By Blox Content Management
Last week, the Free National Movement (FNM) launched its first slate of candidates ahead of the next general election.
Instead of generating momentum, the lackluster launch left the impression of a party fumbling for coherence 鈥 a party still not sure of what it stands for, who it鈥檚 trying to reach, or how it intends to win.
From the outset, the FNM鈥檚 candidate reveal was plagued by problems.
Basic details 鈥 like the spelling of constituencies 鈥 were botched, raising questions about the level of care and competence behind the scenes.
It may seem like a small issue to some, but such sloppiness speaks volumes.
Elections require discipline and a team that pays attention to detail.
Even the slogan accompanying the launch 鈥 鈥淓verybody gatta eat鈥 鈥 landed with a thud.
Bahamians are dealing with serious challenges 鈥 rising costs, job precarity, and energy insecurity 鈥 鈥淓verybody gatta eat鈥 felt unserious, a reduction of national hardship to a meme-level punchline.
The candidate list itself, comprised of 17 names, was a mix of the familiar and the recycled.
Former Cabinet ministers from the Minnis era like Marvin Dames, Darren Henfield, and Elsworth Johnson are now back in the spotlight.
Though their performance was rejected, their professional reputations were left largely unscathed.
But the electorate already passed judgment on them and the vast majority of their colleagues in the 2021 general election.
Voters made clear they were dissatisfied with that iteration of the FNM.
Reintroducing many of the same faces, without any apparent recalibration or new direction, feels like a gamble that the public has a short memory.
Then there鈥檚 the awkward matter of the missing names. But that memory may not be as forgiving as the party hopes.
FNM Leader Michael Pintard, Deputy Leader Shanendon Cartwright, and party Chairman Dr. Duane Sands were not on this initial slate.
Sands, when pressed about it, brushed the matter off with a biblical-sounding quote about the last being first and the first being last.
But the absence of these key figures only deepened the impression that the launch lacked cohesion and forward planning.
Why roll out a team without its captain and co-captains?
Why present an incomplete picture of your leadership when voters are craving clarity and stability?
To compound matters, instead of letting the FNM鈥檚 missteps speak for themselves, Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell jumped in with both feet, calling the rollout a 鈥渂uggy load of recycled rejects鈥, though his comments, while delivered with Mitchell鈥檚 usual sharp-edge, risked deflecting attention from the PLP鈥檚 own vulnerabilities by drawing the spotlight back onto himself.
As chairman, a major part of Mitchell鈥檚 job is to critique the opposition, but he might do better to focus on his own party鈥檚 credibility heading into the next election.
The PLP has not yet locked in public confidence.
There is still time for things to go wrong.
The PLP has its own record to defend 鈥 on energy, crime, cost of living, and housing.
Still, as it continues to demonstrate, it鈥檚 the FNM that continues to look unready for the battle ahead.
Pintard, for all his criticisms of the PLP, has yet to fully distinguish himself as a leader with a clear, unifying message that can rally Bahamians across the political divide.
That said, Bahamian politics is nothing if not cyclical.
Many of the same names once dismissed as 鈥渞ejects鈥 have found second winds in new political moments.
It鈥檚 not impossible that some of the former MPs and ministers making a comeback could resonate with voters, especially if the government continues to falter on key bread-and-butter issues.
The electorate is known to be pragmatic, not sentimental. If they see value in a familiar face who seems to have learned from past mistakes, they might be willing to give them another chance.
There as those who think we are overtly critical of the FNM.
We disagree.
The party is a shadow of its former self through its own making.
And we will focus intense scrutiny on any party wishing to vie to be the government of The Bahamas.
Our country is not a consolation prize for the opposition just showing up when disaffection with the ruling party sets in.
If the FNM wants the reins of power back, it must do better.
Right now, voters see a team that appears stitched together in haste, a slogan that inspires more mockery than motivation, a leader not firmly in control, and a rollout that didn鈥檛 go very far at all.