Michael Pintard Miscalculated

– FELIX SANDS WRITES FROM FREEPORT

In the run up to the May 12th, 2026 general elections, FNM Leader, Michael Pintard  wrongly calculated that he would win the General elections by default;  the Bahamian people usually changed the government every 5 years for the past 25 years . His dogmatic approach in choice of candidates was uncompromising and self-serving instead of building capacity with a competent team ready to govern on day one; instead, he chose novices.  Finally, he did not remember the patriotic principal:  politics ends at the border, or the high watermark .  There is only One Bahamas.

The FNM is comprised of three groupings: the Oligarchs who fund the party; Wallace Whitfield’s faction; and, to the lesser extent the Ingramites who are the outside children that were never fully accepted into the family but tolerated in order to win government.  Together, they form the FNM coalition.
Mr. Pintard somehow became estranged from his reliable financial base, the oligarchs; it was whispered that he had found new backers like the Port Authority and Foreign outside money backers that never materialized.  This was reason his campaign was dead before it started.
In summer 2025, it was an open Secret in the city of Nassau that the Davis Administration, by early fall of 2025, would be rocked by allegations of corruption, and indictments would follow at the highest level.  This was supposed to be the tipping point for the scales in favor of the FNM. On the basis of those beliefs, the FNM did not do the tedious work of putting together a proper road map for the future in a Manifesto.  Instead, they began a relentless campaign of throwing mud up against the wall and making numerous allegations of corruption against the PLP.   The Bahamian people was not fooled!   If the PLP was in fact the devil, they were not prepared to trade the devil for the lesser Imps which they perceive the unpatriotic FNM to be.  Therefore, the FNM lost badly.

On the island of Grand Bahama, the PLP received a total of 8,955 votes cast on Election Day; the FNM received 8,969 votes cast, a difference of 14 votes.  The political base of the  FNM  evaporated because of their stance with the Grand Bahama Port Authority.

Finally, Mr.Pintard got one thing right in this political cycle, he solidified his base inside the party structure and, therefore, cannot be moved as party leader until he is ready to leave on his own terms.  He will no doubt recalibrate, learn from his mistakes, and prepare to fight again

Felix  Sand