BERMUDA'S Shadow Finance Minister has slammed the Government for an "unwelcoming, unhelpful, and inhospitable" attitude towards international business based on the island.

Bob Richards' comments come days after the CEO of a UK-based insurance company spoke out about Bermuda's "issues", naming "political stability" as a key concern.

Dane Douetil of Brit Insurance admitted at a London press conference that while he was considering a number of new jurisdictions for the company, Bermuda was not his first choice.

"We need to get into a regime where we can plan five, ten years ahead," Mr. Douetil said. "Bermuda has its issues. There's no doubt that people in Bermuda are concerned about political stability."

Mr. Richards, president and chief information officer of Bermuda Asset Management, called the current Government "central to the problem".

"The issue here is the Government not getting it," he said.

"Bermuda is not as welcoming as it ought to be. The Government is not tuned in or trying to nurture and develop international business in a world where other jurisdictions are trying to take away our business. In the minds of many CEOs and other executives who have the option of Switzerland or the Cayman Islands, these other places seem more hospitable.

"In life, perception is often reality. And the Government is central to the problem."

Mr. Richards added that while he feels Mr. Douetil's concern about political stability is overstated, he has repeatedly heard Bermuda-based business people complain of the Government's unwelcoming stance.

"I would not describe Bermuda as politically unstable," he said. "We have political debate, and sometimes it's vitriolic and emotive, but political instability means that somehow our democratic system is unravelling and I don't agree with that. Political instability is what's happening in Thailand today.

"What we have in Bermuda is a Government that, under Ewart Brown, is inhospitable to international business. That is a phrase I have heard umpteen times. Unwelcoming, unhelpful, unencouraging ¿ that is the flavour. I doubt that can be translated to political instability.

"What we have here is an economic problem, and economic issues that the Government does not seem to understand, insofar as international business is concerned. What I'm fearing might happen definitely has to do with politics, but it is not political instability."

A senior executive at a Bermuda-based multinational insurance company echoed both Mr. Richards and Mr. Douetil's concerns, adding that his international contacts were "in the know" about recent political scandals on the island.

"Insurance companies keep their colleagues and competitors in the know about Bermuda's political climate," he said. "It's the risk business; they'll evaluate risk. Switzerland is more stable in the long term. Bermuda does not have the same allure."

He criticised the Government for recent scandals, including the criminal investigation into the looting of Bermuda Housing Corporation funds, as detrimental to the island's image in international business circles.

"The current thinking is that there is far too much political interference," he said. "The economic situation in Bermuda is beginning to fade and weaken.

"We're feeling the pinch for the first time. The Premier's actions have not been helpful; there was the Privy Council situation with the (leaking of police files concerning) the BHC last year that has soured the island's image. Plenty companies are more and more annoyed."

The insurance executive, who preferred not to be named, added that the recent headline-grabbing demise of the Department of Tourism's New York office had worsened the Government's reputation in the business world.

"The New York tourism office issue was bad publicity for the Government," he said.

Bermuda's political issues are not the only concern for locally-based CEOs of multinationals, according to the source.

"The workforce here is no better than it was ten years ago, despite the Government's claims otherwise," he said. "Companies who base their top people here are outsourcing their middle management jobs elsewhere. We're losing out on middle management jobs.

"Bermudians are not qualified. These things are becoming more obvious."

Association of Bermuda International Companies head David Ezekiel agreed that the Government owes the island's international business community "an unequivocal message of support", especially given the current economic climate.

"All of us working in the Bermuda environment are confident that Bermuda, for a host of good reasons, should be the domicile of choice for companies looking to redomicile," he said. "However, we cannot ignore the perceptions currently out there amongst some established business leaders, exemplified by Mr. Douetil's comments.

"In all our discussions with Government we continue to stress the critical need for words and actions from Government which exhibit that Bermuda welcomes high calibre international companies and capital providers to the island, and that it will do its utmost to maintain an environment, both economically and socially, that supports these companies and their employees, both Bermudian and expatriate.

"The physical presence of international companies in Bermuda has been the engine for this economy over the past decade, and the job-creators who sit at the top of these companies must receive an unequivocal message of support, as that is the message that will then be transmitted into the global marketplace and will determine how we are viewed by our current and prospective clients.

"All of this is brought into even sharper focus in these difficult economic conditions."

Finance Minister Paula Cox had not responded to the Mid-Ocean News' request for comment by press time.