What began as a relatively minor problem within the United Bermuda Party now shows every sign of spiralling out of control.

When Jamahl Simmons announced he was resigning from the party following a bid to unseat him as the UBP?s candidate in Pembroke West, there were some who dismissed it as a storm in a teacup, noting that for all for his strengths, he was a carpetbagger who had been a member of all three parties.

And his allegations of racism were similarly questionable, given that his branch had initially chosen him over at least one other black candidate, sought to replace him with another, and were far more concerned over the lack of attention he had given to constituency concerns.

The near-contemporaneous departure of party member David Dunkley was also played down, given Mr. Dunkley?s relatively small role in the party and the vagueness of his alleged complaints.

The problems took on a much greater tenor with the resignation on Wednesday of party chairman Gwyneth Rawlins, who alleged that an unnamed group of presumably white party members continued to exert undue control over the party at the expense of party officials like herself.

Then yesterday, apparently in an attempt to quiet widespread rumours that Shadow Home Affairs Minister Maxwell Burgess was about to cross the floor to the Progressive Labour Party, party leader Wayne Furbert revealed Mr. Burgess planned to step down at the next General Election.

That has set off a new firestorm, with an irate Mr. Burgess declaring that he had not even had the chance to inform his constituents. Mr. Burgess also questioned whether his former running mate was capable of leading the party, saying that the schisms that have occurred would not have done so if Dr. Grant Gibbons was still at the helm.

Indeed, this crisis, and the way it has spiralled out of control, must inevitably raise questions about Mr. Furbert?s leadership. No one disputes that he is a genuine and trustworthy man, but the test of leadership, especially in a party as diverse as the UBP, is how well a person can convince people to work towards a common goal. At the moment, his record looks quite bleak.

If there?s such a thing as a normal time in politics, that would be bad enough, but it is even worse for the UBP when it is likely that Premier Dr. Ewart Brown will call in an election within months. Indeed, the PLP is riding high at the moment in comparison with the UBP, and its own raw internal divisions, which were exposed for all to see just months ago, will now seem quite minor.

There may be many who are now wondering whether the UBP, far from being a government in waiting, is even a viable Opposition.

Mr. Furbert denies there is a cabal manipulating events from within, but he needs to show it with strong and firm leadership which demonstrates that he is truly in charge.

The UBP?s Achilles heel is race, and the idea that it is a white-dominated party in which black politicians are merely window dressing is a perception it has been saddled with since its inception. The statements of Mr. Simmons and Mrs. Rawlins, although not, interestingly, Mr. Burgess, reinforce that perception.

But Mr. Burgess did say that if perception equalled reality, then a leader had to step up and say how he planned to deal with it. Mr. Burgess appeared quite statesmanlike in doing so, and may well have improved his own position in any leadership stakes in tackling the issue.

Of course, the party?s diversity and commitment to colour-blindness is also its greatest strength in comparison to the PLP which all too often falls back on race baiting and a perception that it only serves the needs of black Bermudians.

But the UBP needs to walk the walk as well as talk the talk, and in the last few weeks it has not done that.