"With public trust everything is possible, without it, nothing is possible.'' That is a quote from Abraham Lincoln.

It seems to us that it is a quote which Bermuda's political parties could well ponder. Politicians who are of such a calibre that they cannot inspire public trust or people already in office who do not govern their actions according to public trust damage their party and their Country.

In recent years the array of people in public office in Bermuda has inspired little trust and very little confidence. There have been notable exceptions like Sen. Norma Astwood. As an independent appointee to the Senate she was not really in the realm of politicians, but her recent resignation does leave Bermuda's Senate less distinguished and the Country bereft of a reasonable and sensible independent voice. Senator Astwood was truly a "concerned citizen'' doing what she saw as right and proper.

Far too often, Bermuda's politicians are neither reasonable nor sensible and are far too concerned with their personal agendas to be concerned about what is right for Bermuda. Proper? Forget it. There is very little proper about Bermuda's politicians today from the bad behaviour on the floor of the House of Assembly to the self-serving use which is made of the Country's regulations.

Much of this problem comes about because the parties have chosen candidates who did not have a reasonable expectation of making a solid contribution to Bermuda. Some of them have simply not possessed the education or the mental capacity to do so. Some have backgrounds which indicate clearly that they are not Parliamentary material. Some have been failures in their personal lives and look to politics to provide them with a paying job. Some are in politics not to make a contribution to Bermuda but to achieve positions of power.

None of these can be expected to engender very much public trust. Some attract supporters and votes but not trust.

The truth is that a political party which has the public trust is the political party which can win an election. That is what the United Bermuda Party overlooked when it got itself into the fast food franchises row. It forgot that since two UBP MPs were involved in the McDonald's franchise, any agreement would be looked on as a violation of public trust.

Yet the UBP knew that it had been elected over and over again because the public trusted it to run the economy well.

The PLP does very similar things. When some members of the PLP speak about crime and about drugs they give the impression that they are sympathetic on the subject of both. That impression of sympathy gives encouragement to those involved in crime and drugs and at the same time erodes public trust in the PLP. The same is true of the PLP's attacks on the Police. Such attacks please those who are anti-Police but they erode the public's trust in the ability of the PLP to provide a safe and secure Bermuda.

Without public trust nothing is possible.