"None of us is as smart as all of us." – Japanese proverb.

I'm not running for leader, Mr. Editor, but I have some strong views on what's needed to turn things around in Bermuda. Step one: We need to bring about some fundamental change at the top in the way we do the country's business.

It is not a matter of just re-arranging chairs or changing decks. Abandoning ship isn't an option either. What we must do is overhaul an outdated model of government and effect some very necessary repairs. It has been described as insanity when we keep doing the same old, same old but look for different or better results.

People need no direction from me to assemble a list of the pressing problems confronting Bermuda today:

¦ Top of the list is growing law and disorder which is threatening the very fabric of our society: from the shocking and outrageous murder and gun violence, to the insidious but wilful disregard for our traffic laws.

¦ A Government that has spent the country deeply into debt with very little room for manoeuvre if business in Bermuda gets worse, not better.

¦ An economy in which the gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening, monthly if not weekly.

¦ Galloping health care costs which threaten the prospect of affordable health insurance, not just for our seniors, who are in the front line of this battle, but for all.

¦ An education system that seems impossible to improve, try as we might.

Let me stop at five. They alone are enough to make you wonder, not just what's next but how in heaven's name are we ever going to get on top of these seemingly intractable problems?

From where I sit, and I have sat as a Member of Parliament for 17 years now, five in Government and the remainder in Opposition, I believe that we should be looking for far more innovation around here and a lot less partisanship if we are ever going to make progress on the issues that really do matter.

The PLP currently believes they have the answer to our problems – change the leader; the United Bermuda Party – change the Government; and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance – give us a try. This is party politics. But frankly, and honestly, I think people are looking beyond the traditional for a fresh approach to politics in Bermuda and, by extension, a fresh approach to how our politicians govern themselves and the country. It may be that what is required are fresh faces and fresh voices who come without the baggage of the past and scores to settle.

Meanwhile, our current system of Government must look like a bemusing division and waste of human resources to the casual, outside observer. We have 36 elected members, along with 11 appointees in the Senate, who make up a Legislature that more often than not seems more dysfunctional than functional when it comes to actually rolling up our sleeves and working for the country.

It seems to me that rabid partisans go all the way; moderates tend to go away. Petty partisan politics and clever, manipulative spin has not only become acceptable but desirable currency. The party whip prevails. Those who toe the line get ahead on the Government benches, regardless of their own personal views and, in some cases, convictions. We all know and understand party politics. We hear voices that say one thing, but vote another. On the other hand, we have the sad, sorry spectacle of a divided Opposition in what has essentially been a two party town to date, when what is required to make the Westminster system work is not just an opposition for opposition's sake that carps and crows and criticises, but one that is a creditable and viable alternative to the Government of the day. In this context, it is not so difficult to comprehend the disdain and indifference so many have for our politics and our political institutions.

Bermuda is once again at a crossroads. There are the challenges which must be addressed daily by those who live and work here and by those who are elected to govern. The same old, same old has not proven effective and is not proving effective. There is now instead a compelling opportunity for a new beginning.

Top of the agenda is the need for innovation and adjustment through a more creative, open approach to government of Bermuda. No Government has ever had all the answers; no Opposition either. What we hear instead is the call on the community to come together to help tackle what are essentially community problems. That's true and it would help. But we do not have in place meaningful mechanisms by which members of the public can participate in an effective and sustained way. Voters should not just be limited to choosing this candidate or that candidate or this party or that party at election times, or to calling radio phone-in shows, or penning letters to the editor.

If our Legislature is to mean anything, this should become the place where such meaningful participation begins. We need not continue week after week, whether up the Hill or down, with predictable, puerile partisan exchanges, no matter how well scripted or entertaining they might be.

It is time to turn the page on that chapter of our parliamentary history. We need instead to turn the Legislature into the forum for new ideas and fresh initiatives, with open, thoughtful engagement of the public we serve. Recent and coming advances in technology not only make a new approach possible, but essential if we want to keep pace with the public we serve.

Is there nothing to fear here but fear itself? Maybe, maybe not. There is after all the very real fear of giving up control and power, and ultimately this is what political parties strive for: power. But it isn't just power but the loss of power that politicians understand, and this is why, as Sir Winston Churchill once said, democracy may not be the best system of government in the world but it is better than the rest. You do get a choice from time to time and your vote is the ultimate sanction.

This is part one of a four-part series.

NEXT: A plan to strengthen the independence and autonomy of the Legislature and to put MPs to work in ways they have never had to do before.

(In next Wednesday's Royal Gazette)

Share your views: write jbarritt@ibl.bm