Caretaker Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs confirmed in Wednesday’s press briefing (see related story) that she and other members of her cabinet elected to Parliament last January can only remain both there and in the Council of Ministers until May 10. This is allowed up to three months after the current legislature took office to facilitate forming a new government based on results at the polls.
However, the latter is taking longer than usual and a deadline for “formateur” Luc Mercelina to present his final report was recently extended to April 26. Also considering the King’s Day, Carnival and Labour Day holidays in between, one cannot exclude that the moment to choose comes before the formation process is completed.
The question is what happens then, as National Alliance (NA) leader Jacobs also said she would in any case take up her legislative seat in Parliament. If all three other current ministers also in Parliament do the same this would leave the cabinet with only three of seven members.
The outgoing prime minister when asked said there is no minimum number of ministers, but it would be good to have at least four so three can handle double – and not triple – portfolios. However, even that is hardly a desirable scenario, especially for very long.
Hopefully such a situation can be avoided by having the ministerial candidates of the incoming United Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM)/Democratic Party (DP)/Party for Progress (PFP)/Nation Opportunity Wealth (NOW) coalition appointed by early May. As the delay regards their screening, the NA leader mentioned that, in the past, cabinets of less than seven members were installed for others to follow later.
At this point, that seems like a worthwhile tip.
