Senator Fred Mitchell explained recently that criticisms surrounding the perceived demise of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) are “premature” and “overly exaggerated.”

Mr. Mitchell responded to critics on Sunday, while appearing as a guest on the weekly Love 97 radio talk show and JCN television program Jones and Company.

Mr. Mitchell, former minister of foreign affairs and immigration, now leader of opposition business in the Senate, reminded critics that the PLP has been down this path before.

“I understand that this election has just taken place and everybody believes they’re the messiah and I see the hubris and everybody jumps into their ministry and thinks they are going to invent the wheel, let’s get a grip here,” Mr. Mitchell said.

“We lost an election.  We’ve lost elections before. Our fortunes have been down before. Nothing could have been more devastating that the 1962 election I’m sure.  I’ll just say in response to the pundits with Mark Twain’s comments ‘reports of our death are greatly exaggerated’ let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.”

The party’s interim leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis has acknowledged that the PLP’s defeat calls for rebuilding, but Mr. Mitchell added that reshaping won’t play out in the media.

He did reveal though that some younger people will naturally move to the forefront.

“What is necessary after a loss is of course analysis of what happened and I don’t think that conversation needs to take place publicly and I think we need to have a frank internal dialogue about what happened and how do we move forward,” Mr. Mitchell said.

“So we have to address certain things like leadership issues, contact with young people, almost organically and organization will take on young people because older people die. It is simple as that.”

As for his thoughts on the Free National Movement’s (FNM) victory, Mr. Mitchell maintained that luck may have played a big role.

“You either win or you lose and sometimes it’s your luck as politics is fortuitous. What I don’t want persons to do is cloak this in some messianic light it isn’t,” Mr. Mitchell said.

“It is an election.  It’s about governing for the next five years.  I wish them luck, but from the opposition point of view, we will do our best to make sure the policies are constructive.”

The PLP, as a party, has faced calls for a complete rebranding in the wake of its resounding defeat at the hands of the FNM.

In the wake of this month’s general election, former Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that his political season had come to an end, as he officially resigned as party leader.

His resignation has opened the door for what many within the party have called a chance to “right itself.”

Some PLP supporters have thrown blame for the outcome of the general election directly at the feet of Mr. Christie and his inability to address scandals and claims of corruption levelled at his Cabinet, while others, in particular former West End and Bimini MP Obie Wilchcombe, have blamed a lack of campaign finance legislation for the loss.