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Posted: Tuesday 30 April, 2013 at 8:38 PM

One Bermuda Alliance Chairman talks coalition at PAM’s Convention

Thaddeus Hollis - Chairman of the One Bermuda Alliance political party
By: Precious Mills, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THADDEUS HOLLIS, Chairman of Bermuda’s coalition ruling party One Bermuda Alliance (OBA), claimed that when he joined a movement to put Bermuda first “ it was not a choice…it is the way of being”.

     

    Hollis, who was the special guest speaker at the People’s Action Movement 48th Convention, shared such sentiments during his address on Sunday (Apr. 28) at the party’s headquarters in Fortlands.

     

    As understood by this media house, the OBA, a new political party led by Premier Craig Cannonier, in December 2012 won 19 of the 36 seats in the House of Assembly, defeating the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) after its three terms in office.

     

    The OBA comprises Parliamentarians from the United Bermuda Party (UBP), Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA), the PLP and independent runners as well as newcomers.

     

    Reportedly, the group of Members of Parliament formed the political party in May 2011.

     

    Hollis disclosed that in September (2011) “we had an annual conference where we elected our leadership in an open forum by ballot. And my leader, the Honourable Craig Cannonier, Premier of Bermuda now, was elected leader”.

     

    “Never before in the history of Bermuda had a political party had an open ballot where the members could vote; and we invited the media…transparency,” he added.

     

    He informed that in 2009 a splinter group came out of the United Bermuda Party, which was led by a group of young MPs and couple of younger members, and they called themselves the Bermuda Democratic Alliance.

     

    “It was an alliance that wanted to be a grassroots movement. They wanted to be based on social and economic equity, they wanted to see justice and freedom for all, they wanted to see affordable housing, they wanted to see an accountable government, and they wanted to see transparency,” Hollis stated.

     

    According to the Chairman, the BDA had an opportunity to contest the bi-elections.
    He informed that the former Premier was told by his Labour Party that he could not run anymore and he should stand down.

     

    As told by Hollis, the former Premier “stood down”.

     

    He continued: “So the United Bermuda Party and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance decided to contest. Progressive Labour won, UBP came second and BDA came third, and between them they had about 30 percent of the ballot cast and they realised by December of 2012 that two opposition parties weren’t going to work.

     

    “We weren’t going to be able to win a general election and bring back jobs, restore the economy, bring social and economic equity, build schools for (grade) kids, get Bermuda working again; all the things that need to happen. So they started too talked about a merger. Now keep in mind that they were apart but they were talking about coming together because there was now a difference; there was now a philosophical function that had happened by the BDA being formed.”

     

    Hollis pointed out that “unfortunately, the merger talk failed, the United Bermuda Party wasn’t quite ready. Some of the leaderships say, ‘We don’t want to merge, we want to stay the United Bermuda Party because we have a legacy’”.

     

    As related by Hollis, “seven of the MPs decided to resign as members and they walked across and joined in with the Bermuda Democratic Alliance and they formed a party called the One Bermuda Alliance in May of 2011”.

     

    The Chairman talked more about the coming come together of the parties for “a new concept in politics” after the merger talk failed.

     

    “What the One Bermuda Alliance didn’t have was just members of the United Bermuda Party and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance. We had members of the Progressive Labour Party join, we had independents and we had people like me who’d never been officially been in a political party”.

     

    “We brought together five distinct groups that had one vision - putting Bermuda first. We shared a vision. Bermuda has to be our priority,” he added.

     

    Hollis shared that the party was “founded on seven principles”, which he outlined as Opportunity, Responsibility, Integrity, Transparency, Fairness, Inclusiveness and Service.

     

    He spoke with nationalistic pride about his homeland with him being part of the OBA movement.

     

    “I’m a Bermudian, I love my island home. I have salt water in my veins. My family I can trace back to the 1600s. I have no other home. I belong to Bermuda and Bermuda is in me. So when I joined a movement that said we need to put Bermuda first, it was not a choice, it is the way of being.”

     

    Hollis who said he had a prepared speech to address the audience “from my heart”, as he expounded upon the “experience and a journey that we had had in Bermuda, that we came together of diverse backgrounds, of difficult and different political opinions and stood together to win the General Elections”.

     

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