BUSINESS MONDAY: Nature of politics

FOR someone accused repeatedly of not talking much and who critics said would have contributed largely to his government losing all 30 House of Assembly seats, former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has said enough to rattle his opponents.

Talking to party supporters recently at the Princess Margaret School Auditorium, Mr. Stuart’s comments have continued to ruffle the feathers of his BLP opponents, in a way one would not have expected.

In the presentation lasting over two hours, Stuart charged that Barbadians are worse off since the change of government in May 2018.

He accused the government of engaging in ‘nuff’ talk and PR, not paying its debt while continuing to borrow, and that while he was attacked for having a 17-member Cabinet, that of the present administration numbers 26.

Stuart was his usual self in that he was not bombastic, it appeared that his message was effective in bringing out the responses.

Several persons questioned his decision to speak at this time while blaming him for all the ills Barbados went through under his administration.

Even Professor Michael Howard said on his Facebook page that Stuart has incurred the wrath of people for daring to speak at this time.

Since Barbados has a very competitive political system, it was expected that Stuart’s say will sharpen the divide between the two parties. This week Government Ministers will be dealing with the Appropriations Bill and it is widely expected that Stuart will feel the heat of the Government over his comments and the performance of his government.

Comments made later that week by Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley that things are ‘brown’ for Barbadians, coincided with applause given to Stuart by DLP supporters.

As was told to this newspaper, his timing for the address was ripe, in light of the prevailing economic and social environment in Barbados where austerity has taken hold.

Austerity, associated with the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme has been the main feature of economic policy-making in Barbados since late 2018.

The scars from it continue to be felt by Barbadians whether there are in terms of the economy, jobs, taxation, and the cost of living among others.

It was therefore expected that the former Prime Minister would have zeroed in on these things since in his estimation Barbadians are no better off than when his government was in charge, and the promises made to better their position.

This is not what the country had expected when people decided to send Mr. Stuart and his DLP packing in the last general election.

Such situations more often than not provide an environment for people to radiate towards those who talked their language while expressing solidarity with those experiencing economic pain.
This was very much the case when the BLP was in opposition and the DLP government was pursuing its own brand of fiscal consolidation.

The reactions by the BLP, its supporters and others not attached to any party, is not surprising.

Quite naturally they see the efforts of the present government as useful for the country, and how dare Freundel Stuart to speak out against government policy. However, so long as people’s conditions remain challenging as stated by both the former Prime Minister and Bishop Atherley, people are going to give anyone an audience to address their concerns, even to the point of what went on before.

Such is the nature of politics.

These are early days in the government’s first term and it has the ability to make sure that current policies do not persist for an indefinite period to further impoverish ordinary Barbadians.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is still popular, and the speech by the former Prime Minister is not going to change that in any significant way at this time.

There is still the view as well that one day coming soon the economy will recover to the point where it will achieve growth, lower unemployment to single digits, maintain healthy levels of reserves, and honour the loans the country incurred.

Until then austerity will remain since one of the goals of the IMF programme is to bring the debt to GDP ratio down to 60 per cent by 2033, while keeping the dreaded primary surplus in place.
The DLP is still languishing in the bottom of the political rung and has its work cut out to recover from the massive loss of 2018, although as the former Prime Minister said, the party had faced a similar position in the late 1990s.

But there are things it can take away from Mr. Stuart’s presentation.

That party has to settle its leadership. Mr. Stuart is not returning to elective politics and so too are several others who formed the core of the last government.

The DLP has to select new candidates for the next general election. It must also put in place new systems including an effective PR machinery while utilising the social media platforms to stay more relevant.

It also has to let its voice be heard more often as the issues in society unfold.

If nothing else these are among the lessons that the DLP can take from Mr. Stuart’s address.