Vexed Bermoothes

Sir John fired his second barrel with the Bermuda Sun today. I agree with him wholeheartedly. The world is watching to see what Bermuda will do in this election. It’s not about who gets the GP1 vanity plates next, it’s about whether Bermudians will tolerate an unaccountable governing clique who squander the trust, reputation, and wealth of Bermuda.

On international business: “Already, executives are coming to Bermuda but not bringing their families. They would rather commute back to the States at weekends. They are getting the message that they are unwelcome. In turn they are sending us [Bermuda] a message but we are not listening.”

“They contribute 80 per cent of our GDP, they pay taxes, but we ask them not to get involved in our politics, not to give their opinions, because their opinions will be white and capital and as soon as they speak they are accused of being racist. So, they would rather sit quietly and think about what they are going to do next.”

“It [big business] has not yet made up its mind. It is waiting for the public to make up its mind first. Business is saying: Bermuda, what’s your view? You have the information, you have seen what is happening in your country. Now, send us a message. If you want to endorse a continuation then we will see what we want to do. You make the decision. We have been asked to stay out of it, and we are happy to do that. We pay our taxes and stay out of it. We are happy; providing you are respectful of us as we are respectful of you.”

On the land acquisition law: “We are saying to Bermudians married to non-nationals: you do not have a legitimate right to raise a family and to invest in that family. If they want to own anything more than they have they will have to own it in another country. They cannot invest in their family here.”

On the race baiting: “People are tired of having race shoved in their faces. Mistakes had been made by the current administration and now they are looking for people to blame.”

“In this climate, a lot of black people feel guilty too, because they feel they’ve put a lot of effort in to improve race relations, and now a lot of that feels worthless.”