For business, the first 12 months of Ewart Brown's Premiership have been torrid — or at least the rhetoric has.

Talking tough has been a trademark with threatening noises about restrictions on car use for expats, work permit term limits and measures to investigate and sanction businesses which block the progress of black Bermudians.

And it wasn't all talk — dissenters such as chef Anthony Reynolds and building site manager Curtis Macleod were booted off the Island, although a court later overturned the decision to pull Mr. Macleod's work permit.

Assessing the climate, businessman Charles Gosling said there was a difference between what was said and what was done behind closed doors.

"You will have something which at first look appears to be quite draconian in how it might be implemented but in practice, particularly with the workforce, there's a softened approach.

"There are great concerns in terms of how things like this can be implemented — things like this workforce (equity) initiative.

"But the overwhelming majority of businesses want to be seen as being positive.

"It gets back to the old message that, overall, we prefer to hire Bermudians, you don't have the culture shock, they know the community, the chances of them leaving are dramatically less than expats."

He said the prodding might affect positive change but long-term damage could be hard to reverse if the Government kept up the aggressive tone.

"I am very concerned about the commitment international business has to the Island and how quickly that can be affected by strong-arm tactics.

"At some point the personal relationship will disappear and there will be a complete review of what they are doing here.

"I really don't want to be 'Chicken Little', but I think we really do have to be quite careful in how we move forward with these companies but at the same time ensuring the benefits these companies bring are shared throughout the Island."

Ultimately Mr. Gosling believes the Premier's approach, and that of his party, has been divisive.

"The feeling I got when the PLP came into power was there was a wave of relief. It had finally happened. These guys weren't the bugbears — they were people we could work with.

"Here was something that in so many ways was holding back the Island — that you needed a healing process to go through and one where you should be looking at the things that unite rather than divide.

"But it has almost been a process of divisiveness ever since.

"If you got into power through social unrest and your platform has for many years been based on curing that social unrest, the way to remain in power is to maintain that social unrest in some respect while at the same time being seen as someone who's going to lead followers out of that unrest.

"But if you cure it, all of a sudden there goes a huge section of your platform, so how do you continue as the leader being seen as effective but at the same time allowing the underlying causes to remain?

"That follows with how they come in so heavy-handed with issues like the car issue and the workforce initiative and immigration and then slowly back off and not quite implement them to the fullness with which they originally presented them.

"I don't agree with the politics but in terms of being successful for them and creating an environment where they see themselves re-elected it is something that works.

"Too much these days goes to the lowest common denominator — but it also has the highest common success (for them)."

Ironically he said the PLP had, in many ways, been pro-business since it took power and was noticeably helpful after 9/11 caused economic damage.

"With what they have done with the hotels and restaurants and what we hope will be done with retail business with Customs deferments — they have been of incredible benefit."

Describing Dr. Brown as "a fascinating character", he said he was a man who had got things done — such as more and cheaper flights and a better year in tourism — often by taking a new approach.

"So often he does not want to consider what was done," Mr. Gosling said of Dr. Brown.

The argument that it had always been done that way didn't hold. "But he wants to know why things can't be done this particular way, today."

And he said Government could claim credit for the increase in business arrivals.