Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
It appears there might not be majority backing in Parliament for the draft ordinance to establish an Integrity Chamber. No voting has taken place yet, as the matter was discussed only in the Central Committee, so the public won't know for sure until the draft legislation is up for approval in a Plenary Session.
However, judging by the comments during Monday's meeting, several members of the coalition and even within the UP fraction have differing views on the matter. Since much – if any – support for the current law proposal can't be expected from the opposition benches, this could put the Council of Ministers in an awkward position.
After all, while those against say they are basically fighting what is considered the Netherlands meddling in St. Maarten's internal affairs, local authorities insist the legislation is part of their own efforts to promote integrity within the community and not just a reaction to pressure from The Hague. Normally, a government that sees such an important policy aspect rejected by the legislature may well draw its conclusions and step down.
Mind you, it might never come to that, but a "no" vote definitely would be a blow to the Gumbs cabinet. Perhaps more important, it is likely to reduce the chances that the Council of State gives a negative advice on the General Measure of Kingdom Governance with which the Dutch want to impose their version of the chamber instead.
The parliamentarians who oppose what's now on the table therefore should think of the consequences, rather than only their convictions and position. There was related talk of independence again, but even if such were to be realised, that obviously would take years.
Sometimes one has to be pragmatic and compromise by choosing the best possible available alternative, even though in this case there is no certainty that will decide the final outcome, because even the advice of the Council of State ultimately can be ignored by the Kingdom Government. Nevertheless, the national ordinance under the current circumstances also could be viewed as the lesser of two evils.
