The political parties would do well to poll the public to determine the impact of race on voter behaviour, said Sir John Swan recently, while the man who launched a movement to bring the former Premier back into politics is throwing in the towel.

Sir John was asked his reaction to recent comments by W.A. (Toppy) Cowen that black people are less likely to vote for a white leader.

Mr. Cowen has been leading a campaign to draft Sir John back into politics to replace Dr. Grant Gibbons as the leader of the United Bermuda Party (UBP) in order to improve the party's chances of winning the next election.

Last month he justified the drive by saying that "black people might have a problem with white leadership."

Not many people were impressed with the comments, but Sir John is not about to abandon his friend and advocate.

And he dismissed a suggestion by The Royal Gazette that he was seen by some in the UBP as that party's "great black hope".

"I don't think there's any such thing as a great black hope. And I don't think of myself as a great, black hope," Sir John said.

He said when it came to voting he believed that people voted for competence rather than race. But he added that Mr. Cowen, an "intelligent" and "competent" man who he had a lot of respect for, had a right to his opinion.

"He doesn't have a racial chip on his shoulder. And I have every confidence that his concerns are for the long term interests of Bermuda."

Mr. Cowen's views might be held by many others, he said. "Some people say it and some people think it. He happens to say it. One tries to hope that one doesn't judge by the colour of the skin but the content of one's character."

Sir John continued: "Maybe he's speaking the truth. The problem might be a white man is speaking the truth. He's saying there might be some merit in considering a black person (because the majority of the electorate is black) as long as he's competent. I've never done a poll on the subject so I don't really know. It would do the UBP well to find out and face the reality of that poll."

He repeated previous statements that he was not interested in making a political comeback.

Sir John Swan resigned the premiership in 1995, after 13 years, when he lost a bid to make Bermuda an independent nation and quit his Paget East seat shortly after.

Widespread speculation that he was planning a return to politics began in 1999 when he broke a four year silence by calling on the Governor to appoint a politically neutral Director of Public Prosecutions.

"It's no longer an issue," said Mr. Cowen. "I am going to stand back and watch and see what happens. Maybe the timing isn't right. I still believe that if the right people asked him he would be encouraged to come back."

But Mr. Cowen added that his campaign had inspired some "soul searching" among the rank and file but failed to generate a "groundswell of support" for Sir John's return.