Perinchief on Premier: Brink of Financial Disaster
Former Attorney General and PLP candidate Phil Perinchief has released a very strong statement on outgoing Premier Dr Ewart Brown saying, amongst other things, “I very much regret my participation in Dr. Brown’s installation as Premier and Party leader. He has turned out to be a great disappointment.”
Mr. Perinchief’s column follows in full below:
First, Premier Brown left Bermuda, monitored it then timed his return to a time when all of the hard groundwork of addressing racism and Bermuda’s injustices had been accomplished by those he left behind. He in fact came back to Bermuda to walk through doors that had essentially been broken open by his peers and others. In short, he came back to reap the benefits of others struggles. Bermuda by that time had long been a wide-awake country as a result of the tumultuous 50′s, 60′s and 70′s during Bermuda’s civil rights struggles. Dr. Brown stayed away from that struggle. If Dr. Brown found sleepiness than it was to be found only in his mind or as a result of his late awakening or arrival.
In truth, the legacy and political epitaph of Dr. Brown should be prefaced and read as follows: “The Administration that should have never been—Moving Bermuda backwards five steps at a time whilst giving the sensation of moving forwards”.
Dr. Brown, in a self-centred, orgiastic and narcissistic flight of materialistic avarice and greed; has in four short years respectively brought this country and the PLP to the brink of financial disaster and internecine disunity.We all will rue the day he took office.
The Premier has squandered a golden opportunity to have transformed this community into one of the most progressive and enlightened communities the world could have known. Bermuda, in that regard would have been the envy of the world!
If Dr. Brown was not such a lover of crass, backward, “trickle-down” capitalist economics, he may have explored the benefits of the redistribution of the wealth of this country more directly to those more deserving amongst us by fundamentally transforming an economy set up by capitalistic and unbridled entrepreneurs to benefit themselves from as far back as 1620. Essentially, the same monetary and taxation practices and policies that obtained under the UBP and benefitted the Forty Thieves are being practiced and enlarged today under the PLP and Ewart Brown’s administration. Again, to the primary benefit of the traditional capitalistic entrepreneurs and nouveau-riche. How does the working class look to Dr. Brown for help—he loves this system ? Instead of being the best Premier this country could have seen, Dr. Brown is far and away the worst ! Dr. Brown is not a politician interested in fundamental, progressive change.He basks in the status quo!
Dr. Brown’s tenure and administration is littered with broken, disappointed and heart-broken would-be successful Black entrepreneurs, particularly Black male, in imminent danger of losing their homes and livelihoods. So much for Black empowerment under his watch. Dr. Brown’s tenure shall be immortalised by memories of all the stealth-by-night subterfuges, deceiving colleagues, ‘smoke and mirror’ contracts and other superficial political gadgetry and trinkets. He shall also be remembered for the extravagant and ostentatious gala events, the UBP of old ‘ glitz and glitter ‘, the hoop-la of million dollar songsters, golfing events etc., at prices the average PLP member and supporter do not earn in a week. This group has been banished to the side-lines by the Brown administration.
Dr. Brown’s very own self-adulating Farewell Gala Event was designed to entertain the hoi-poloy with subsequent conscious-salving, scrap-distributing benefits and usual” trickle-downs to the lowly working poor much, much later.If Dr. Brown had any humility, love or feeling for this group he would have provided them tickets at his expense or thrown a separate party at a place of their choosing. But Dr. Brown is in fact the quintessential capitalist who features large in the epic works of Frantz Fanon’s “Black Skins, White Masks” and “The Wretched of the Earth” masquerading as the untrustworthy petite-bourgeois class who once they attain power and wealth as a result of their elevation to office, quickly forget their roots and turn upon the very working class who put them there.Dr. Brown’s administration is so reminiscent of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”.
I very much regret my participation in Dr. Brown’s installation as Premier and Party leader. He has turned out to be a great disappointment. Lot’s of promise but no delivery.
Accordingly, it is not surprising to those of us who are in the business of analysing opportunists and “revolutionary pimps “to hear Dr. Brown castigate unprotected civil servants, busdrivers, taxi-drivers etc., and throw them to the public wolves. He does the same with Ministers and other Bermudians who face him down and who he insults by categorising them as not being as progressive as Jamaicans, Washingtonians or Californians. He constantly brands Bermudians as “slow to change”, lacking a “can do attitude ” etc., He confuses Bermudians’ niceness for slowness. Methinks he is in for a great surprise as he clearly, as a result of being away so long nuturing wrong ideas about Bermudians, has taken leave of his senses. Dr. Brown blames everyone else for his unfinished work.
Dr. Brown states that, “Bermuda is not a welfare State”. I don’t quite know what he means by this statement, however, if he means that Bermuda ought not to assist those who need help the most then this attitude is simply in keeping with his usual, unapologetic, insensitive nature towards those less fortunate than himself. If that is his interpretation, then he has acted contrary to those pronouncements in handing out free bus passes, free daycare, free college tuition etc.,– all the indicia of a welfare state. Dr. Brown bemoans welfare states but lived in and benefitted from one for decades– the USA, Europe and the UK are welfare states for goodness sakes. These countries have welfare programs which act as ” safety-nets” to bolster people through hard financial and economic times. Why would anyone not want that system in place ? Everyone is not rich or well-to-do.
