Progressives leader rules out Cabinet role for Bush

Progressives leader Roy McTaggart said Monday there would be no place for McKeeva Bush in his Cabinet if he becomes premier after the election on 14 April.

Answering a question from a listener during the Cayman Crosstalk election debate for the George Town East constituency, McTaggart said Bush had been asked to resign from the Speaker’s role on many occasions following his admission of an assault on a woman last year.

He defended government’s decision to go to the polls early, rather than force Bush to step down.

McTaggart, the current finance minister, added that voters should note that Bush was not part of the ‘alliance’ of candidates running with the Progressives.

“I am presenting to the country a team of candidates comprising Progressive and what we have termed alliance members,” he said,

“At the moment, we are 12. If we are successful at the polls, we can form a government but you will also see very conspicuously that the former Speaker is not part of our team.

“Would I have him in my Cabinet? I am afraid not.”

McTaggart repeated what several other Progressives candidates, including current Premier Alden McLaughlin, have previously stated – that seeking to depose Bush following the assault would, in their view, have led to the breakdown of the government in the midst of the pandemic.

If Bush and his long-time political ally Captain Eugene Ebanks had left the government in response to such a move, the Progressives and its alliance partners would still have held a slim 10-9 majority in the Legislative Assembly.

Speaking during the radio debate involving all five candidates in his constituency, McTaggart insisted that government could not risk destabilising the jurisdiction at a time when the threat of COVID-19 and European Union blacklisting of the island’s financial services industry loomed large.

He said government had concluded it was better to let the courts deal with the matter. As questions persisted in the aftermath of Bush’s criminal conviction, he said the decision had been taken to call early elections and “let the country decide”.

Other candidates had strong opinions about Bush’s conviction and the handling of it by government.

Dr. Frank McField said the issue of violence against women was a much broader question for the community to address.

“First of all, I am not a hypocrite and I know what type of society I come from and I know what kind of past it had; it had a slave past, it had people being beaten and whipped and women being disrespected in every way and nobody talks about it,” he said.

He added that he did not endorse Bush’s behaviour but suggested the “crucifixion” of the former Speaker over this one issue was a consequence of “liberal values” that failed to consider Cayman’s social and historical context.

“I am not going to be a part of destroying anybody that has done good in their lives to try to help people, and McKeeva has tried to help people,” he said.

Emily DeCou took a different tack, saying unequivocally that she would not work with  Bush.

“I don’t think it is a liberal view to show respect and when you assault a member of the community nothing ‘good’ that you have done for your society is valid any more,” she said.

She added that leaders should stand against gender-based violence and said she would rather work for her constituents in opposition than be part of a government that endorsed Bush’s actions.

Richard Bernard chastised the current administration for comprising well-educated people who lack “common sense”. He said leaders needed integrity and character otherwise they would mislead the people.

“People in public office should be held to a higher standard,” he added.

Christina Hislop-Rowlandson said the right thing to do would have been for Bush to take personal responsibility and resign. She said calling early elections had done a disservice to new and upcoming candidates and to voters.

She said it was good, however, that Bush had apologised for his actions and sought help for the underlying issues he had acknowledged were at the root of his behaviour.

While she suggested the law on candidates’ criminal records should be reviewed, she stopped short of recommending, as others have, that anyone running for office should have a spotless past.

Hislop-Rowlandson also raised the question of how the leadership of the country should be decided if there is no clear majority for any party following the vote on 14 April. She said the proper way for the premier to be decided was through a vote in Parliament.

“In the last election the independents had the most votes; there wasn’t any party that got the most votes,” she said.

“So, according to the Constitution we should have gone to the LA at that time and voted for the premier. That is what the Constitution sets out.”

She said she believes no party or alliance will get 10 seats this time and she would like to hear from the governor over how the premiership will be decided in the absence of a clear winner.

The Constitution is open to interpretation but does appear to suggest that a vote in the LA – now known as the Parliament – is the proper way to decide the premiership if no party gets a majority.

However, it does not preclude negotiations taking place to form a government prior to that vote.

Here’s exactly what section 49 of the Cayman Islands Constitution says on the issue:

(1) The Premier shall be appointed by the Governor as follows.
(2) Where a political party gains a majority of the seats of elected members of the Legislative Assembly, the Governor shall appoint as Premier the elected member of the Assembly recommended by a majority of the elected members who are members of that party.
(3) If no political party gains such a majority or if no recommendation is made under subsection (2), the Speaker shall cause a ballot to be held among the elected members of the Legislative Assembly to determine which elected member commands the support of the majority of such members, and shall record the vote of each member voting; and, where such a ballot is held, the Governor shall appoint as Premier the elected member who obtains a majority of the votes of the elected members.