Parliament will reconvene shortly, and if the past six months are any indicator, there is little reason to hope that the backbiting, divisiveness, and playground-level politics that have become the Island’s hallmark will change any time soon.

Sensible, reasoned, intelligent debate seems to be as foreign to Bermuda as gay rights, and to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, the Island’s Members of Parliament have such high regard for the truth, they use it only sparingly.

Evidence of this, as one example from many, can be seen in the Opposition’s recent call for unity, for an end to divisive politics, for the opportunity to participate in decision-making now that they sit on the wrong side of the aisle. The Progressive Labour Party demonstrated no sustained interest in governing by way of consensus and collaboration while in power. And past offers of cooperation have rarely been genuine, usually only excuses to play politics with minor issues in the hope of turning them into major ones. It would be heartening to think this time its proposals to replace the hyper-partisanship which now characterises Bermudian politics with a bipartisan initiative that would address our common problems and aspirations are genuine. But the case, as Scottish law would have it, remains unproven.

The One Bermuda Alliance are far from innocents themselves. A nonchalant breach of promise on a gambling referendum which was a major plank in their 2012 election campaign has never been properly explained. And serious questions still remain to be answered regarding the resignations of both former Premier Craig Cannonier and party chairman Thad Hollis.

This is not to say that there aren’t good people among the careerists, opportunists and political seat-warmers of our Sessions House. There are, and they can be found on both sides of the Parliamentary aisle. Unfortunately theirs are lonely voices. And though their contributions are measured, intelligent and thoughtful, they are not as powerful as those of the more vocal demagogues who have dominated debate on the Island for too long.

But if politicians are the people’s representatives then we are all guilty of lowering standards to an unacceptable level, and this has to change; this must change, if the Island is to pull itself out of social and economic free fall. There are too many important things to be discussed and fixed, too many difficult decisions to be made, for petty squabbles to obstruct what must be done.

The question of course is whether there is enough ability, will, and intelligence to do these things. Or if the status quo, of one party doing anything to regain power, and the other trying not to lose it, will remain as Bermuda drifts toward oblivion.

If the OBA were being honest with themselves, and the Island, they would acknowledge that they were not ready to form a Government in 2012. Unfortunately for Bermuda, the PLP had also proved to be incapable. In the end, the voters, or at least those that showed up, were left with the lesser of two evils. Inexperience, or incompetence, is hardly a choice, but it was the only one available.

That though was nearly two years ago, and the hard decisions that the OBA were elected to make are still there needing to be made. There can be no more excuses, no more obfuscating. A party with a majority must govern or step aside. If the current roles were reversed, the PLP would not be so weak.

That is not to suggest that the PLP should be considered a viable alternative at this time. Too often it seems their true talent is not in leadership but in politics itself. While far better at communicating and staying on message than the OBA, they have yet to demonstrate any similar skill when it comes to proposing credible alternatives to current government policy.

It is naive to believe that politicians will change, because human nature does not change. Egomania, the desire for power, greed, revenge, hate, selfishness, will always be parts of the political process, because they are parts of the Island. It is to all our shame that we have allowed them to become the dominant parts, though.

It is time we demanded better from all our politicians, and from ourselves. It is time for the majority to drown out the rabble-rousing extremists, the paid bloggers and party hacks, and to claim back our Parliament, and our Island.

Politicians are there to serve us, not their own interests. In one sense former Premier Dr Ewart Brown was absolutely right during his Labour Day speech: it is time to take back our Government — but it must be for the benefit of everyone, and not a select few, their friends, and families.