IT never ceases to amaze me that in this country - and this must be the only country in the world where this particular phenomenom takes place - if you stake out a particular political position (in my case supporting the Premiership of Dr. Ewart Brown) then a whole host of people come out of the woodwork to try and convince you that you are wrong.

I am sure that Mid-Ocean News reader R. Scott, whose letter of comment appeared in last week's edition, has been reading my Commentary pieces for some time for he seems to know where I stand concerning the Premiership of Dr. Brown.

But I reject the condescending attitude manifest in Mr. Scott's opinions. How dare he presume to suggest who I should be supporting as the leader of both the Progressive Labour Party and the country?

And let's go even further, shall we, when it comes to the views of Warwick resident Mr. Scott who seems to be so intractably opposed to both Dr. Brown and the proposed new Southlands Resort hotel which the Government has given the go-ahead to.

First let me explain how I define leadership. A good leader must demonstrate an aptitude for original thought; he must be bold; and he should have a clear vision about where he would like to see the country go. He should be able to govern with a combination of instinct and intelligence. He should never pander to the weakness or fears of the people if he is sure that he is on the right path and acting in the overall interests of the nation.

Such a leader is characterised not by how many babies he kisses or by local "Hey b'y" politics (I coined the term "Hey b'y" politics to describe the effusive public greetings former United Bermuda Party Premier Sir John Swan bestowed on one and all, an idiosyncrayic but seemingly much beloved trait of his among Bermudian voters.) The true measure of a leader is not based on the number of popular decisions he or she makes but by the hard and unpopular decisions he is called upon to make. Above all, he must be decisive and firm in his leadership qualities I and many other Bermudians believe Premier Brown has such qualities in abundance.

I seem to detect a sense of disdain on the part of R. Scott when it comes to the tourist industry in Bermuda, which suggests to me he has either never worked in the industry or has an unhappy experience if he ever did. As to the position on Bermuda tourism as it stands today, he has either let his political bias against Premier and Tourism Minister Brown blind him to the improved tourist numbers that are evident all around us or, like many of the Premier's political detractors; he is loathe to admit that he will have to one day say "Thank you Dr. Brown" for overhauling our hospitality industry even if he ends up having to whisper those sentiments under his breath.

R. Scott has accused me of not being in support of the building of a more modestly-scaled Ritz Carlton hotel in the same area. I do not recall taking a hard and fast position against the building of that hotel although, while I am writing this particular Commentary, I am unable to consult my written records. But even if I took such a position against the Ritz Carlton that former UBP Tourism Minsiter Jim Woolridge tried to introduce to Bermuda, it is human to change one's opinion or position on an issue. One thing is for sure, in those days I did not have as many grandchildren as I do now and it is their futures that I am concerned about - their future employment prospects in their own country.

Let me pose the following question to Mr. Scott and my other critics. Assume that some day in the future Bermuda's economic situation is in dire straits - that the off-shore companies have all moved on to other domiciles or moved back on shore. When it comes to rebuilding a shattered Bermuda economy, which of these two options has the greater prospect of being successful: filling all of those empty office buildings in the city of Hamilton or filling the hotel rooms in a rebuilt tourism infrastructure?

Let me finish by turning to Mr. Scott's comments about my views on the demise of Triminghams, Front Street's flagship retailing operation.

Yes, I did state at the time that the closing of Triminghams left me cold. As far as the 40 Thieves are concerned, I freely admit there is no love lost there but let me ask the question: did anyone from this group shed any tears when the Bermuda Industrial Union's Co-Op supermarket met its demise?

And although Bermudian jobs were lost when Triminghams closed its doors, how many thousands of dollars have been saved as a result of the closing of Triminghams because hundreds of working class Bermudians no longer have to pay on their charge accounts at that store, monies spent by, and for the most part on, women.

Mr. Scott may or may not be interested to know that as regards the demise of Triminghams, I actually reserved my harshest criticism for my own black community. When writing in the Workers Voice at the time the store closed, I asked this questsion: how is it that we shed so many tears for the demise of Trimminghams and none for the closing of Dismont/ Robinson's, which for many years was the only black-owned store on Front Street and which closed at much the same time as Triminghams?

So, Mr. Scott, you keep drinking your Friday morning coffee and having your chuckles over my opinions in this Commentary and I will continue to support Premier Brown, the leader who in my opinion gets things done.