Picture it: It?s May 24th and you don?t have an outfit. In fact, you don?t have any clothes at all! That?s a Bermudian?s worst nightmare and exactly how the Government should have felt during Friday?s Parliamentary debate. The Emperor had no clothes, and right before Bermuda Day!

Friday?s Take Note Motion on Government?s inaction on housing laid it out for all to see. The closets at Alaska Hall are bare. The PLP clearly have no housing plan, unless you?re charitable enough to accept the Minister?s claim that he has a ?holistic? one, in his head of course.

It?s hardly comforting to think that if Mr. De Vent were to get run over by a shiny blue Peugeot we?d lose both a Cabinet Minister and the housing plan simultaneously.

But that?s the beauty of politicians claiming to have unwritten plans, they?re tough to criticise. Unfortunately it also makes it rather difficult to accomplish anything.

You have to hand it to the UBP, who must still be smarting after producing a creative housing proposal during the 2003 election, all in a losing effort. There they were, dodging student protesters and anxious to debate a motion highlighting inaction on arguably our most pressing social issue.

But the PLP didn?t seem worried, they seemed amused. Perhaps the joke is actually on us. Government never promised to address the housing problem.

In fact, they didn?t claim they?d do much of anything if elected. The PLP?s re-election strategy was quite simple: ?Vote for us. We?re not the other guys (who by the way are shysters or Uncle Toms)?.

The PLP don?t want you to vote for them. They want you to vote against the UBP.

That?s the problem when your Government feels no need to provide a vision, achievements or details of future plans, whether in their heads or not.

The election of 2003 reinforced the mentality in the PLP that they don?t need to do anything to get re-elected, other than demonise the other party.

Today?s PLP MPs are confident of their re-election prospects as long at the public play their designated role of validating the blame game. They feel no obligation to produce results but are content to convince us that today?s inaction is the other party?s fault. Don?t expect the Government to fix things, because the UBP created them and tomorrow?s problems are still their fault we?re told. The PLP don?t want to lead the country, they want to oppose the ghost of UBPs past.

This culture of blame was evident during Friday?s debate. Members droned for hours about why the problem exists, not what they?re going to do about it.

Friday?s motion began its life as ?this House takes note and deplores the failure of the PLP Government to produce and act on a housing plan? before rather amusingly morphing into ?this House take note and support the PLP Government in the development of a comprehensive plan to solve the problem of affordable housing in Bermuda?.

You?re excused if you thought the modified version was an attempt at humour. You see, the Minister amended the original motion to one soliciting support in the ?development? of a plan. But apparently he already has one. Remember? The one in his head.

There go the clothes! After six years and four Housing Ministers you?d think that at a minimum we?d have a working document to review. But why plan when you can finger point?

A more productive motion would have been ?That this House take note and support the PLP Government?s plan to solve the problem of affordable-housing in Bermuda?. The plan could have been tabled for debate and subsequently approved, rejected or improved.

Sadly, Friday?s session was a classic example of the great Bermudian parliamentary sport of talking about why a problem exists without proposing a solution. So in the spirit of solutions here?s a new rule for Parliamentary debate:

If you don?t have a specific solution to contribute, then stay in your seat with your microphone off. If you?re determined to waffle for hours, mindlessly logging your time dwelling in the past then you should reconsider your suitability as an MP.

Let?s work to create a better future, not wallow unproductively in the past.

@EDITRULE: