It was the first time that Madeline Joell had run for political office but her victory turned out to be of the bitter-sweet variety.

With the result for her constituency declared early on in that suspenseful evening of last month's General Election, she was elated at having retained Paget West for the UBP.

As the fateful night progressed, however, the former Miss Bermuda realised that although she would be serving as a Member of Parliament, she would be doing so as one of only 14 United Bermuda Party members who would form the Opposition.

Far from being downcast, however, an upbeat Ms Joell -- recently named as Shadow Minister of Youth, Sports, Recreation and Parks -- told The Royal Gazette , "I think that the UBP had been in power for so long, there was this desire for change and I believe the Progressive Labour Party victory provided a positive release of tension that had been building up for some time.

"I see a ripple effect -- people seem a lot happier -- and there seems to be an altered mindset which I think is good. I always try to put a positive spin on things!'' Admitting she had been drawn into politics for two main reasons, Ms Joell explained, "I wanted to give back to my country some of what my country has given me.

I have been given many opportunities to better my life, and I've never lost sight of that. But the essential inspiration was the fact that Pam (Gordon) was the Premier.

"She is a remarkable person and I think it was sad she didn't have longer to settle in. She had started to make changes -- there were some new ideas, and some new and refreshing faces, but the timing was against her.

"I am so happy that she's going to continue as Leader. And,'' she added, "I think this idea of change, almost at any price, had gained momentum. Whatever changes the UBP had made, I don't think it would have made any difference to the outcome.'' Musing that after more than 30 years of UBP rule, this change was almost inevitable, Ms Joell promised that the UBP would seize the opportunity to embark on a rebuilding process: "This is difficult to do when you have the pressure of running the country at the same time. By the next election, we will have all our ducks in a row!'' Assessing the likely impact of a PLP government, Madeline Joell, who is Vice President and Director of Marketing at ACE Insurance Company Ltd., stated her belief that there would be few changes in Bermuda for six months or even a year: "There has always been this fright of a labour government so I imagine they will proceed cautiously. The UBP will have to learn to be an effective opposition.

"We are determined to be constructive and we'll not be automatically shouting down or opposing everything just for the sake of it.

The 14 of us who were elected have fighting spirits and, remember, we had 46 percent of the popular vote, so we shall be keeping a very close eye on what is going on.'' Next time around, observed Ms Joell, Bermuda would be in a position, for the first time ever, to compare the accomplishments of the two political parties.

"I think the UBP has received very little credit for what has been achieved but, on the other hand, people have taken all this for granted because it's never been possible to make any comparisons.

"Next time around, people will be able to make comparisons for themselves.'' Adopted in September as a UBP candidate for Paget West (along with former Education Minister Tim Smith), Ms Joell said that they had both worked very hard for their victory: "People talk about Paget West being a safe seat, but I remember when Warwick East was a safe seat. If you don't work, people can get fed up with you very quickly! We did some serious canvassing in Paget.

"I approach everything with a long-term view, so I worked especially hard because I certainly didn't want to take anything for granted. I was very fortunate to be given the chance to run in Paget West and I value the trust that was placed in me.

And,'' she emphasised, "I never want to lose sight of the fact that it was the people who elected me. Tim Smith is young and full of ideas and we get on well together, and that makes the path forward much smoother for me.'' A graduate of Whitney Institute and the Bermuda College, Ms Joell subsequently passed her Associate of Chartered Insurance Institute (ACII) and, before joining ACE four years ago, headed the brokerage firm of Aon Limited.

"I've been fortunate to have the support of my managers at ACE. I couldn't have done it without their support -- not of the party, but of me! -- so I would like to thank them and express the hope that other employers will follow suit.'' Paying tribute to ACE Chairman Brian Duperreault, Ms Joell commented, "I have a great leader in Brian who, I have discovered, is 100 percent behind anything that helps this community.'' Commenting on the ceremonial Opening of Parliament, Ms Joell agreed it was an historical day in Bermuda's history. "And it was an awesome day for me! I was just so proud to be involved, to be a part of the proceedings.

"It was also very moving to see Stanley Lowe sworn in as Speaker of the House.I went to school with his nephews and nieces, so it was nice to see him as Bermuda's first black Speaker.'' And what about her game of golf? Long acknowledged as one of the Island's brightest golfing stars, Ms Joell admits that even this has had to take a back seat since she was adopted as candidate for Paget West.

"I haven't played for a long time. At this rate, people will have to be giving me strokes for a change!''