AS THE YEAR opens, the political parties appear to have settled some of the major internal matters which were on the horizon a year ago. The Government has implemented the solid waste tax, amid some disquiet from landowners; and whatever might have been the issues concerning the leadership of the Barbados Labour Party, they have been settled in a manner which could hardly have been foreseen. But they have been settled.
Although we continue to hear from Dr David Estwick over and above the din of the daily buzz about politics, his interjections shed light on some of the challenges politicians face as they make difficult choices.
This year, the eighth year in office of the Democratic Labour Party Government, will present continuing challenges. The Government’s political strategy since 2008 has been to shift the focus of any difficulties encountered onto the consequences of alleged incompetence of the Barbados Labour Party when in office.
Politics is about persuasion, and an approach that captures the public vote can hardly be dismissed, but there are signs that even some of those hitherto persuaded are becoming restless and agitated about the protection of their interests. Chief among these will be those former National Conservation Commission (NCC) employees and the other workers who lost their jobs so soon after the 2013 election victory.
It is not in the national interest for the NCC issue to remain outstanding, and Government needs to move with dispatch to grapple with it.
We are not advocating that Government employ people without regard to the national finances, but the Prime Minister’s forthright declaration that the process of the selection of workers to be sent home was flawed was a glimmer of hope that might have been diminished by subsequent developments.
He cannot be pleased with how the matter has played out.
The public finances continue to be a challenge, not least because of the downgrades by the rating agencies and particularly Standard & Poor’s.
None of us should regard the word of these international agencies as gospel – as the 2008 financial crisis proved. But their assessments guide and influence investment decisions and we suspect that along with issues within the Ministry of Labour, the state of the economy must be on the front-burner list of issues of concern to the Prime Minister, even though the Minister of Finance does a good job of selling the messages of his portfolio.
In ordinary circumstances one would expect that a reshuffle would be a certainty at this time to bring fresh perspectives to some of these problems, especially since most of the ministers have been at their portfolios since 2008.
But these may not be ordinary circumstances since the parliamentary majority is slim and minor shifts can upset the political apple cart. In this kind of political weather, prime ministerial leadership and survival skills of a high order will be worth a premium.
But what happens in the coming year will also be conditioned by the approach of the Opposition. If the public is now a little more restless, it may be that the consistent refreshing of irritating issues by the Opposition has had an impact. In the next year the public interest demands that the Opposition holds the Government’s feet to the fire.
And the public must continue to hold both parties accountable!
