It's indisputable that as Parliamentary Question Time in Bermuda goes, it's a walk in the park, compared to other Parliaments such as the UK, Canada and Australia for example.
In Bermuda the questions have to be submitted 10 days in advance; there is a 3 question limit per Minister; follow-ups are limited; there is no set question time itself and can be pre-empted with mindless time-wasting Ministerial Statements and political pandering in the form of Congrats and Obits; and answers can be given in writing if time runs out.
It's also fair to say that if a Prime Minister in any of those countries had attempted to short-circuit Parliamentary Questions he would have been slayed by the press and public as a coward.
Personally I'm a little surprised that Ewart Brown is so frightened by a few questions from an Opposition that he just handed an electoral defeat.
Aren't we constantly told that he is a strong leader? He looks like a scared, power-crazed one right now.
Here's what a real Parliamentary Question Time looks like where the political leadership go toe to toe, rather than trying to hide behind anti-democratic press releases and public relations agencies:
