Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Party leader Theo Heyliger deserves credit for reacting in a mature way to UP being left out of government despite winning the election with seven seats (see Tuesday paper), as a result of the quickly-formed NA/DP/US coalition totalling eight seats. Rather than cry, the country's biggest vote-getter by far promised a "formidable force" in Parliament and that's exactly how it should be.
Not that UP has anything to complain about, because four years ago the party used its six seats to team up with DP's two against NA, which had earned seven. Some objected at the time, but the local parliamentary system is based on majority rule and not which party is the largest.
Heyliger obviously understands this and knows what goes around comes around, so there is no reason for too much drama. Moreover, in a well-functioning democracy both coalition and opposition have an important role to play.
By the way, there may be a bit of concern over the official announcement that the moratorium on car rentals and fleet expansions introduced by the then-Executive Council of the former Island Territory on February 19, 2008, has been removed effective immediately. After all, in the past certain members of government on the way out used their final days in office to reward supporters with favours, including various types of permits.
On the other hand, if the freeze had been lifted before rather than just after the elections people would have been even more suspicious. In addition, Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Minister Ted Richardson is not a politician, but was appointed as a professional public administrator by independent (former UP) parliamentarian Romain Laville, who didn't run on any candidate list this time around himself.
The question that should be asked, however, is whether St. Maarten really needs more rental companies and/or cars. Apparently the new policy says this is indeed the case and sets parameters for such, but – as becomes clear from today's related story – the existing players in the field don't seem to agree.
Perhaps there is a relation with the recent crackdown on the use of French-side number plates by Dutch-side agencies, but in any case it would be good to learn more from the horse's mouth about the specific motives, especially because the copy of the policy supposedly available online was nowhere to be found. Richardson, who rarely attends the cabinet's weekly press briefings, should waste no time in providing further explanation while he still can.
