The Free National Movement (FNM) may have lost the recent general election partly because of the uncertainty many of its supporters felt from there not being a deputy leader and the perception that then leader Hubert Ingraham was a dictator, revealed newly elected FNM Chairman Charles Maynard.
Mr. Maynard said based on some of the conversations he had with voters following the election, he has found that many voters simply had “Ingraham fatigue.”
The FNM chairman was a guest on the Love 97FM programme, Issues of the Day with host Rogan Smith on Tuesday.
He said that these feelings from voters stemmed from voters not being able to see a clear line of succession in the party and many grew concerned that the former prime minister was a one-man band.
“No matter how much we tried we couldn’t convince people that he was not the person they were painting him out to be – he was not a one-man band and he was not a dictator” Mr. Maynard said.
Mr. Maynard said that even though the deputy leader position is not a constitutional post, many voters expressed concerns about the FNM not having one leading into the election.
Former Deputy Leader Brent Symonette announced late last year that he was stepping down from politics and would not be offering himself for re-election.
At the time of Mr. Symonette’s announcement, Mr. Ingraham made it clear that the position of deputy leader would sit vacant until the party held its convention at some point this year.
Mr. Maynard noted that during the campaign, the issue often came up and he suggested that had the FNM selected a new deputy ahead of the election, the results may have been different.
“It might have given people some comfort if we had said “John Smith” was going to be our deputy and promoted him as such,” Mr. Maynard said.
“People would have felt like I’m a little tired of Hubert Ingraham but at least John Smith is going to be second in command so at least there is life after Hubert Ingraham. If we had done that, it might have made a big difference. The good thing about the FNM is that we had a number of people who could fit the bill.”
