How can this Mia Mottley earn credibility regarding Mission Transformation but ignore incompetence within the bosom of her Cabinet?
The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in unprecedented manner won the last two general elections. It should be noted the two general elections occurred in 2018 and 2022 – a period of just over three years – in a system where a general election is constitutionally due every five years.
The electorate had enough of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) given the state of the economy during the so called lost decade. Barbados is a two party system, a duopoly, therefore when there is time for a change the country has only one alternative. A reasonable conclusion to make is that the opposition party whether BLP or DLP do not win elections but rather sitting governments lose.
Political pundits often discuss why the third party movement has not gained traction in Barbados in a climate of rising cynicism and apathy being experienced by the electorate. A good answer is that there are multiple factors at play – no appreciable difference in political ideology, ragtag candidates who want for coherent articulation, lack of structure and resources to list a few.
The next general or by-election will be an important bellwether of the political state of Barbados. It is obvious the shelf life of the ‘many hands make light work’ slogan has expired. What the slogan will be replaced with is up to the only significant political opposition. Will Clawback government replace Lost Decade?
There is a place for political gimmickry but not at the expense of serious political commentary in the country. There is a cohort of the electorate that has become disillusioned by the tired rhetoric of political talking heads, including traditional media. If it continues Barbados governance framework maybe headed for crisis.
It’s not just democracy — it’s the case in any political system in which populists are allowed to take power. Populism urges people to vote not according to qualifications and the reasonability of their policies, but rather because of tribalistic affiliations and lowest-common-denominator and unsustainable welfare policies.
So you don’t need to be competent to succeed in politics — you just need to be very charismatic and willing to feed the people with the bare minimum while making it look like you’re giving them a feast. There’s a reason why we have the phrase “bread and games” in politics.
Richard Ballard
The blogmaster is no constitutional expert but from commonsense observation our governance system is failing because of an inability to hold the feet of elected officials to the proverbial fire. We do not fire ministers for cock ups, instead the Prime Minister will do a reshuffle at a time that is politically convenient. Failed tourism campaign and 150 steel houses imported from China, Savvy on the Bay entanglement, licensing of vehicles confusion, Trident ID card project bungle and more recently, simulated incompetence at Springer Memorial School.
Minister McConney is the central figure in the most recent fiasco with a simulation that went wrong last week and could have resulted in physical harm to students at Springer Memorial School. The calls for Minister McConney to resign is a normal response in the political adversarial system practiced. One has to refer the firing of Liz Thompson and George Payne by late Prime Minister Owen Arthur to get a sense that a minister was jettisoned from a Barbados Cabinet for lack of performance. How can this Mia Mottley earn credibility regarding Mission Transformation but ignore incompetence within the bosom of her Cabinet?
Long live the duopoly!
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