Uniting not just her party but the Country is the self-appointed task facing Premier Pamela Gordon a year into her Premiership.

Ms Gordon celebrated her first anniversary in the Island's top political job at the weekend.

But it's strictly business as usual as the United Bermuda Party gears up for a General Election battle, increasingly likely to be held in October.

And Ms Gordon sees her challenge as the same one she faced the day she took her oath of office -- to unite not just her UBP, but the different strands of Bermudian society.

She is also planning a reshuffle, not just of Cabinet, but of Ministerial responsibilities, as the UBP gears up for an election campaign -- although she declined to discuss details.

But Ms Gordon insisted she was confident about the future, despite inheriting a party bruised after more than two years of internal bickering.

The long-running McDonald's fast food row damaged the party, with five backbench MPs co-opting the Opposition to push through an anti-burger law after ex-UBP Premier Sir John Swan was granted permission to operate a fast food franchise on the Island.

The law was recently overturned by the courts as unconstitutional -- although that decision may be challenged in London's Privy Council -- but the squabble is out of Parliament and in the legal system.

And Ms Gordon added that the 1995 Independence Referendum -- which caused the first cracks in the party's unity -- is now behind the UBP.

She said: "In the last year, we have put the focus back on the people's agenda.

"Part of the problem was that there was a lot of fighting and certain members of the UBP stuck on their own agendas.'' A recent preliminary report by US image-makers the Farwell Group sparked controversy after it was leaked to the media.

The report warned that the UBP had to do more to appeal to the black majority on the Island to ensure victory at the next General Election.

But Ms Gordon has no apologies about drafting in expert advice for the upcoming campaign.

She said: "The reality is that I have never run an election before -- we wanted to reach out to all people in Bermuda and we understand that there are black people in Bermuda who have a perception about the UBP we feel is wrong.

"I was looking for some assistance to be able to help me to reach out to the people of the Country.

"The UBP has often been accused of being a white party looking out for particular interests.

"I find that offensive and wanted to reach out to the black community from a political perspective.'' And she said: "The entire face of the UBP has changed -- we have been evolving from within, but we still get tarred with the same old brush from yesteryear.'' Gordon tries to unite Bermuda and UBP "Some people are still talking about an oligarchy which doesn't exist, the Front Street which doesn't exist -- everything they want to hang onto which used to be and is no longer.'' Ms Gordon added: "The only way forward for a successful country is a system and a country which embraces all people -- black, white, rich, poor, no matter their colour or creed.

"There are others who don't support that because they would like to divide our Country on racial lines.'' Ms Gordon added that investigations had shown the report appeared to have been stolen, rather than leaked by one of the handful of people who had sight of it.

But she said: "It doesn't bother me -- if we are going to be appealing to all of Bermuda and all Bermudians, we have got to look at the segment of Bermudians who are not inclined to support the UBP.

"We're not ashamed of that in any way, shape or form.'' She added: "I don't see a role for a future Bermuda as a Bermuda of separation.

"We have walked that road before and it was an unpleasant road. We've spent 30 years trying to move away from that.'' And she warned a racial divide was the one thing which could "destroy'' Bermuda.

She said: "Bermuda must reach beyond this colour thing -- the idea that the whites have had their chance, so it's the black's time. We can't live like this.'' Ms Gordon said globalisation of the economy and other world changes posed challenges to the Island's prosperity.

But admitted: "My frustration is high -- I'm past frustrated and beyond angry. There are so many signals out there which we are ignoring as a community.

"And if we don't start addressing these issues, the Bermuda we have grown to know and love will have gone. We haven't chosen to guard what is there, we are too busy being petty.'' Ms Gordon accepted that her own popularity still outstripped that of her party.

But she said that an end to internal warfare has proved a positive move for the party.

She added: "That is where the divide came in and I believe that the people of Bermuda know that the only way forward is to recognise that we need to have the two merged.

"We all work as a team -- it's no good to me to enjoy a high popularity when the party is lagging behind.'' But she insisted: "That gap is closing because people are beginning to feel the people's agendas are coming to the fore.'' Ms Gordon added that creating on-Island businesses to back up tourism and international business as earners was also a priority.

She said both pillars of the Bermuda economy were fragile and subject to forces beyond Bermuda's control.

She added that tourism faced increasing competition from new destinations, while international business could suffer from a wind of change blowing through tax legislation in other countries.

Ms Gordon said Government had already been approached by hi-tech sunrise industries like computer firms with plans for Island assembly plants.

She added: "We have to start looking inwardly for something which is not going to be subject to external conditions.'' She said an industrial base would provide work for sections of Bermuda society which feels most alienated -- young, black males.

But Ms Gordon added: "The major concern is productivity -- with Bermuda's cost base and labour costs, the only way it could work is if we had the necessary levels of productivity.'' And she urged the international business community to start backing the Government schools, as well as the private sector.

But she added international business had already recognised that a successful Bermuda would be a Bermuda with "a pool of talent'' available.

Ms Gordon said: "I'm saying if we're going to be operating in a community which is going to work well, then the whole community has to be embraced.

"These children in the Government sector must develop a feeling of self-esteem as well. And there is no better way to do that than invest in them.'' And she said: "The only way people should feel guilty is if they don't succeed given an environment where they are given every opportunity to do so.'' As a fresh, female face at the head of the party, however, some feel the Premier has not done enough to stamp her own authority on her Cabinet, with the only real changes coming through retirement.

But she said: "I've never been a person who agrees to change for change's sake. I didn't come in and make radical changes to satisfy other people.

"The Country is working well and I wasn't about to make changes just to satisfy my own ego, to put the Pam Gordon stamp on it.'' But Ms Gordon added: "I'm going to spend the next little while just checking out, trying to figure out what this Country wants, trying to see how Government is addressing these issues and coming up with a concept which is going to be workable for the Country.'' Ms Gordon said she had hoped to have seen a firm plan for the Bermudianisation of the two top jobs in the Police force and the issue of long-term residents' security settled in her first year.

She added: "I have a pet peeve about parental responsibility and equal pay for equal work.'' Ms Gordon said: "These were not fully completed from March to March -- but we have at least started the process moving.'' And she admitted her decisions over the next few months had a lot at stake -- including her future as leader of her party.

Ms Gordon said: "I am the person leading the charge right now. We are the Government and we believe we have the best plans and the best policies to take us into the future.

"If the Country rejects that under our leadership....they have rejected my plan. But it's not a threat or a condition, just a statement of fact.''