¶4. (C) On the subject of Barbados’ newly elected government, Gonsalves stated that he did not expect any significant differences in the ruling Democratic Labour Party’s policies, as both major political parties in Barbados are “steeped in social democracy and committed to regional integration.”
Echoing Grenada PM Keith Mitchell’s comments in the press, Gonsalves dismissed the notion of “winds of change” sweeping through the Caribbean with the recent change of governments in Jamaica, St. Lucia, Bahamas, and Barbados. According to Gonsalves, Barbados’ two main parties are so similar that “differences will have to be manufactured to keep the party faithful happy.”
¶10. (C) When asked about recent claims in the Eastern Caribbean that the sole regional air carrier, LIAT, was inefficient and guilty of price-gouging, Gonsalves replied that (St. Lucia’s Minister of Tourism) “Chastanet talks a lot of rubbish when it comes to regional air transport.” Noting the lack of air transport regulation in the Eastern Caribbean, and in regards to governmental efforts to increase competition in the region, Gonsalves stated, “we’ve been down that road before”, citing the failures of Carib Express, BWIA, and Caribbean Star, among others. Gonsalves said he was “not against competition” but wants “fair competition.”
¶11. (C) He further criticized St. Lucia’s Alan Chastanet as among “a species of brown people in the Caribbean with money” who are “not loyal to anybody”. Gonsalves continued by noting that such people, whom he described as “Castries mulattos”, believe they are “oracles” and represent a “break in the social advancement in the Eastern Caribbean.”
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