to step down.

United Bermuda Party MPs, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the Premier's surprise initiative has derailed Government's focus and unleashed a storm of bad feelings that has damaged party morale and unity.

UBP MPs, including those who support the Premier, say he has erred in the push to get Bermuda to examine Independence.

They cite heavy-handed treatment of the caucus, lack of party consultation on the Independence plan, lack of clear communication on the issue and a poor defence and handling of Government's position.

The situation is boiling, some say, and it is not improbable that a challenge to the Premier will develop.

"People are smelling John Swan's blood,'' one party veteran said.

"There's a lot of gamesmanship going on.'' MPs, who can be seen as belonging to a group opposing the Premier, insist they are not actively conspiring and that they would not try a push if it endangered the Party's hold on Government.

"There is no elaborate collusion or plotting,'' said one long-time MP who opposes the Premier. "But we would really like the party to get back on track with an integrated team that manages the affairs of the Country better than the Opposition.'' One long-time advisor to the Premier said the "anti-Independencers are not talking about bringing down the Government.

They're talking about bringing Swan down.'' The disaffected MPs do not have an obvious leader and they do not appear to have any plan.

"There is no frontal challenge at this stage,'' one said.

Some of them hope the Premier will simply resign. "I think it should be a resignation issue,'' the MP said. "He's so obviously the driving force behind this.

Backers of the Premier say they do not see Independence as a resignation issue.

"This is just about an examination of the issue,'' one Cabinet minister said.

"It's true we didn't make it part of our election. It's very controversial.

But it doesn't mean you shouldn't examine it.

"It's a risk, yes, but I don't think it should become a matter of resignation. If you honestly put forward information and the Country decides `no', the Premier should say `Okay, I hear you.' '' But sources indicated the Premier is staking everything on his Independence push. One MP said he has told the caucus that the United Bermuda Party will lose the next election if it does not take the Country to Independence.

It is perhaps this stance that has made Independence the lightning rod for the party's current malaise.

When asked about the party's health, answers come back about a "delicate balance'' in the caucus, that it's "not a cohesive group'', that "morale is bad'' and that there is a "growing restiveness.'' One of the recurring concerns is that the Premier no longer has a trusted coterie of hands-on advisors to steer him clear of missteps such as the Independence issue.

"I don't know who his advisors are,'' a former insider said. "It worries me.'' "I can't speak for him,'' said another. "He has two people who are efficient in what they do (Cabinet secretary Mr. Leo Mills and Management Minister, Sen.

the Hon. Grant Gibbons), but they are political neophytes.'' Sir John was considered at his political best when he was in close and regular council with former Minister the Hon. Sir John Sharpe and former Cabinet secretary Mr. Kenneth Richardson.

One observer said the Sharpe-Richardson team were close, talking all the time and with the access and unalloyed loyalty to speak to the Premier anytime they thought he was making a wrong move.

Sir John and longtime friend Mr. Richardson, and to a lesser extent Sen. Mike Winfield, were colleagues who harboured no ambitions for the Premier's post.

But the Premier "doesn't have that anymore,'' one rookie MP said. "When you look around the Cabinet today, there's no one like that.'' The lack of hands-on political advisors has apparently damaged the Premier in terms of thoroughly seeing the ramifications of any actions.

"The whole mismanagement of this thing (Independence) from the beginning is a consequence of nobody thinking this thing through. There is nobody there to do any of the detail work for him now.'' Another concern -- this time expressed by a Cabinet supporter -- is the Premier's determination to control the Independence issue.

"The Premier has permitted himself to be the only public spokesman out there.

The impression in the public is that he's pushing it himself.

"He's also allowed people to speculate that its his `Swan song' and that it's his personal ambition for this. It's damaging.

"If you don't tell the people what you're about, it leads to speculation.'' One caucus activist says the Premier has not adjusted to the new reality of a narrow 21-18 majority in the House of Assembly -- "as close to a minority government as you can get.'' Although the Premier currently retains ultimate numerical control of the caucus over the disaffected, his Government is not immune to trouble. Witness the embarrassing loss of the party's candidate for Speaker at the start of the new Parliament.

And the Cabinet resignation of Mrs. Ann Cartwright DeCouto over the Independence issue in January has threatened Government's control of Parliament.

For example, if Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade had gone ahead with his motion to kill the Commission of Inquiry into Independence two Fridays ago, the Government would have been in danger of losing the vote.

Mrs. Cartwright may very well have abstained -- as she did on the vote to pass the Referendum legislation. Another Government MP said he would have voted with the Opposition if the motion had been debated -- shaving Government's majority to one.

One MP admitted that a loss in the House of Assembly "could happen on anything.'' Given the dynamics, it is possible the Premier and his Government will face a stern test when the House resumes sitting on May 6.