PINTARD REMOVING MINNIS PICTURE IS UTTER DISRESPECT AND RETARDED

In the hallowed halls of the Free National Movement (FNM) headquarters, history was never supposed to be a casualty of ego. Yet, under the increasingly erratic leadership of Michael Pintard, the FNM has transitioned from a national institution into a clubhouse of revisionist pettiness. The brazen removal of Dr Hubert Minnis’ portrait from the FNM headquarters isn’t just a slap in the face to a man who served as Prime Minister from 2017 to 2021—it is a desperate, pathetic attempt to erase the very foundation the party currently stands on.

History, as Pintard will soon learn, is written in stone, not on a command strip. The Bahamas has seen five Prime Ministers. Whether their legacies are viewed through a lens of triumph or critique, they are the architects of our modern state. To physically strip the image of a former leader from the walls is an act of political cowardice that signals a party in the throes of a nervous breakdown.

A Descent into the Sewer

The FNM was once the party of “The Torch,” a symbol of transparency and enlightenment. Today, Pintard has traded that torch for a shovel, digging a trench straight into the sewer of immaturity. Long-time supporters—men and women who bled FNM red for decades—now find themselves avoiding Mackey Street entirely. The pain of seeing their party reduced to such juvenile antics is too much to bear.

What we are witnessing is the atrophy of the elite. Those who claim to be the “intellectual” wing of the party are silent as Pintard drives the organization toward the brink of extinction.

The Silence of the “Stalwarts”

The irony is thick enough to choke on. Brent Symonette, a man whose name is synonymous with the party’s establishment, stands by as a staunch supporter of Pintard. Where is the courage? Where is the public chastisement for this “protégé” who is burning the house down? Symonette’s silence is a deafening endorsement of disrespect.

The Puppeteer in the Shadows

But let’s look at the bigger picture. While Pintard plays with photo frames, the “Great Narcissist” Hubert Ingraham is undoubtedly rubbing his hands together in the shadows. We see the play: Ingraham is gleefully awaiting the final demise of the Pintard era so he can install his preferred successor, Duane Sands.

The plan is transparent:

Destabilize the current leadership through proxy wars.
Elevate Sands to the throne.
Allow Ingraham to “drive the bus” from the back seat, reliving his glory days through a puppet.

The fatal flaw in this grand design? Duane Sands couldn’t excite a mosquito in a swamp. The charisma gap is a canyon that no amount of backroom manoeuvring can bridge.

The Brink of Extinction

A political party that fears its own history has no future. By removing Minnis’ photograph, Pintard hasn’t made himself look stronger; he has signalled to the entire country that a ghost threatens him. If the FNM cannot respect its own lineage, how can it expect the Bahamian people to respect its leadership?

The walls at Mackey Street are bare where a Prime Minister once hung. But the emptiness on that wall is nothing compared to the emptiness of the current FNM leadership.

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