The dust has settled on the St. James North by election. As predicted by all and sundry including Barbados Underground – A redundant St. James North by election – Chad Blackman of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) destroyed the main challenger Felicia Dujon of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) by capturing 2 723 votes to 468.
The St. James North is supported by the numbers as a BLP stronghold and running Dujon, who has been one of the more visible members of the DLP, must be seen as an error in political strategy. Surely Ralph Thorne and his minions were aware Dujon would be nothing more than a sacrificial lamb by naming her a candidate?
Of interest to political pundits is the opportunity to observe the national swing indicator. It is normal to expect a movement away from government after two or three terms. However, we are not operating in normal times are we.
Truth is, there is still the pall of the Ronnie Yearwood vs Ralph Thorne clash hanging over the DLP. The BLP winning St. James North seat must be assessed against the public perception of a beleaguered DLP trying to find its way. The blogmaster is of the view voters preferred to go with the status quo rather than risk the uncertainty of the ‘unknown’. It does not mean DLP would NOT have won had all things been equal but the by election would have generated traditional stats for analysis.
All post election commentary is centred on the need for the DLP to get its house in order. Hopefully the ‘poor’ performance in the St. James North by election will encourage sober reflection in George Street. One thing the result has confirmed is that the DLP is not seen as a credible alternative – although Barbadians maybe fearful of a one party state. This week was an opportunity to signal to the ruling BLP its discomfort with the lack of opposition representation in the Lower House. Unfortunately the DLP and the other candidates did not engender the confidence of the electorate. This should be a deep concern for Barbadians..
One suspects were a general election to be held tomorrow, the result will be the same give or take a seat or two. The BLP would inflict another shellacking on the opposition. This would be more to do with an inadequate political opposition rather than voters being happy with the performance of the incumbent BLP government. Barbados maybe headed to a crisis of governance in the not too distant future.
One cannot directly blame Prime Minister Mottley or the late Owen Arthur for aggressively practicing the politics of inclusion. However, it should not be ignored any fallout from the strategy which weakened opposition ‘talent’. What it exposes is the lack of a differentiating philosophy between the two main political parties exemplified in the political leader of the DLP. First a DLPite, then a BLPite now a DLPite. There is no law against crossing the floor in Barbados but there is a good case that it challenges the perception of politicians by an apathetic electorate.
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