Alden falls short of mea culpa over Mac
(CNS): The current premier, Alden McLaughlin
Alden McLaughlin (PPM): Red Bay MP, Premier, Minister of International Trade, Investment, Aviation and Maritime Affairs (MITIAMA). Biography: McLaughlin has been a member of the... More, made it clear on Wednesday night that the slate of twelve candidates running under the PPM Alliance was essentially a way to avoid forming a government with McKeeva Bush
McKeeva Bush (CDP), West Bay West MLA Speaker of the LA, Leader of the Cayman Democratic Party. Biography: Bush is the longest serving member and... More. In what was almost, but not quite, a mea culpa moment on the campaign trail, McLaughlin said he knew the situation “involving the former speaker… weighs heavily on the minds of people” but suggested that it weighed even more heavily on his own mind.
“I know people have… a bad feeling because the government did not, and me in particular because I am the leader and I stand up and take responsibility for the decision… fire Mr Bush after the incident”.
Speaking on Joey Hew’s platform in the George Town North constituency, McLaughlin said he could think of only one thing that had given him greater consternation “and kept me awake longer in my life than that event”.
But the PPM’s former leader blamed the emergence of COVID-19 for the inaction over the speaker. The attack for which Bush was convicted happened on 21 February, the night McLaughlin had left for a meeting in the UK. Cayman turned away its first cruise ship because of the pandemic about a week later.
“I and my government were deeply conscious of what we were about to go into, looking at what was happening in the world and what we were about to go into,” he said. “I knew that had we taken the precipitous step of insisting that Mr Bush resign as speaker, the government would have collapsed… Had Mr Bush gone, it would not only have been him.”
McLaughlin said he had had discussions with the governor about the real prospect that the government would collapse and be forced into elections just as it was about to have to manage this pandemic. However, this is not entirely true. Bush’s departure and the subsequent departure of Captain Eugene Ebanks would have cut the PPM majority to one and Ezzard Miller had offered his support to ensure the government would not collapse.
Speaking on Hew’s platform, McLaughlin said that he did not support Bush remaining in office and this was one of the reasons why the election was called early, as he did his best to allay the concerns of the voters in the Snug Harbour area and take responsibility for the decision he had made as premier.
Hew has faced constituency backlash on this matter and has been challenged about it on many occasions by his opponent, Johann Moxam
Johann Moxam: Independent candidate for George Town North - Managing Partner of Lainston International Management Ltd. Background and education: Moxam studied at the University of... More, as the two men appear locked in a very tight race for the GTN seat.
McLaughlin said it was an example of the kind of challenges leaders face and why the decisions don’t always accord with the way people feel. As he continued to make excuses for failing to address the issue, he appealed for people to put the incident behind them.
Category: Election News
