It should come as no surprise that ex-Premier, Dr Ewart Brown, delivered a highly-charismatic speech at last weekend’s Labour Day Banquet. It should also come as no surprise that he would:

1. Seek to rewrite the political history of his legacy as Premier.

2. Attempt to exploit our economic problems by redirecting our anger and frustration towards the OBA, the media, the police, Whitehall and the Governor.

3. Introduce the PLP/UBP’s next catch phrase, “Functional Unity”, which will likely be repeated ad nauseam for the next 12 months.

His 2014 message for PLP/UBP supporters was essentially the same given at a July 2007 pre-election rally: “We will stand up and raise our swords and slay the lying, vile, underhanded, vengeful UBP dragon!”

Still, there were a couple of interesting surprises in his speech. For example, with 2,500 unemployed it was quite a surprise to see Dr Brown wax poetically about property ownership in Martha’s Vinyard. As he put it, “God has blessed me abundantly.” Oh, if only God would spread some of his blessings around to the unemployed, or perhaps do a little something about the $2 billion in debt the rest of us have strapped to our backs.

As if that surprise wasn’t painful enough, the biggest surprise was to hear Dr Brown flatly contradict the sometimes repentant and contrite words of current party leader, Marc Bean:

“So, from the pavilion, I was left to ask myself: “How in the world did that happen?” After working so hard for so long, how did we let the UBP back into power? I will tell you why and how. As the late Malcolm X was portrayed as saying in the movie about his life: “We were had, we were took, we were hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok. We were had by our enemies and by our lack of faith in our friends.”

Here lies the contradiction. In Bean’s April 12th, 2013 Opinion, he appeared to accept that the PLP lost the election not because voters were hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray or run amok. Instead, he clearly put the election loss on the PLP/UBP’s doorstep:

“By their vote and by their absence, Bermudians voted for change and The PLP has to change as well. We lost on December 17th, but we had lost touch, lost our way and lost our connection to the people long before that historic date with destiny. As many of our mothers taught us, “Those who do not listen, must feel.” We did not listen, you expressed your dissatisfaction, disillusion and disappointment and we felt it at the polls. Now we are ready to listen.”

Having spotted this apparent contradiction, I flagged it online to PLP/UBP supporters who had nothing but rapturous praise for Dr Brown’s speech. Many vociferously protested that there wasn’t any contradiction at all. Even the Opposition Leader felt compelled to wade into the discussion to set the record straight:

“Bryant Trew, in reading your various post, I can only take it as an attempt to divide and rule….…Remember the words I used to describe the spirit guiding the thoughts and deeds of the UBP/OBA? Even though these words are found within the bible, apparently, some took offence when they were used to describe the UBP/OBA. Today, these words have now manifested for all to see. Dr Brown provided us with a timely reminder of this, and in the most powerful and forthright of manner. I thought Dr Brown’s speech was fantastic, and I, for one, am grateful for being present to hear it.”

Here’s the rub. I have two billion reasons to second-guess Bean’s response to Dr Brown’s rhetoric. I am therefore reminded of his October 2013 speech at a PLP/UBP Banquet:

“Yet, through our own actions, our own decisions, and our own behaviour, we lost touch with the people who put their faith in us ... the people who hoped that the new Bermuda we offered in 1998, would represent empowerment and freedom.

“It is from that failure that we have been cast into the political wilderness yet again ... Yet, the time we spend in political exile, can be spent aimlessly wandering, senselessly infighting, and foolishly devoid of vision and purpose, OR, we can move purposefully back to the values on which we were founded.”

Given this massive contradiction, I have some plantation questions for us to ponder:

1. How many affirmative action programmes did Dr Brown implement, and how many actually were successful?

2. How much better off are people of colour as a direct result of his leadership?

3. How much of our current economic troubles are as a direct result of his leadership?

4. Are the PLP/UBP shedding crocodile tears when one moment they accept responsibility for the election loss, but the next are unrepentant and thus blame voters for being hoodwinked by the OBA?

Without question, the OBA has made numerous mistakes in their first two years. Nevertheless, Bermuda cannot afford to return a resentful PLP/UBP to power that hasn’t learned from its past mistakes, for they will inevitably repeat them.