Having learnt a brutal lesson from the 2007 General Election and then experiencing a landslide victory in the May 7 General Election, Prime Minister Perry Christie is on a mission to redeem himself as a productive leader, a former veteran politician has said.

While appearing on JCN television talk show Jones & Company yesterday, Co-Chairman of the Urban Renewal Commission and former Cabinet Minister in the Ingraham administration Algernon Allen said Mr. Christie has realised his pitfalls from his first term in office and is now seeking to redeem himself through a new approach to governance.

“In his first term Mr. Christie did a remarkable job in lifting the economic well being of almost every citizen of this country. Unemployment stood at eight per cent and per capita income had increased, but I think that he did not pay sufficient attention to his style of governance. But, Mr. Christie, I believe, has learnt his lesson and this time he is not fooling around,” Mr. Allen said.

Following the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) defeat in 2007, Free National Movement (FNM) politicians and political pundits branded the former Christie administration a, “do nothing government.”

However, after winning the May 7 General Election, Mr. Allen said Mr. Christie will use his new term in office as a period of redemption.

“I suspect that many of those who now test him will feel the wrath of a man who is now looking towards his legacy, how people will think of him and how he will be recorded in history. So you are going to find an individual who I believe will now be very focused,” Mr. Allen said.

Mr. Allen said a focused, loving and kindhearted leader is what the country currently needs.

“Mr. Christie is one of the most loving and compassionate men that this country has ever produced and I fear for him sometimes because he lays so much on the table, but I believe though, that history will be particularly kind to the legacy of Mr. Christie,” he said.

“Mr. Ingraham was a loving man as well, but there is a distinct style of governance between Mr. Ingraham and Mr. Christie. “

Mr. Allen said Mr. Christie’s style of governance provides compassion and love that every individual can feel.

“This country needs that kind of compassion that is out flowing,” he said.

Mr. Allen thanked Mr. Christie for reintroducing the Urban Renewal 2.0 programme.

He said its relaunch will assist in creating a new Bahamas.

“Urban Renewal is human renewal…it’s lifting the spirit of people who may feel lost, uplifting them and giving them dignity. It touches human beings in the most fundamental ways and all of us want to make people feel good about themselves and transform these areas,” he said.

“Urban Renewal will not be the only panacea it is one of the many initiatives that will drive this country forward and if we pursue it with the passion we should pursue it with, we will be able to see and feel its results.”