Government has been urged to admit mistakes, show humility and abide by ethical standards if it wants to win the hearts and minds of all Bermudians and take the Island forward to Independence.

And the governing Progressive Labour Party needs to reach out to absent friends who did not show up for it?s 38th Annual Delegates Conference and may threaten its power base.

Dr. Llewellyn Simmons, guest speaker at the banquet finale of the PLP?s annual conference, made those two assertions and using a sporting analogy, said the Party had reached half-time.

Since winning power in 1998 the PLP had enjoyed its rest but now must regroup to take Bermuda forward, he said, adding: ?A lot of things begin to change at half-time. There is rest, reflection and time to regroup.?

The former Sandy?s Secondary School teacher and Bermuda national goalkeeper, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio, addressed Party faithful at the amphitheatre of the Fairmont Southampton Princess Hotel.

?We have had our rest. We are in the period of reflection. But 1998 is done. The work is not done, the work is not over. We have to regroup, and how Bermuda succeeds or fails is a measure of how we manage to regroup.?

Many of the Island?s social problems are being created by young people having no sense of connection, he said.

?The young accost the elderly in the street because they do not know who you are in respect of them.?

He believes there is reason for hope that all Bermudians can reclaim their sense of identity through the Social Agenda initiative and from Premier Alex Scott, his ministers and civil servants leading by example.

?I propose we begin with our civil servants as the front line. We are excellent at meeting the needs of visitors, but the measure is how we treat each other.?

Mentioning poor communication and deception within the civil service infrastructure, he said: ?(Mr.) Premier, enforce, ensure and uphold that the ethical standards you have placed on your ministers is transferred to the rest of the community.?

And he urged the Government and the Party to show humility, empathy and compassion. ?Exercise humility and admit mistakes. Be a model for our children, show them we can exercise humility and be open,? he said. ?With the Social Agenda and the road to Independence you must educate them first, sit with them, admit that we made some mistakes but we still have some passion.?

Running through the history of the PLP from its formation in a garage 42 years ago to the present day, he said it exhibited the disposition of the majority of families in Bermuda.

?We love, argue, compete, separate, divorce, re-marry, love again,? he said. The Party splits of the 1960s and 1985, and the manner of the 2002 leadership change between Jennifer Smith and Mr. Scott, had left a toll.

?In all these conflicts with each other we have never lost our sense of purpose. This is the foundation and path towards the new Bermuda we now talk about.

?I share this because within our ranks and the community we have amongst us people who have forgotten where they came from.?

He said that, where once people were fed a psychology that if the PLP ever came to power the country would ?go to hell?, that same psychology was now being fed to the nation?s children with regard to Bermuda becoming Independent.

?We are reproducing this madness in our children. Some of us have decolonised our minds but too many of us have become complacent.?

He said he knew of some PLP supporters who had decided not to come to the conference.

?They?ve said to me ?I?m not coming, and I?m making sure a few others are not coming?. We have people who are still angry about the split in the 80s.

?Next election if you do not act on some of these challenges these people will do it the Bermudian way, they will ?Quiet you to death?.

?They?ll say ?I?m not voting for them over there but I?m not voting for you either because I?m mad at you?. They?ll ?quiet you to death? that?s what they are planning.?

Dr. Simmons introduced his speech as ?How Bermuda Chooses to Succeed or Fail? and gave pointers to ethical governance and emotional leadership as well as the need to address a series of environmental concerns.

This year?s PLP conference was held under a new format with a full day of workshops, presentations and interaction of delegates last Friday.

Party deputy chairman Delroy O?Brien said the new format would act as a template to begin the work mentioned by Dr. Simmons.

Premier Scott said: ?We tried a different formula and it had some teething problems but it worked.

?When I addressed the conference and our little nation I expressed publicly what I felt privately. I was concerned about the Party and the country and asked rhetorically, are we worthy of the Party and are we worthy of the country.?

He said he had met with young people the previous day and now felt the country?s future was in safe hands.

?One of them said many of the people in our midst know who they are, they are British, Canadian, American, but for us it?s important to establish clearly who we are.

?We are at a crossroads. We have a rich history and wealth, but our best days are ahead of us. However, we have to be sure of who we are.

?Twenty one square miles marks the geographical limit of the Island, not the end of the potential and ability of Bermuda. We can be much more than we ever realised. Stay with us and we will go forward together.?