Hector has never been particularly taken with the Premier’s nickname ‘Doc Hollywood’, coined after a little-known Michael J Fox film, and no doubt a play on Dr. Brown’s love of the celebrity trappings of bodyguards, motorcades and constant travel. But there is one star whose stage manner is uncannily like our leader’s approach to statesmanship — noisy TV chef Emeril Lagasse. Don’t see it? Just recall recent events: Accused in the press of involvement in the BHC scandal? BAM!!! Go on TV and threaten to suspend dealings with the Governor. Pesky press won’t let up? Use the courts to gag them. KICK IT UP A NOTCH!!!! Seems the Premier can stand the heat in the kitchen as he keeps firing up the gas.Bemused Bermudians are now well used to the Premier’s slash and burn style of diplomacy but they may not know Dr. Brown has adopted similar tactics with the media. Last week his office put out a press release which could only be deemed a pre-emptive strike. It whined, somewhat inaccurately, that>The Royal Gazette had “spent the week very closely searching through the Premier’s and his wife’s personal backgrounds”. It went on: “During a time in the late 1990s when Premier Brown and his wife were selling their single family home in California, the eventual buyer believed the broker was operating unethically. The buyer decided to file a civil lawsuit against the broker. It never went to trial. However, in the lawsuit the Browns were named, not because the suit was filed against them, but because they owned the home in question.”

The press release even goes to the length of providing a quote from the women who bought the home saying she had no issue with the Browns while the last word is given to the Premier himself who of course insinuated a political plot was afoot because opponents assumed an election was near. He concluded: “Since this aimless attempt to dig dirt came up empty it will be interesting to see what is ultimately printed.” Or maybe not that interesting. Because The Royal Gazett$> finding there was no story, left it alone.

But Hector still has some questions including does the Premier really think any self-respecting news organisation in any country would not investigate a tip about the national leader being accused of something untoward and also drop the matter if they realised there was nothing in it? Hector also would like to ask the Premier to be as pro-active in answering press inquiries about stories that do actually make the paper as he is in shooting down stories that never flew in the first place.

And lastly, will the Premier ever realise that good and bad press comes with the job and stop milking the ‘I’m so hard done-by’ stance.

Hector doesn’t know many genuine victims who earn six-figure salaries and swan around in swanky motorcades. And this was after all the same Premier who had just days earlier enjoyed thousands of words of positive coverage in this very paper about his trip to Washington. The poor thing.And while the Premier complains about negative stories that don’t appear it seems his side-kick Julian Hall is crying foul about quotes not appearing — even when they do. In a puzzling section of his recent rant about white supremacists, KKK Police cabals and establishment plots, published in full on Politics.bm, he writes about being quizzed by RG Magazine for a political feature on life under Dr. Brown. But smelling a rat Mr. Hall asks: “Do they really want to publish what I have to say, or is this just an exercise in intelligence gathering? It turns out that this was probably more an exercise in intelligence gathering.” He then goes on to give readers still interested in his lurid meanderings further pearls of wisdom he believes were so wickedly denied them: “Look for a few so-called ‘scandals’, the usual establishment attempt to use the police and the prosecuting authorities, some vestigial financial pressure here and there, and one or two newly-made local stars at constituency level, and who knows what’s really going to happen. If I have to guess, I will say that the PLP will increase its share of the popular vote, but will have no net gain in seats. It may even lose one or two, particularly if the election is called after this summer.”

Only problem is that this quote and many more from Julian Hall were published by RG Magazine — something he would have known if he’d only bothered to check. And Hector would like to draw attention to one more from Mr. Hall which made the cut. “... put on your seatbelts, you’re in for a rough ride.” If his own embarrassing hyperbole is anything to go by, indeed we are.