True courage, a willingness to bring about change and a commitment to good governance — those are just a few of the qualities that commentators, activists and other public figures are looking for in the next Premier of Bermuda.

The Royal Gazette asked a cross-section of people before last night's leadership vote to say what traits they hoped to see in the new PLP leader and what issues they want tackled by the incoming administration.

Former Human Rights Commission chairman Venous Memari said it was imperative that the Premier "manifestly promote the rule of law in order to dispel the prevailing perception or at least the appearance of the erosion of the rule of law in this country".

"A good start would be to restore public confidence in good governance by introducing legislation for the tendering process for capital projects along the lines of 'public procurement' European directives, (and) European and US legislation," said the lawyer.

"That said, it's also up to us citizens to remind ourselves that our government is of us, by us and for us.

"Not only is it our right but our duty to expect our government to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them and disclose the results of those activities in a responsible manner."

Ed Ball, general secretary of Bermuda Public Services Union, listed a raft of areas where improvements could be made, including the economy and employment.

"There are unemployed Bermudians who do have a good work ethic and this prevailing view that Bermudians are lazy has to change," he said. "We continue to see increasing numbers of unemployed Bermudians, which indicates that we may need to retool workers' skill sets to apply for jobs that otherwise Bermudians have shunned. Is a half a loaf better than no loaf of bread?"

Author and historian Dr. Eva Hodgson said the new Premier's priorities ought to be crime and education.

But she added: "In fact, I find that I am much more concerned about the character the next leader demonstrates, rather than the issues.

"I believe that for any leader of black Bermudians, integrity should be at the top of the list. The next leader of the PLP will not be powerless, and integrity is even more necessary as a demonstration of his power and authority."

The race activist added that humility would be an important asset.

"It is only an insecure leader who has to continually enhance his/her status with the trappings of the 'colonial masters'," she said. "Finally, the next leader should have courage, true courage."

Political blogger Christian Dunleavy said the new leader would have no choice but to "implicitly or explicitly disavow the policies and politics of the Brown era".

"The past four years have seen record crime, record debt, unprecedented unemployment, serial scandals, a breakdown of the most basic fiscal controls and toxic levels of divisiveness," he said.

"The first step is acknowledging that Bermuda's finances are in a mess, not as a result of external economics, but due to poor fiscal discipline and projects running criminally over-budget."

Former PLP Senator Davida Morris said her biggest concern was the social climate of the Island.

"In the past four years I have seen a decline in the social cohesiveness of the Bermudian public due to racial polarity, a rise in gang violence that has not been addressed in a holistic manner, while education remains in turmoil despite the advent of a new curriculum," she said.

Online political pundit and PLP supporter Jonathan Starling said the new leader needed to focus on "repairing our social and economic infrastructure".

"I think most people would agree that the new leader faces three immediate priorities: that of the economy, fixing education and dealing with the problems of gang violence that have so blighted our Island over the last year.

"There is a time and a place for throwing a new coat of paint on things, like we had over the last four years, but if you don't at the same time check the solidity of the foundations, it becomes a wasted exercise."

Environmental campaigner Stuart Hayward said mattered more than fixing Bermuda's education system.

He said the new Premier also needed to reassure PLP members and supporters of an intent to restore the party's "once-high level of integrity" and to warn business partners that the "era of favouritism" is over.

Hamilton Mayor Charles Gosling — who opened up the Corporation of Hamilton's meetings to the public — cited "transparency and openness of process" as key.

"Too often government is being done behind closed doors," he said. "This has allowed questionable legislation or government policy, sloppy management and misdirection over priorities."