Mac defends party system

| 17/03/2017 | 39 Comments

(CNS): As the Legislative Assembly resumed on Friday, Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush came to the defence of the party system in the face of growing criticism and allegations that political parties are behind all of Cayman’s ills. The Cayman Democratic Party leader issued a stark warning about the potential chaos caused when trying to form a government without a cohesive plan, and raised his concerns about people seeking control of parliament from the outside by manipulating independent candidates.

Recalling the country’s political history since the 1960’s, he said the main reason why parties emerged was to create more coherence and organisation among elected officials and to allow voters to know what different groups of politicians stood for.

Bush said the confusion and lack of shared positions and agreements meant the 2000 government was always destined to collapse and give rise to the emergence of the two parties that now exist.

The party system was not created to stifle independent thinking and he encouraged the party membership to speak out on issues that they feel passionate about, Bush said, noting that all elected representatives hold allegiance to those who elected them before anyone else.

He said he had served in the LA with various groups and teams and they were all controlled by big backers and were more powerful and vindictive than any party today.

Raising his concerns about the attempts to discredit the current party system, he said it was not that which was causing the problems in Cayman, many of which were longstanding and systemic as a result of historical discrimination and prejudices. He add that poor representatives who did not care about those who elected them were the problem, not parties.

He pointed to the “rancour and bickering”, especially between 1996 and 2000, when the leader of government business and the opposition leader were engaged in an all-out war. There was no party system, he said, pointing out that it wasn’t the modernisation of the political system with parties that created the adversarial style of politics.

Bush said that those criticising political parties were “misleading and providing misinformation” to the public, as it was so-called independent governments in the past where the anger and bitterness had flourished.

The opposition leader asked who would govern the day after the election if a group of independents who have no common policies are elected or what special interests outside the House would then control them. He said the CDP was going to support some independent candidates that were sincere and who the CDP believed had something to contribute, but he said he was worried about people pushing to form a government after the election with no planning or cohesive ideas. A party, Bush said, is a group of politicians that have joined up with a plan to try to help the country

“I stand here to ring a warning bell,” he told the Legislative Assembly.

He railed against the introduction of ‘one man, one vote’ in single-member constituencies, which he said he still did not support, and warned that while he did not believe there was garrison politics in Cayman yet, the new system may present lots of future problems.

Bush questioned who or what was behind the campaign to discredit the party system and implied that there were people who wanted to control the parliament but who don’t want to run for office, as he warned about the efforts to undermine democracy.

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Category: 2017 General Elections, Elections, Politics

Comments (39)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Why unna donkey faces tryin stop my party?

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  2. Anonymous says:

    With all due respect, Mr. Bush, your day is done .A new chapter in Cayman’s development is emerging, and you are woefully irrelevant to it. Time to retire with whatever dignity you have left, sir.

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  3. Got to know when to fold em says:

    Cayman Kenny speaks again.

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  4. Sharkey says:

    Can you imagine the Cayman Islands Government without opposition and someone like Mr Bush even though we might not like him . Them how would you like to have a Government of 19 like Captain Eugene’s that don’t do and say very much . Then with the one premier we have we could be in a perfect mess .

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    • Michel says:

      Remember Sharkey that evebody in the House had a first time , once upon a time. This ain’t about a popularity contest anymore. We need to bring back the dignity to the Caymanian people once more and protect our beloved Cayman Islands for future generations to come! And who can be Team players with any other potential future MLA’s.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Yes, I can imagine a system where we don’t have all this eternal bickering and rancour, and if you can’t, my friend, you are in denial. Caymanians are more capable of working towards eventual consensus than just about any other people on earth. They have something in bucket fulls : common sense!

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      • Frank Patterson says:

        You can say I’m in denial, 7:43, and I don’t mean to bust your bubble, but the Cayman islands is definitely in the lower 50% when it come to working together.

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      • Frank Patterson says:

        You are joking, aren’t you?

  5. Savannah voter. says:

    We want change. Sorry if i don’t fall for Trump talk. We should have term limits. Enough with the old way. No worries Mac it can’t get worst.

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  6. Campinologist says:

    ‘ I stand here to ring a warning bell’. Well Mr Bush the Caymanian public ignored your ringing tones and elected to implement a one man one vote system. They were tired of your years of political crap and what went with it.

    As to the bell ; For whom the bell tolls, I ask?

    Hopefully ‘ The bell tolls for thee’. I can say no more.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    It is indeed food for thought if someone is acting behind the scenes to form our Government but is unwilling to enter the LA to fight for us.Why? Is it that he enjoys the power of controlling a bunch of supposedly independent Mlas more than the back and forth of debating in the House. That makes me real uneasy. Real uneasy.

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    • Michel says:

      Welcome to todays politics… Lobbying everywhere. We have to listen and pay close attention to the ones worthy of consideration. Sweet talk ain’t going to do it anymore. We Only have 8 week to decide the next 4 years. Need to know more then who your daddy is. Talking about those whom may have what it takes at least! A lot of new faces going in the ring so we gotta a lot of homework to do. Serious thing.

    • Anonymous says:

      The people behind the scenes are those financing Mac and writing his speeches. They all have a great deal to gain if he gets back into power…be afraid , be very afraid of Mac’s return.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Agree. A vote for any of the S.T. Independents runs the risk of having S.T. controlling more than one constituency. I will not be voting for them and I will take anything in the S.T. newspaper as biased.

  8. Anonymous says:

    What is so disgusting is that some Politicians expect to stay in there stagnant for the rest of their lives. Imagine asking new comers to step down and give them one more chance then they will not run the next time around. Seems like they believe that they own the Island

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  9. Anonymous says:

    After all whether we like him or not Mack is a real Politician, the nearest to Jim since his death.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    Just as we were getting used to a steady honest government the gambler wants to undo the good international image we have started to regain.
    Dear God, not him again.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Bush is done and it’s sad that he doesn’t see it coming. He’s still up to his old tactics but he doesn’t realize we have all figured him out now. He should just retire with what ever little dignity he still has left.

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  12. The Truthsayer says:

    “A party,” Bush said, “is a group of politicians that have joined up with a plan to try to help the country.”

    Help the country?… It appears the politicians of the parties only want to help themselves!

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  13. Anonymous says:

    A real Party man loyal to his Party Members. I wonder what Velma would say about that?

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Sounds like desperation to me. He just needs to go away, far, far away. He will definitely never be in charge of these Cayman Islands again. Had his time and screwed it up. I know a very viable person for Premier.

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  15. GT Voter says:

    How about enacting a law that lets the people vote for the position of premier? That would be indicative of who the electorate wants at the helm.

    Also, screw the bipartisanship that has existed for so long. Why can’t there be more political parties?

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    • Anonymous says:

      GT Voter there is no law limiting the number of parties. In fact in the 2013 election we had 3 parties,and 1 ‘ not really a party’ (C4C) along with other individuals running .Seats won were as follows: PPM 9 seats
      UDP 3 seats
      C4C 3 seats
      PNA 1 seat
      Independents. 2 seats.
      That means that 16 out of 18 elected members belong to political parties or groups. So there is room for more parties; they just have to do the work and convince voters that they have the right plans and abilities.

    • Anonymous says:

      There can be more political parties. You can start one. Just make it ethical & honest.

      • GT Voter says:

        We’ve had PPM, UDP, C4C and PNA… yes, you’re right… but since 2000 it has been primarily two political parties controlling the LA, alternating each election… that is what I mean by the bipartisanship.

        The electorate votes as if there’s only two parties really, with the exception of the last election

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        • Anonymous says:

          2.03pm Then it is the job of the newcomers to convince the electorate to support them instead.

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        • Anonymous says:

          You misuse the term bipartisanship. It means cooperation despite public differences. It does not mean alternating between major parties at each election. The term you are looking for is two-party system. If we had bipartisanship, the opposition would never be able to draw enough points of difference between themselves and the government and we would then have what is known as an elective dictatorship. There is a way this system of government works and it’s as I just described: opposing interests, with one side having a majority and the ability to rule the day for a few years, held in check by the will of the people and the censure of the minority. The business of the people is assumed to be and is done in the middle of the political spectrum. That is known as centrism. It should be what you want, because it produces the best results for the common man. See also: Bill Clinton, Tony Blair.

    • Unison says:

      If Im not mistaken, I take it that we are so entrenched with a Westminister mentality that our leaders would be reluctant to letting the electorate have a direct vote for the position of Premier. That would be ONE MAN TWO VOTES for everybody. And it would mean a vote of No Confidence in the LA would be unable to remove the Premier – that means another election

      Moreover, our Constitution is just no ordinary law, but the supreme law of the land, and it will have to be amended. The Premier title will have to be change to President or another title.

      My thoughts :/

    • Anonymous says:

      If that had happen, Mac would have become premier by overwhelming support

  16. Anonymous says:

    Why isn’t this on page five of the Election Section? Johnny Vegas can’t field viable candidates in the 19 districts and frankly, I seriously doubt he will retain his own seat. Times have changed.

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    • Anonymous says:

      if mac doesn’t get in in west bay i dont think the sun will come up tomorrow. he is the guaranteed member in the house.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Hahahahahaha! Coherent plan and Mac in the same sentence. Tis Paddy’s day to be sure to be sure.

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  18. Anonymous says:

    Bush wants all the power for himself.

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