Unveiling Bob Richards as One Bermuda Alliance’s candidate for Devonshire East at the next General Election, Craig Cannonier said Bermuda would be far healthier if the Progressive Labour Party had followed Mr Richards’ advice.The Shadown Finance Minister meanwhile wants the chance to prove that he had the answers to the Island’s financial woes all along, and challenged Premier Paula Cox to face him in a televised debate on the economy.Mr Richards called out the Premier and Minister of Finance during a news conference where he was rolled out as his party’s candidate for Constituency 11, who he has represented in the House of Assembly since 2007.“Today we have a Government that has presided over the biggest loss of wealth, income and opportunity in our lifetimes,” he said. “They want to blame everybody but themselves for this situation, but clearly the shaky state of Government finances speaks for itself.“They said we were on the road to recovery, then the very next year said the outlook was grim. There was an unexpected tax increase that was rolled back a year later. They told expatriate potwashers to get out, then they reversed themselves almost the next day. What will they do next?“We can restore wealth, opportunity and safety and a bright future for our children, if we take the right corrective actions.“The big conversation today is the Bermuda economy, to help Bermudians participate in this big conversation, I invite the Minister of Finance to a televised debate on the economomic issues of this country. Hopefully this debate can take place before the next General election.”Ultimately, Mr Richards said the Bermuda faced a very simple choice, backing a Government that took ‘its eye of the ball’, or voting for change.“The choice in the coming election is clear and simple: to continue on as we are, or make a decisive change for the better. When you boil it down it’s as simple as that,” he said.While Premier Cox did not respond directly to the challenge, Neville Tyrrell, who Mr Richards beat to the Devonshire East seat in 2007 and is expected to go up against again, weighed in last night telling the OBA MP people were getting sick and tired of his continued ‘negativity’.“I think it’s more important to the voters of Devonshire East to have a debate with his opponent in the next General Election,” said Mr Tyrrell.“The people on the doorsteps of Constituency 11 are telling me that they are tired of his constant negativity.“Bermuda is not another world, and if he agrees to debate me, I will talk about how the PLP is guiding Bermuda through these troubled economic waters.“People want to hear solutions, not just talk. I look forward to sharing with the people in Constituency 11 what the PLP Government is doing to support our people during these tough times.”Mr Cannonier backed Mr Richards’ stance claiming yesterday that the Island was paying the price for seven years of failure by the PLP and said the country would have ‘more jobs and more confidence’ if his Shadow Finance Minister had been running things.Taking a barely disguised swipe at Premier Cox, Mr Cannonier said there was a ‘widespread sense of hopelessness’ in Bermuda and accused the Government of wanting the public’s money to ‘pay for its [Governments] excesses’.“There’s a dark cloud hanging over this country, we are dealing with unprecedented unemployment levels,” he said.“The Government over the past five to seven years has failed to take care of that engine and people from all walks of life are now paying the price for it. We see it in less money in our wallets, we see it in store closures, we see it in crushing debt payments that lead to cutbacks in public services, support for charities and teacher layoffs. We see it in a Government that now wants more of your money to pay for its excesses.“Bob Richards has kept a clear eye on the economy for many years now. I believe that if the Government had followed Bob’s advice Bermuda’s economy today would be in a much better shape, with more jobs, more opportunity and more confidence in the future.”