Vexed Bermoothes

A few weeks ago I had dinner with an executive of a Bermuda-based international company.  We talked about the ebb of corporate focus out of Bermuda. The gist of the conversation was the international sector were tired of 1) being used as a political punching bag, 2) the hassle of getting basic things done with the Bermuda Government, 3) the lack of understanding amongst the current political leadership about what makes Bermuda’s economy work, 4) employment issues and rising cost of business in Bermuda.

Sadly, he said these were issues that Bermudians would have to resolve themselves.  For the corporations’ own part, he said, the work and the jobs would gradually move elsewhere where there is less friction.  No grand statements or slamming doors, he said, we’ll just explain it away as a commercial restructuring and keep our options open.

So, I have to sigh a little when I see in today’s paper:

In an interview yesterday, Amlin Bermuda’s managing director Stuart MacKellar said the restructuring was purely a commercial decision and in no way reflected any negative notions about Bermuda as a jurisdiction.

We’ve been hearing that a lot lately haven’t we?

This is kind of like the ole breakup line, when the exiting lover says “the problem isn’t you, it’s me” when they actually mean “the problem is you and I’m so outta here.”