The New Day Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) seems to have found itself in a rather awkward political balancing act when it comes to former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

On one hand, they insist he is “out of touch,” “irrelevant,” and politically retired somewhere between memory lane and the history books. On the other hand, the moment he appears on a campaign stage for the Free National Movement (FNM), the PLP reacts like somebody just announced the return of a final boss in a video game.

While the Hon. Michael Pintard was reportedly travelling from a political rally in the Berry Islands back to New Providence, Mr. Ingraham addressed supporters at an FNM rally. Apparently, what he had to say struck such a nerve within the PLP that an official statement quickly emerged from Latre Rahming, who now appears to be serving in the dual role of government communications director and emergency campaign firefighter for the PLP.

Rahming accused the FNM of “using” Hubert Ingraham to “hide the weak leadership” of Michael Pintard. But that argument raises an obvious question: if Mr. Ingraham is supposedly irrelevant and disconnected from modern politics, why does his mere appearance require an official political counterattack from the Office of the Prime Minister?

That is a lot of energy to spend fighting a man they claim nobody is listening to.

The statement itself was loaded with the familiar PLP campaign trilogy: “lies, confusion and chaos.” Ironically, critics of the PLP would argue that this is rich coming from a party that faced heavy criticism during previous election cycles over accusations of exaggeration and political fearmongering related to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. Those debates remain politically contentious to this day.

Latrae and the PLP also challenged the FNM for supposedly not speaking about plans for governance, which the FNM has done but out of political convenience it appears that the PLP just glossed over. Yet Bahamians may reasonably ask whether the government itself has clearly articulated a consistent long-term direction beyond campaign slogans and glossy branding exercises like the “Blueprint for Progress.”

Because somewhere between the ribbon cuttings, press conferences, billboards, and dramatic speeches, many ordinary Bahamians are still waiting to feel this so-called “progress” in their grocery bills, electricity costs, rent, and day-to-day quality of life.

And then there is the comedy hidden in the PLP’s repeated reference to Hubert Ingraham as “the former chairman of the PLP.” One almost gets the sense they are trying to remind voters that Mr. Ingraham once belonged to the PLP before becoming one of the most electorally successful leaders in FNM history.

But that line of attack creates another uncomfortable contradiction.

If the PLP keeps invoking Ingraham’s former ties to the PLP as some sort of political stain, what exactly are they saying about their own party?

After all, you cannot simultaneously claim:

• Hubert Ingraham is politically irrelevant,
• Hubert Ingraham is dangerously influential,
• Hubert Ingraham is “out of touch,”
• and Hubert Ingraham is secretly propping up Michael Pintard’s momentum.

At some point, the script starts contradicting itself.

And perhaps the funniest part of all is this: the PLP’s statement may have unintentionally elevated the very appearance they were trying to diminish. What could have simply been another rally speech suddenly became headline material because the government responded with the urgency of a five-alarm political fire.

For a party insisting that Michael Pintard is weak and Hubert Ingraham is irrelevant, they certainly seem deeply concerned whenever the two appear in the same sentence.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) fails for one reason; it is their nature.

END