Looks and sounds like all sides won in Tuesday’s mid-term US elections. Or did any?
Did President Donald Trump’s ‘My way or the highway’ doctrine win over everything else? He wasn’t on the ballot but certainly influenced the vote; and he claims he won all the way. The Democrats will say ‘Not so fast, we took back the House’ — to which the Republicans will reply ‘Well, we not only kept the Senate, we strengthened our hands there too.’
So then, did anyone win? If not, who lost? And what does it all mean for the next US Presidential elections?
These are the questions analysts allover are still mulling over, their conclusions as divided as the two parties dividing America – and Saint Lucia.
As always, much more is always put into analysis of where ruling parties are halfway through their allotted terms, with even more being put into arriving at futuristic conclusions on their longevity.
Yes, mid-term reviews are essential to the analysis of the political situation at any point in time. But to look at where President Trump or the Republican and Democratic parties are today based on Tuesday’s vote and use whatever conclusion as some dependable weather vane to predict what will happen in 24 months is indeed attaching too much elasticity to predictions.
We’re approaching our own mid-term review here. Given where things are now and considering Saint Lucia does not have a fixed election date, how will our mid-tem analysis differ? Can we say the UWP or the SLP will win or lose the next General Elections based on where things are today? Or on December 31?
Reviews and previews are necessary elements of public discussion and essential for media analysis. They do give an accurate indication of where things stand at any given moment half-way through what ought to be a given term.
But like any half-a-glass of water, the conclusions can be either halfway-up or halfway-down.
The future always depends on what happens next!