oliticians rarely limit themselves to reality, particularly when they're simultaneously professing their greatness and blaming the other guys; but Dr. Ewart Brown demonstrated a new level of competency at this last week with his speech to the African Heritage Conference.

Never one to respect the facts or the truth, the Deputy Premier delivered a real howler:

"Ours is a curious nation. In 2006 we are still forced as a Government to defend policies that are aimed at empowering a majority of the population and made to consult with representatives of the minority to reverse years of economic injustice against the majority."

If you're scratching your head in bewilderment wondering just what policies ? or even policy ? that would be, you're not alone.

The simple fact of the matter is that in their eight years in power and two terms with unassailable Parliamentary majorities and a compliant Speaker of the House, the PLP has neither implemented ? nor attempted to implement ? a policy or piece of legislation aimed at empowering the majority of which Dr. Brown speaks.

Not one. Ever. In eight years. There was nothing to oppose. That's an indisputable fact. An inconvenient one I know; but indisputable. What Dr. Brown delivered to the conference was a confession, an admission of guilt.

What's curious then is not Dr. Brown's fabrication of aggressive white opposition to his party's attempts to implement economic empowerment; that one's easy.

He was pandering and misleading; two of his favourite pastimes. The Minister was pandering to the international attendees at the African Heritage Conference, pandering to the PLP base and again attempting to mislead everyone in the process.

We've been through this before haven't we? Back then it was called the 2003 election campaign.

But Dr. Brown had few options at his disposal. He couldn't stand before the attendees and cite how his party ? after 30-plus long years of electoral futility ? finally broke through and at long last implemented their agenda of economic empowerment.

That would have been a very brief speech: "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Now I must go. Thank you for your time."

Nor could he rattle off impressive statistics and display charts demonstrating the measurable positive impact these policies have had on the upward mobility of the majority of the population since his government took power all those years ago.

Perhaps understandably then, to compensate for his party's aching Achilles heel, the Doc reverted to a familiar strategy of misleading when he has to. So he just?well?he just made it all up.

Fortunately for him the conference audience was none the wiser; the international audience that is. Unfortunately for him, the rest of us know better and can separate fact from fiction.

The more interesting question is why hasn't a party that rose to power almost a decade ago, with two large parliamentary majorities, on a platform promising a larger piece of the economic pie to the historically disenfranchised black population, lifted a finger on the defining issue of their two successful election campaigns?

Now that's curious.

While Dr. Brown and his colleagues would like you to believe that despite their best efforts they've been unable to overcome white ? and UBP resistance ? to these policies, those desperate claims just don't hold water.

The PLP have a commanding Parliamentary majority, one they've used to great effect on important social issues, like Parliamentary salary increases for example.

This has been coupled with a ruthless willingness to violate Parliamentary procedure and House rules; forcing through amended salary legislation in the final hours of the final session of Parliament after desperately sidestepping the Senate.

When Dr. Brown and his colleagues want to get things done they can; nothing will stand in their way. Sadly, the issues that warrant their attention have been limited to bigger Cabinet cars, houses for two Premiers or Parliamentary salary increases for example.

The UBP are the party which took the initiative on empowerment and made a legislative effort to address it ? an attempt which was flatly rejected by the PLP Cabinet and backbenchers in a lively Parliamentary debate ? the highlight of which was Finance Minister Paula Cox referring to the empowerment legislation as 'a trifle patronizing and condescending to small businesses'.

Oddly enough, as I wrote this column on Monday evening, a television ad for the Government's Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) ran during the local evening news. The Finance Minister herself made a cameo, providing the introductory and closing remarks.

What did the Minister have to say? Ms Cox assured us that the SBDC will "empower and enable" small businesses. I wonder where the Minister picked that up from?

Nor can we forget that the SBDC was created under the UBP; being largely ignored by the PLP since 1998. Yet now ? eight years later and at most two years out from a general election ? the Finance Minister (and Dr. Brown) have got religion on the issue of empowerment ? their party's supposed defining issue.

Curious that. Suddenly it's all empowerment all the time ? again.

The groundwork for an election campaign is being laid, with the PLP deciding that they must look like they're finally doing something on empowerment, while blaming others for their eight years of inaction.

Few would argue however that there hasn't been empowerment in the New Bermuda; just not for those who were told it was coming to them. Where there's no political will there's no way, and empowerment outside of the PLP inner circle has proven to be little more than an election slogan, worthy of nothing more than lip-service. The next two years will see plenty of that.

Talk about patronising and condescending.