8 June 2007 | Bermuda Sun

Premier Ewart Brown will have lost no ground among Progressive Labour Party voters following his row with the Governor - far from it, say high ranking insiders. If anything, he will have earned additional kudos for standing up for what he believes is right.

One PLP source told us: "Of course the party supports Dr. Brown. The long and short of it is that this is no more than political games being played by the Opposition. The Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) investigation happened four years ago and it gets brought up now?"

The source was referring to the Mid-Ocean News last week publishing details from an allegedly stolen and confidential police report into the BHC investigation - just before an expected summer general election.

The story prompted Dr. Brown to give a TV address. He claimed the paper defamed him and demanded that the Governor, who has responsibility for the police, start an investigation to find out who leaked the report. At that time he said if the Governor didn't act, the Government would suspend relations with him.

The headlines that followed screamed of a "constitutional crisis". The Royal Gazette, the Mid-Ocean News's sister paper, plucked out the word "dictatorship" and put it on its front page. Unsurprisingly, the international media picked up the story and the London Times even flew a reporter here.

Yesterday, however, the Premier and Governor issued a joint statement saying there was no crisis and that they would work together for the best interests of Bermuda.

For the PLP, this is further evidence that the events of the past week were blown way out of proportion by the UBP for its own political gain. MORE! »