The immediate dismissal of Prime Minister William Marlin illustrates the exceptional times through which St. Maarten is going. His handling of talks with the Dutch regarding reconstruction aid and conditions for such led to a new majority in Parliament that not only passed the customary motion of no confidence against him but later – in another motion – demanded he be removed from the function right away.
Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops called the instruction to Governor Eugene Holiday “far-reaching, but unavoidable,” while Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was a “very severe” measure, but that Marlin “just had to go.” It’s certainly an unusual step, coming from a Dutch prime minister who called motions merely expressions of a desire by the elected representatives and has himself governed “tolerated” cabinets and without a majority coalition backing, seeking support for each separate issue or draft law.
Then again, stranger things have been happening of late within the Caribbean part of the kingdom’s democracy, such as parliamentarians switching allegiance for no apparent justifiable reasons, alleged vote- and seat-buying, “list-shopping,” etc. To this can be added misuse of the Government’s right to dissolve the legislature and call early elections, as well as the new majority installing an interim Council of Ministers in the meantime.
All these things appear far removed from what parties had in mind when they signed the Kingdom Charter in 1954, for the Netherlands, – then still – Suriname and the – since dismantled – Netherlands Antilles to become partners within the kingdom, granting the latter two countries their autonomy. Make no mistake, the Parliament dissolution practice already started when Antillean Parliament Chairman Roy Markes broke with the MAN party in the mid-1980s, but didn’t really become a trend until after Curaçao’s Schotte Cabinet in 2012.
As it’s all a matter of setting precedents, nobody should be surprised if the Franklin Meyers cabinet now being formed moves to further postpone the snap elections, because that’s exactly what the former interim Marlin Cabinet did after taking over from the government headed by Marcel Gumbs. In truth, going back to the polls also at the end of February is highly undesirable and too soon under the current dire circumstances,
Whoever is in office, priority must be alleviating the human suffering, and assistance from the Netherlands remains an absolute necessity to do so. Any obstacle, whether perceived or real, to helping make that happen at this moment simply needs to get out of the way.
