Progressive Labour Party delegates will choose their party leader tonight — but they will be well aware that the leadership of the Country is also at stake.

This is a weighty responsibility, and while this newspaper remains concerned that it should be decided by a group of people who are essentially unelected and unaccountable, it’s the system the Island is stuck with, and it is to be hoped that they will take the interests of the Island as well as the party into account.

It has been said here that this leadership fight is about more than two men, and it is also clear that it has become a real fight for the soul of the governing party.

On one side stand what could broadly be described as the old guard of the PLP, personified by Dame Lois Browne Evans, who have thrown their political weight behind Premier Alex Scott.

Their message, broadly, is that now is not the time for a change and it is important for the PLP to be united.

There is clearly a good deal of bitterness about the successful coup against Dame Jennifer Smith within the group, but is also clear that they wield a good deal of power. There must also be a sense that the continued divisions within the party are also damaging its election prospects.

But they must also convince the delegates that Mr. Scott’s policies, philosophies and personal style are best suited to the leadership of both the party and the Government.

Mr. Scott himself, countering arguments that he has moved too slowly on social issues, has argued that it is often better to build consensus first and then to move, or, in his words, to make haste slowly.

He has also tried to make the case that he is a better behind the scenes manager than Dr. Brown, whose liking for media coverage is well known. Mr. Scott attempted to show that Dr. Brown is more flash than substance, although that’s a difficult case to make given the former Tourism Minister’s largely solid track record.

Mr. Scott has also struggled to widen his personal support base since 2003, and that helps to explain why Dr. Brown, for all his weaknesses, has such a high standing in the polls.

What should be clear to Mr. Scott, if he is elected, is that he must now force the pace on issues from housing to sustainable development to empowerment.

And it would not hurt if he put Independence on the far back burner when the clear consensus in his own party, let alone the Country, is that it is a non-starter.

Dr. Brown has made a good deal of his record, and he and his supporters have trumpeted that he is the main to lead Bermuda to the next level.

But to the unbiased observer, it is still not at all clear what the next level is, and has been stated before, Dr. Brown’s platform was long on rhetoric and desperately short of specifics.

That has reinforced the sense that his leadership bid had less to do with Bermuda or even the PLP, and everything to do with Dr. Brown’s own personal ambitions.

Ambition in a leader is no bad thing, but Dr. Brown must still show that it is ambition aimed at benefiting the whole community and he has yet to do that.

If he wins, Dr. Brown must also show that he is worthy of the trust of the community.

It is notable in this campaign that he has done his best to “control his message” and to avoid having his character placed under any real scrutiny.

Leadership cannot be conducted in a vacuum, and the community deserves better than to have legitimate inquiries dismissed as “plantation questions”.

By tonight, Bermuda will know if Mr. Scott remains as Premier or if Dr. Brown will be moving into the Cabinet Office. It is to be hoped that the PLP’s delegates think hard and choose wisely.