All who followed the formal handing over of the St. Jude Hospital last Sunday will agree it was a job well-done and a promise well-delivered.
Naturally, it’ll boost the ruling Labour Party’s support in what’s left of the last fortnight, but it’s definitely not the only reason the SLP can look forward to being re-elected for a second term.
By my historical account, Saint Lucians signalled as-far-aback as five years ago that after three trials, they were understandably tired with the failed experiment of giving the SLP and the United Workers Party (UWP) each an equal chance to serve one term, with the same parliamentary majority
Voters had assessed the performance of the UWP administration between 2016 and 2021 and had decided – quite decisively – they’d had enough of that type of one-in, one-out revolving governance.
They went to the polls and voted the last administration out with a decisive defeat – like a vengeance vote — that left the then ruling party with only two out of the 17 seats in the House of Assembly.
That 15-2 defeat was the UWP’s second worst since it lost 16-1 to the SLP under Dr Kenny D. Anthony in 1997; and likewise, it came after Philip J. Pierre’s first term as SLP Leader and Leader of the Opposition.
And more, as he said — and many Doubting Thomases refused to accept — Pierre was much more prepared for the Prime Ministership than his predecessors.
Why? Because he’d been Deputy PM several times under Dr Anthony and led some of the most-important ministries.
Look a-little-closer — and deeper…
Sir John Compton led two sets of colonial administrations –1964 to 1979 as Chief Minister and Premier — but he obviously didn’t prepare well enough for the prime ministership, as he and his party were voted decisively out-of-office with a 12-5 defeat in 1979, less than five months after he led the island into reluctant independence.
When Sir John returned to office in 1983, he spent over a decade as Prime Minister, navigating a political landscape that included cloaked treachery from within by many with long knives at his back.
Sir John tactically ‘left office’ early and avoided the 16-1defeat of 1997, only to re-emerge for the 2006 poll, in which he led the party to victory.
But he would not last long thereafter.
After the untimely stroke in 2007 that eventually took Sir John’s life, every effort was made by his wannabe replacement to erase his family’s name and his legacy from the party.
His daughter Jeannine was backed to win the seat, only to be side-lined and flushed-out – for, among other things, being transparent in parliament about how she spent Taiwanese money, her other colleagues (who also received) felt she should have remained conspiratorially silent or quiet about.
The UWP’s current leadership has also gone out of its way to isolate and silence those who promote Sir John’s legacy within the party.
So-bad it’s been, that, while the UWP administration remained in office after he died, it still took a SLP administration – under Dr Anthony — to erect the UWP Founder-Leader’s statue in Constitution Park.
There’s now also a distinct divide between the traditional ‘Flambeaus’ and the ‘new UWPees’ — the originals taking umbrage to what they see as late-comers deliberate erasing the memory of the best leader the UWP ever had.
Indeed, Sir John’s family was invisible when the party he funded and led until death had (earlier this year) supposedly ‘celebrated’ what would have been his 100th birthday.
It’s therefore not-for-nothing that the Compton clan supported the Labour candidate for Micoud North in the last election, which helped the UWP lose that seat for the first time since 1951, when ordinary Saint Lucians first got the right to vote without owning property.
It’s not-for-nothing either, that the SLP won a 13-4 victory in 2021, as it was a sure indication people had grown tired of rotating governments every five years.
The fact that the voters overwhelmingly gave the SLP more than a two-thirds mandate in 2021 must also be seen as a direct indication the electorate wanted to make a fresh start with the Labour Party, under Pierre’s leadership.
No one expects that this UWP, under the current leadership, will ever even want to acknowledge the SLP did as good as it did.
But for them to continue telling Saint Lucians they’re blind because what they clearly see is not what’s there, is nothing but insulting the intelligence of an electorate that’s shown it’s more mature and politically sophisticated than being given credit for by the current opposition’s leadership.
Thing is, political climate change and regime change are being reflected in some aspects of elections politics here over the past decade — and still changing.
People are more vocal — and more UWPs are openly willing to ‘Give Jack His Jacket’ and acknowledge the current SLP administration has delivered on its repeated promises to govern for all and not just for some.
This naturally infuriates the current UWP leadership, but honesty is a virtue you simply don’t punish people for.
Just look at the number of prominent UWPs who’ve crossed the floor to Labour’s side in this election — after those who left the leadership immediately after its 2021 loss.
Then, look at how the SLP’s General Secretary has been openly inviting Labour candidates to ‘take example’ from the UWP’s late Babonneau candidate, Allan Bousquet, who never lost his seat because of his eternal connection with constituents.
The matter of St Jude’s Hospital handover naturally haunts the Opposition.
It was left in the hands of birds-of-a-feather who feathered its wings alive — until the last General Elections ended that fiasco.
Rayneau Gajadhar’s CIE Ltd. has actually delivered — in one year — what previous government failed to in 16 years.
All that said, done and delivered, Saint Lucian voters are thus overly anxious to cast their ballots — and most just-can’t-wait for December 1st.