By any measure, 2006 has been a remarkable year for Bermuda.

More than anything, political upheaval has dominated the Island, with the leaders of both parties tossed out and replaced. 2007 promises more of the same, with a general election a near-certainty as Premier Ewart Brown looks to capitalise on the momentum from his successful leadership challenge.

But the year was about more than just politics. It saw a serious increase in crime, and the Police still have two unsolved murders, of 18-year-old Jason Lightbourne and Marcus Gibbings, on their books.

At the same time, the Service is still undermanned and crime generally seems to be heading in the wrong way.

The otherwise ludicrous tidal wave scare also seemed to be symptomatic of a Service whose command and control systems are out of whack.

In education, the public school system continued to struggle, with the latest Minister, Randy Horton — did the words poisoned chalice come to mind when he took to the job? — delaying the release of last year's graduation figures until January, while he also had to take the decision to close CedarBridge within days of being appointed.

In health, no decision has been taken on the site of the new hospital, and it would seem that no one is in hurry to make one, despite the public being led to believe just months ago that King Edward VII Memorial Hospital was about to fall down.

In transport, continued expansion of public transport must be measured against continued congestion and 13 more road deaths — a decidedly mixed record.

At least in housing, there seems to be some progress, although at least some of the new building being trumpeted is being done to replace existing buildings and is not new construction. But at least something is being done.

And underlying everything is race. Dr. Brown promised to confront the issue and warned it would make some people uncomfortable. At least there, he was as good as his word, based on his attack on former Opposition Leader Dr. Grant Gibbons.

But the Premier's approach begs the question of whether he wishes to narrow the racial divide or to widen it.

Certainly, his threat of violence towards Dr. Gibbons marked a new low in parliamentary behaviour and may well have been a harbinger of a particularly dirty electoral campaign.

It is clear — and the public was told this well in advance of Dr. Brown's leadership challenge — that the Premier is a divisive figure who has little interest in building consensus as a way of achieving his goals. That may come as a relief to some, but could prove costly in the long run.

That's too bad, because he has many other talents, and he deserves credit for the improvement in tourism, where the community can take some comfort in the belief that it has begun its long-awaited recovery.

Indeed, the economy is in extraordinarily good shape, for which Finance Minister Paula Cox can also take credit.

The great concern now must be that it does not overheat, and for that reason alone, this newspaper is not convinced that the scale of hotel construction planned — almost all of it requiring that the Island's apparently colonial and therefore irrelevant planning rules be ignored — is entirely wise, regardless of the need for upgraded properties.

Similarly, Government's biggest challenge is ensuring that more Bermudians share in the economy's success, but it must be done in such a way that businesses do not flee into the arms of the Island's rivals, who now include the Bahamas, Dublin and even Halifax.

That should be a real concern, because business does not like being made to feel uncomfortable.