Bmda: Kerry not to be taken seriously

Government officials said yesterday that fears that US presidential hopeful John Kerry's Bermuda-bashing could wreak havoc on the Island's reputation have been blown out of proportion.

Sen. Kerry, the certain Democratic nominee for the Oval Office, has vowed in several speeches given along the campaign trail to shut down the so-called 'Bermuda tax loophole' enabling companies to invert their place of incorporation offshore to trim their US tax bills.

But Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was important to separate what was, in effect, campaign rhetoric from Sen. Kerry's track record of supporting free trade policies.

They said Sen. Kerry had, during his 19-year career in the Senate, proven that he was unlikely to espouse "protectionist" policy if elected president.

"Kerry has voted for every free trade agreement," one of the officials said.

Instead, Sen. Kerry's Bermuda bashing should be seen not as a ploy to win votes from the average American but as an appeal to organised labour, knowing he needs the support of the unions if he is to make a successful bid for president.

Does Kerry ever mean anything that he says? Obviously, Bermuda doesn't think so, since they know his talk doesn't correspond to his walk.