In Bermuda, the inadequate welfare system of financial assistance is underwritten and supported by the donations of the huge number of charities in this country. So yes, we ARE a welfare state already. Where has Dr. Brown been all these years ? This sector of course was not a part of his agenda and ideas that he “executed and put in action” during his tenure obviously. He didn’t know they existed. Nor cared really.
Finally, Dr. Brown will also be remembered for his lack of good taste and manners. Swathed in infamy, he doesn’t quite know how to leave the stage gracefully and silently. He would prefer those of us who fall into the category of “you can’t fool ALL of us ANY of the time “to actually thank or feel beholden to him for the misfortunes he has brought us. All praises! Clearly, the Premier is a personification of “narcissism on steroids “.
May he have a speedy, silent and unceremonious departure, please!
Phil Perinchief
Well said Mr. Perinchief. Let’s hope he does in fact leave and go ‘home’ Permanently!
Well Done Mr. Perinchief!! That sums up the way MANY MANY EDUCATED Bermudians feel. You know the UNEDUCATED Brown supporters will hate you for speaking up!
Well said Mr. Perinchief. He should have never been in office. Should have stayed in his doctor’s office or better still he seemed to do well as a bar tender. The island will be better off with him gone.
Couldn’t have said it any BETTER!!! It’s time to call a spade “A SPADE”!!!
Well Well said Mr. Perinchief. You have expressed the way that many EDUCATED Bermudians feel. I am sure that all of the UNEDUCATED Brown supporters will disagree.
Mr Perinchief for Premier! The King is dead, long live the King! Yayy!
Ouch!
Terry says…………………………
beware of “ISP”……………………
But at this point and many years later ( 45 exactly/know Phil)
“I Support Phil”
And remember..they came for me but I was not a home………………(you’ll get it)
For the most part I agree with Phil’s opinions.However, he accepted a senior position due to Brown’s recommendation and support.
His words would carry more weight had he spoken out during the first PLP term.
In spite of this, we should not shoot the messenger!
Everything Mr. Perinchief said is true however you have to wonder why he waited until a few weeks before the Premier’s departure to express his true feelings is it because “The Premier and him go back a long way” and now that the Premier’s is leaving so is Perinchief’s loyalty, he should have spoken up long before now and it makes me wonder what his real motives are. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t recall Mr. Perinchief backing Wayne Perinchief and Randy Horton when they raised the issue of ousting the Premier, was he scared he would have been sent walking papers as well.
Let the healing begin…Thank You Phil, who has been through it all.
And by the way, looking back forty years, it seems fairly obviously now who the Police informer was in the days of The Black Beret Cadre and on The Howard U campus – maybe that’s why he got away with all that stuff…Food for thought.
Blood is thicker than water. Naughton, I can assure that Howard had nothing to do with information. There’s a differance between a horse’s mouth and it’s ass.
Wonder how much monies goes to Israel re above.
Funny that this all comes out now that Dr. Brown is on his way. I guess that since there is no chance that Dr. Brown can appoint Mr. Perinchief to a high post he can take shots with nothing to lose, and at the same time gain the support of those who hate everything Brown. But what good will it do him? It will only show the next party leader that he is a man that would try to tear into their legacy if he doesn’t get his way.(They know the real deal) that’s what happens when you do the right thing and hire the right person for the job and not your friend just because their your friend. Your friend feels betrayed and therefore feels the need to betray you. Some don’t know what I’m talking about, all I can tell you is take your blinders off and look deeper into it…..But then again, what do I know? I’m just an uneducated Bar Tender
> Worst tourism numbers in 30 years (last year)…and then we see an improvement this year (on the worst numbers in 30 years) and it is a “Platinum Period”…hahaha
> The enormous decrease in hotel beds and hotels themselves…but don’t worry people because we blew up one too….yayyyyy
> Rise of gun play and crime in general
> 2 qualified audits by the AG
> $800mn of tax payers $$$ un accounted for as per the AG
> The addition of over a $1bn in national debt in approximately 4 years, w/ very little to show for it
> The need to issue $500mn worth of bonds due to BDA’s financial position
> Increasing taxes during a recession because of overspending on frivolous luxuries and thus making everyone that little bit poorer…except for Dr. Brown that is
> Pay to play functions
> The waste of taxpayers $$ on unnecessary bodyguards and travel expenses
> BHC scandal
> WORSENING (i didn’t say creator) of race relations due to his constant race baiting and rhetoric and propaganda
> The use of taxpayers $$ to fund his son’s party at the Playboy Mansion
> Interference and bullying of civil servants
> Refusal to answer questions related to taxpayers $$, despite him being a DEMOCRATIC elected official
> Education is still sh*t
> Blatant cronyism (re: Correia, Burt and Desilva)
> The execessive use of foreign consultants for even the most mundane of tasks…guess the good Dr. doesn’t have much faith in Bermudians abilities
> Lying to the people and within the House on more than one occassion (re; Uighurs, Coco Reef scandal etc.)
> Coco Reef lease scandal
> Dockyard Pier scandal
> Issuance of more SDOs than under any other administration
> Nice looking but mechanically inept ferries (re: strike today)
> Destruction of the local trucking industry by allowing his cronies to utilize oversized and ILLEGAL trucks to do their business…my bad for thinking a “labor” party leader would actually look out for laborers
> The overjoy in a democratic society of the demise of one news medium while wishing the demise of another…real democratic
> The attempt to muzzle the media through a Govt controlled media council
> The blatant disrespect for the document which is designed to protect us alL, the CONSTITUTION
> Making decisions outside of his cabinet like we are some sort of dictatorship
These are just the issues that came off the top of my head in less than 5 mins. So Makai don’t you worry mate, Dr. Brown has successfully etched out his legacy which no one will forget for years to come (especially when my children are wondering why taxes equate to nearly 50% of their pay). I just feel sorry for you that it isn’t the one that zealots want us to remember.
So I suggest you take your blinders off and see the real deal of Dr. Brown’s tenure. All of the above are FACTS and not conspiracy theories. You zealots go on about the good he has done. Well I say the bad outweighs any sort of positive impact he might have made during his tenure. So again take off the blinders and rebut (or spin) each and every one of the points above into a positive. It is impossible. And the more you try and ignore these facts the more and more people will realize that it is you that have green tinted blinders on and refuse to accept reality. Which confirms the claims and accusations that the Brownites put personality and party wayyyyyy before national/country interests.
Just thinking about it…all those issues i raised above are null and void because…..
BEYONCE CAME!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
*applause*
Well-said and realistic. Now if only more people could see that.
HELLO!!!!
Let’s not forget that he was found innocent of the BHC Scandal. The information regarding the investigation was acquired illegally, and again he was innocent.
Supporting a position or person by listing incorrect information is pretty unhelpful – that laundry list is not entirely factual. Likewise, nobody was found innocent in the BHC proceedings. The majority of possible claims against individuals (including Dr Brown) were allegedly not pursued to trial because of the lack of remedies under Bermuda’s antiquated corruption laws. Prosecution counsel opined that all involved in the scandal were guilty of unethical behaviours but such behaviours fell short of actual criminal acts. And as an island, we then voted back in a good many of these politicians who allegedly acted unethically – so I guess we got what we voted for.
YOU SURE ARE!!!!!
@ Curious,
FYI.
Phil Perinchief supported Randy Horton and Wayne Perinchief at that time. But because they are Members of Parliament the spotlight was placed on them.
Phil express what most of us want to say brilliantly.
Brown done all this for self’aggrandisment.He left us in financial ruin and if had any bit of integrity left he would just make his immediate exit without all this fanfare.Debts beyond our dwindling resources can deal with.History will not judge him with kindness not accorlades.
Blame all this all on the electorate who allow this to happen, because those blinded by race and the other rediculous reasons have put their island home at a dismal financial situation.He- brown will be a rich and comfy politician sailing into elite sunsets for his rest of his life while those mindless fools lingers on with their misery and hopelessness.
Where is the rest of the ppl of Bda?Still scared and weak to speak their minds against a dictator!!!!while Bda burns…..
This is shameful his entire tenure in bda.Just look at the basic infrastur.NOTHING HAS been done to improve it eg Horseshoe bay is a dump,airport is obsolete,hamil.not even a decent stage for commun.events.Dockyard is desolate lockdown.StGeorges is now a crime.ghetto with no upgrade.All brown can claim to fame – he was the most travelled polit.in the WESTERN HEMISPHERE.The only place was keep emaculate is at Cabinet build. his office.Check out the lawn – he had someone picking up leaves 24/7 as they fall while the rest of island go to shambles.
Brown is the poster child for narcissistic personality disorder. Below is the definition given by Wikipedia.
In order for a person to be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) they must meet five or more of the following symptoms:
• Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
• Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
• Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).
• Rarely acknowledges mistakes and/or imperfections
• Requires excessive admiration
• Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
• Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
• Lacks empathy: is unwilling or unable to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.
• Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
• Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitude.
Nuff said.
Fred
Perinchief has shown he has more balls than the rest of the sheep
The smarter rats leave the ship when it is sinking the others start what amounts to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
As EB says So long suckers!!
Dr. Brown was a great, intelligent, hard working leader, history will tell. Unlike Perinchief, not really a hard worker ! It always comes a time when a man must “get off the stage”, and Perinchief time has come !! Get of the stage gracefullly !! His reflections sound like a broken relationship, that he refuses to except it is over, walk away with some pride…. if that is possible !!