Too often, Bermuda's politicians of all stripes seem more intent on scoring points than on finding solutions together.

So it was refreshing to see Acting Premier Paula Cox call for the whole community to come together to deal not only with violent crime, but with a plethora of other issues that bedevil this small community.

Ms Cox's impassioned call was welcome, not least because it did not assign blame but instead acknowledged problems the whole community faces and which only the whole community can solve.

To be sure, Ms Cox did not prescribe much in the way of detailed solutions, but if acknowledging the problem ¿ in crime, education and housing ¿ is the first step to finding answers, then this was a start.

It is tempting to suggest that Ms Cox was laying the groundwork for a leadership challenge through this speech, but perhaps the greater mystery is why Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, along with Labour Minister Derrick Burgess, was absent for a holiday dedicated to the labour movement, from which the Progressive Labour Party was born and still draws much of its strength.

Dr. Brown took some criticism for skipping the Queen's Birthday Parade earlier this year, but at least one could surmise then that he was making some sort of political statement given his well-publicised dislike of Bermuda's colonial status. Skipping Labour Day seems more akin to Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley's absence from Dame Lois Browne Evans' funeral ¿ a politically inept snub.

Be that as it may, it gave Ms Cox the opportunity to give what was in effect the keynote speech on Monday, and there will be many in the community who will welcome both her tone and approach. She is sometimes criticised for not saying enough or for failing to show passion. Ms Cox said plenty and did so with passion on Monday.

Whether she did so with the intention of reminding the community that Dr. Brown is not the only person capable of leading the PLP and the Country is neither here nor there. She showed some leadership and offered a tantalising vision of what a "Cox Government" might do.

For his part, Mr. Dunkley offered some vision, delivering a reasoned speech on labour relations which emphasised the need for communication between employers and employees, and made it clear all workers are important.

He too called for a community approach to the problems of crime, thus making up for an ill-advised attempt to tie the Shaki Crockwell murder to past PLP Government in action on issues like the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal.

With such a meeting of the minds, one has to think that there is hope for more reasoned and solution-oriented debates when the House of Assembly returns - with an election now looking less likely - at the end of October.

We can but hope.