HAMILTON, Bermuda – Former Finance Minister Curtis Dickinson, who has launched a bid to topple Premier David Burt, has stated that the Premier is fighting for his job while he – Dickinson, is fighting for Bermuda’s future.
Former Finance Minister Curtis DickinsonThe accusation came as the both men met in the only debate ahead of the ruling Progressive Labour Party’s (PLP) leadership battle later this week.
The start of the debate was filled with tension, as the moderator even noted that the two men did not shake hands before proceeding.
Burt appeared to take a swipe at his former finance minister’s banking background as Dickinson insisted that people were worse off now than five years ago after the PLP ended the One Bermuda Alliance administration’s single term in office.
Burt, who repeated that if he won it would be his last term as premier, insisted being party leader was about more than “balance sheets and ratings agencies”.
Dickinson, who resigned from the cabinet in February after a confrontation with Burt over plans for the redevelopment of the island’s largest hotel, said attacks on him in the contest for the PLP’s leadership had been “outrageous”, while the premier suggested his opponent lacked the ability to connect with the party’s base.
The media, and members of the public, were banned from Saturday night’s debate debate, but the local publication, Royal Gazette said it had gained access to a recording of much of the debate.
The stated that Burt appeared to try to emphasise Dickinson’s career in international finance, but the challenger — who first entered politics after he won a 2018 by-election — insisted he came from a humble background and stuck to “PLP values”.
Dickinson pulled out of a planned debate with Burt at the last minute the previous Saturday after claiming he had not been given the assurances he sought about the format and amid concerns over access to the list of delegates eligible to vote in the October 20 leadership election.
“Over the course of this campaign there have been efforts to portray me as something that I am not – ‘he’s an out-of-touch banker, he’s conservative, he’s new to the party’ — all untrue. My success has been built on the foundations of PLP values. The notion that I would forget that is outrageous. The party leader is fighting to keep his job. I’m fighting to build Bermuda [which is currently US$3.35 billion in debt],” the former Finance Minister stated.
Burt became Bermuda’s youngest premier when, aged 38, he led the PLP to victory in 2017 and increased the party’s advantage to 24 in the House of Assembly with an even bigger win in a snap election two years ago.
Burt, who took over the finance portfolio in the wake of Dickinson’s resignation, announced during Saturday’s debate that a $376 million deal to revamp the landmark Fairmont Southampton hotel has been done.
The premier said an agreement had been signed, having insisted earlier this month that there had been no change to the government’s controversial guarantee for the deal. The 593-room hotel, which opened in 1972, closed in 2020, putting hundreds of staff out of work.
The level of government sweeteners for the revamp agreement with developers Gencom, which bought the hotel in 2019, was the reason Dickinson quit the cabinet just days before the February Budget.
The leadership election will be decided by 122 PLP branch delegates and the party’s 30 party legislations.
They will also vote on whether Walter Roban remains deputy leader, or ex-cabinet minister Renée Ming replaces him.
