It’s amazing to note how many election candidates all over the world ask people to choose for change and back them. Ironically, most of the time they are part of the very political establishment that supposedly needs to be changed.
However, also relative newcomers claiming to be different frequently fail to substantiate why. In fact, local campaigns generally tend to lack substance.
The St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) deserves credit for at least publishing a manifesto with its platform. The other five are yet to do so, although they could of course argue that the one from the latest – also early – election in September 2016 remains valid.
One issue with such programmes is that they are often not much more than “wish lists” indicating wonderful ideas. A solid plan to finance these is usually missing.
The latter is key especially under the current dire circumstances. It is obvious that the tourism economy took a devastating blow and simply won’t be able to produce the customary income for Government, which faces huge deficits for last as well as this year.
It was confirmed earlier this week that no budgetary aid is forthcoming from the Netherlands, but rather liquidity support to the tune of 30 million euros. This will be in the form of a loan which may be soft, but still needs to be repaid somewhere in the future.
So, instead of things that cost money, those asking voters for their support should perhaps focus on ways to earn it – and reduce expenses – for the benefit of both the public and private sectors. Now wouldn’t that be a refreshing thought?
