics, 2003 saw several major bones of contention that sparked furious debate in the House. One of those was Cuba, and the memorandum of understanding that this newspaper revealed in May was being negotiated between the Bermuda Government and Fidel Castro's communist regime.

The news broke shortly after Transport Minister Dr. Brown proposed to give away old buses and ferries to Cuba and in the month after a round-up and imprisonment of 75 dissidents by the dictatorship provoked global condemnation.

That added fuel to the fire of a lively debate in the House in which then PLP backbencher Dale Butler sided with the Opposition in criticising the Government for negotiating with Cuba, despite its poor human rights record and the annoyance this would cause the US.

"Let's not mix our cultural fantasies with political realities," said Mr. Butler. "We have a long and loving relationship with the United States and I don't think that we should ruin that relationship with a bunch of buses."

After the election, just three-and-a-half months later ? in one of the year's most spectacular political ironies ? it was Mr. Butler, as Community Affairs Minister, who signed the memorandum with Cuba in Havana.

He denied having made an about-turn and said: "I am aware as you are aware of something called collective responsibility. Now I am a minister responsible for the whole government."

Premier Scott could hardly have dreamed up a stiffer test for his new Cabinet Minister to see if he could be reformed from his old maverick ways.

Indeed the new Premier faced a test of a different kind himself, when Hurricane Fabian, the most severe storm to hit the island in nearly half a century, made its savage way through on September 5.

Mr. Scott came through the leadership test with flying colours, helped by the island's willingness to rally round the leader in a time of crisis. To some, Mr. Scott had been regarded as something of a caretaker Premier, but his performance during the hurricane and its aftermath, helped to cement his position as the country's leader.

However, as the year ended there were signs that Mr. Scott's honeymoon period was over.

He nailed his political colours very firmly to Bermudian Puisne Judge Norma Wade Miller to be the island's next Chief Justice. When the UK appointed Englishman Richard Ground instead, it left Mr. Scott in an embarrassing political position.

Government House told the Premier it had been inappropriate to "politicise" the appointment process, but Mr. Scott responded by saying there had been no provision in the Constitution for the use of an interview panel and that he was not surprised that the topic of Independence was being raised.

The scene is set for a fascinating 2004 in politics, which could be dramatically affected by the ongoing police investigation into the BHC scandal. Senior Government figures are reportedly going to be questioned soon by the police.