About Philip Davis
Philip Davis was sworn in for a new term as Prime Minister of the Bahamas on May 14, 2026, in a ceremony at Government House. During his remarks, Davis described the election result as a vote of confidence from the Bahamian people, stating that "the Bohemian people chose progress" and that the outcome was "both a vote of confidence in the past and a vote for ambition for our future." He noted that his government had broken a 30-year record and expressed gratitude that the Bahamas had chosen continuity in government.
In his speech, Davis reflected on the need for the country to keep pace with global changes, contrasting the economic landscape of 1997—when neither the Atlantis nor Baha Mar resorts existed—with the present day, where those resorts contribute about 20% of GDP. He also addressed low voter turnout, saying that when people do not participate in elections, it suggests they do not feel they have a stake in society, and that a sense of belonging "doesn't come merely through the exercise of a vote" but is reflected in the daily reality of citizens.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Philip Davis's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Philip Davis0:03
I first wish to offer my thanks to the president and people of Dubai for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality you have bestowed upon us. My congratulations also to the people of the United Arab Emirates on the celebration of today, your national day. We wish you peace and prosperity. Your Excellencies, time has run out. Thankfully, mercifully, the record high temperatures experienced earlier this year in the Bahamas did not translate into a catastrophic hurricane season. We were lucky. But tropical storms and depressions did hit us. They caused high levels of rain, extreme winds, widespread flooding, interrupted our power supply, and resulted in significant costs and loss of revenue. Over the coming six months, before the next hurricane season begins, we can use the time to strengthen our national youth card. We can build more homes out of the groundbreaking carbon-negative, ocean-resistant concrete pioneered by a Bahamian company, Patana, headed by entrepreneur R. Fox. We can also raise more finance using our blue carbon credits backed by our extensive underwater fields of sea grasses, which absorb more carbon than the Amazon rainforest. We welcome the pledges made in the past two days at this COP to the loss and damage fund. Surely this puts beyond doubt the debate that the principle has now been settled: the polluter pays. But it has taken 30 years to agree that there should be a fund for loss and damage, and in 13 years we have not yet hit the original pledge goal of $100 billion per year. So how long must we now wait to have this new fund capitalized? And how long must we wait before we can assess access the funds? Time is a luxury we do not have. And so we're left wondering how we should interpret the pledge of this COP. So little pledged given what is needed, so late in the day given what is forecast. Is the effort here more to reduce the noise pollution generated by our advocacy rather than to address the carbon reduction and climate financing so urgently needed? Are we expected to remain quietly grateful? Frankly, we do not understand why everyone does not share our sense of urgency. Doing what is needed to help us also helps you. Will you not act urgently to save yourselves? His Holiness Pope Francis recently exhorted those of us who are leaders to demonstrate the nobility of politics and not its shame. But our truths remain inconvenient and, to my mind, shameful. We still live in a world where financing always seems immediately available for the bullet and the bombs. This is a choice. We still live in a world where narrow economic interests continue to drive an increase in the burning of fossil fuels. This is also a choice. But we have no choice. Our plight is not seen in the images of women and children bleeding in the streets. Our plight is mostly invisible: the slowly warming sea water, slowly rising up through our porous limestone islands, the slowly dying coral no longer able to support the slowly dying fish. By the time our plight is made visible for all to see, our luck will have run out. It will be too late. The storm will have passed. We can only pray that there is something left to see. Friends, we simply want to live.
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Host4:37
Thank you very much, Your Excellency. It is my pleasure to welcome now His Excellency...
