Political Capital

The extent or degree of a politician’s capital is sometimes where by the level support a politician garners after a general election. In the context of The Bahamas, the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham, remarked in the House of Assembly this past week that the Free National Movement (FNM) garnered 15,821 more votes in 2007 than it did in 2002.He further went on to state that 68,624 Bahamians voted for the FNM whereas 64, 648 voted for the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). According to Mr. Ingraham 18,075 voters swung the election for the FNM. When one evaluates the 2007 and the 2002 elections respectively, the PLP lost political capital.

In 1992, the FNM won the general election and in 1997, it gained political capital which was reflected in the election results when it won 57 % of the votes and was able to secure 10 Family Island seats, all of the seats in Grand Bahama and Bimini and 19 of the24 seats in New Providence. However, come 2002, the FNM lost substantial political capital because it lost 23 of the 24 seats in New Providence, 3 of the 6 seats in Grand Bahama and Bimini and only 7 of the 10 seats in the Family Islands.

There are a number of factors which causes Prime Minister and his Party to loose political capital. Over the last couple of weeks, there have been a number reasons put forward for Mr. Christie’s and the PLP loss of political capital. There is a view that the PLP shot itself in the foot and lost the election. This reasoning stems from the fact that the economy was strong; it is a fact which Mr. Ingraham acknowledged in the House of Assembly this past Wednesday. He also stated that there were a number of "good things" which the PLP government accomplished.

There are some who believe that the Bahamian electorate is a fickle one and will turn a government out very quickly if it does what the electorate considers to be foolishness. This can be reflected in a number of ways. Parties have to appeal to a growing number of swing voters as well as the age group (13 to 17) who will be eligible to vote in five years. Mr. Ingraham has indicated that he intends to go the full term. These two groupings will determine whether or not a Party has gained or lost political capital. To the die-hearts who represent the parties’ base, there will be very little erosion of support.

The die heart element is also in transition as socio-economic circumstances changes and individuals begin to face certain life style issues.

On JCN- tv14 programme, The Platform, Mr. Tennyson Wells, the former Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town, made the observation that the most dramatic factor in Bahamian politics over the past 25 years was the impact of the media. What Mr. Wells was really saying was the impact of information. Bahamians are part of the global village and are connected. This was demonstrated with the Anna Nicole debacle and the negative effect it had on the PLP’s reelection bid. The access to information is an important factor and will continue to be a determinant in the political capital equation.