Speculation is rife that senior members of the ruling New National Party (NNP) are very concerned about the image of the government in light of the deteriorating state of relations between Prime minister Dr. Keith Mitchell and members of the local media.

However, a party insider told this newspaper that there is no one who is "brave enough" within the NNP to make a direct approach to the Grenadian leader "to talk him into toning down".

The Prime Minister has threatened to institute legal action against several media houses and journalists over their coverage of a report coming out of Miami in the United States that he had taken a US$500,000.00 bribe to appoint German fraudster Eric Reistener as a diplomat.

Dr. Mitchell has admitted accepting "approximately $15, 000.00" from the individual as payment to finance a trip by a Grenada delegation to Europe and Kuwait in 2000.

Last week, journalist Leroy Noel who is associated with another newspaper, complained about a verbal attack he received from Dr. Mitchell outside the Number One Magistrate's court in St. George's. The journalist said that the Grenadian leader informed him that his (Noel) time will soon come and kept wagging his finger at him in a very menacing manner.

Less than 48-hours later, Noel was detained by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) and questioned about articles he wrote about Prime Minister Mitchell.

According to NNP insiders, there are many senior party officials who are worried that the party runs the risk of being "permanently damaged" over the ongoing battle between Dr. Mitchell and the local media.

"It is time that we reign him (Dr. Mitchell) in", said the official who quickly added that no one was brave enough to directly approach the Prime Minister on the issue. He dropped strong hints that party officials were fearful of Dr. Mitchell and that no one would be brave enough to ask him "to back away from the confrontation".

The official was fearful that that person "would have his head chopped off by the Prime Minister". Apart from the left-leaning People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) of late marxist leader, Maurice Bishop, the NNP is believed to have had the worst track record with the local media and the party is constantly accused of trying to curtail press freedom.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Eastern Caribbean Press Council Ainsley Sahai is expected to visit the island on Friday to meet with media managers to discuss the deteriorating state of relations between Prime Minister Mitchell and the local media.