Monkey Wrench (Greg Moss)

You’re joking, right?

I mean, seriously. What else is there to say? Gregory Moss has decided to form his own political party to contest the next general elections and has officially ruled out joining the DNA. He previously left that last option for his career open, but judging by his repetition of the phrase “I don’t like maximum leaders”, Moss obviously has a personal problem with the DNA’s leadership. That’s all I have to say about that, because that is not the main story here. After all, it’s the beauty of democracy to like and dislike whomever you wish. It’s the fact that this move comes from someone who had begun to grow a reputation as a level-headed, calculating young political mind that makes it so mind-boggling.

Here’s what we know: this new grouping will be revealed in some form in November. It intends to contest seats in Grand Bahama and New Providence (no word on the Family Islands as of yet). The party will run at least one Haitian-Bahamian candidate. Greg Moss believes that he will be the faction’s leader. Amazingly, these few details are enough for this new party to get under the skin of online Bahamians, and I admit that this includes myself. Instead of talking about some of the initiatives Moss proposed on Steve McKinney’s show ‘Hard Copy’, the public is still stuck on that whole Haitian-Bahamian part of his announcement, grilling Moss in many a forum. While some feedback has been encouraging, the vast majority of what I’ve seen is pessimism and a distinct annoyance. Many are asking “why does everyone want to be leader?”, and some are bluntly stating “we don’t need more political parties.” My opinion on Moss’ revelation would be a slight alteration of the latter – we don’t need more DNAs.

In this case, I am not referring to the Democratic National Alliance. I am talking about what the DNA represents and the role they play in our politics. The party under the leadership of Branville McCartney currently fills a void that has previously been filled by the Bahamas Democracy Party and the Coalition for Democratic Reform at different times. For all the talk about the Bahamas being a two-party system, these three parties have all achieved some amounts of success because of what I believe is a lack of ideological separation between the FNM and PLP. The DNA is simply the most modern manifestation of the Bahamas’ appetite for a different party, and in that sense it is still not perfect. What it has managed to do though is create a party structure with a constitution, field a slate of 38 candidates and remain relevant in the media. All of this took time and resources, and the DNA’s reward is being considered a major party with a national reach after only four years. What happens next in the continuing third-party saga is directly affected by what politicians like Moss are willing or not willing to sacrifice. If his goal was really to provide a viable alternative to the floundering government and fragile official opposition, splitting third party support and funding at a time when both should be at their highest seems like the most difficult and selfish way to do it. Resources and opportunities for a third force to emerge as a dominant force in The Bahamas are finite commodities that don’t come often. At some point, long-term strategy must come before short-sighted ego.

If Moss had no other option but to start his own party, then my recommendation would have been to create an organization with a more specific reach than the DNA to avoid a severe duplication of efforts. For instance, what if Moss was to create something like a GBM, or “Grand Bahama Movement”, that only ran candidates on and for that island? The party’s platform could be specifically geared towards the challenges of Grand Bahama, and it would be the first of its kind to my knowledge in the history of The Bahamas. Let’s think even further – say the DNA, in exchange for the endorsement of the GBM in New Providence seats, would not run a candidate on Grand Bahama and convince their supporters there to vote for the GBM. The best case scenario would see both parties winning seats, which would allow them the freedom to become a voting bloc/form a coalition depending on the make-up of the post-2017 parliament. Multiple parties is not inherently a bad thing, and if you live in a place like Canada or the UK, you’ve gotten used to it over the years. It is beyond past time for our politics to evolve. Plus, Grand Bahama is our second biggest island and who could say no to some added political attention?

Unfortunately, all evidence so far suggests this is not what Greg Moss says he will do. He will not even run as an independent in Marco City. He says that in wanting to be the next Prime Minister and leader of his new group he is staying true to his convictions. He shot himself in the foot by saying he had a problem with how the DNA launched with a team and leader already in place, and then suggesting that his organization will come out the same way. Curiously, Moss also said on McKinney’s show that his decision to resign from the PLP was not an impulsive one, rather it was a decision “that had been coming for the last three years”. Does that mean that Moss got into government with the intention of resigning from his party at some stage in the game to advance his career? It was either that, or it was a poor choice of words. For a man who obviously has such lofty personal ambitions, Moss seems to be playing the political game hard but not smart. It’s early, but he’s already made himself a hypocrite by his own words and alienated himself because of his views on the hot topic of immigration. The Bahamian people are already frustrated with the current state of political affairs and Moss has added a heavy dose of confusion into the mix. You have to wonder how much more we can take as a country.

This is just the latest curveball in our politics, and it’s probably not going to be last. While we wait for more details on this party, I will devote a completely irrational portion of my time to trying to guess what color this new party will adopt. My money is on purple.