EDITORIAL: Assessing party achievements

THIS week the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) will mark its third year in office having won the May 24 general elections in the country.

For the ruling party, members and in particular party stalwarts will be pointing to what they consider as the successes of the government since that historic vote which saw the BLP winning all the 30 House of Assembly seat. This will be an attempt to convince Barbadians that much has been achieved since the change of government.

The People’s Party for Democracy and Development is the official Opposition in Parliament and is very vocal in both houses of Parliament.

For the Democratic Labour Party which lost badly at the polls, it would want to portray to the country that there are no major achievements to shout about.

In fact both the Opposition Leader, Joseph Atherley, and the DLP’s President, Verla DePeiza have said this, something the Government does not agree with.

Even as the time comes for the ruling party to celebrate and to outline what has transpired under its watch in Barbados over the last years, it is equally important for the other two parties to assess what they have achieved, and what lies ahead for them as the country is now beyond the half way stage to another general election.  That is constitutionally due in about two years’ time.

The important factor is what the Government will chose to highlight while defending its stewardship in office, and what it would want to ignore.

In this vein what the BLP promised during the last general elections and what it was able to deliver since assuming office will be the selling point to the Barbadian public which is very much in tune with their politics. Going back to those elections the BLP ran an effective campaign that was able to register with the imagination of the populace all over the country.

All their meetings seemed to have attracted sizeable audiences and the messages belted out from the platform were enough to convince the electorate that then was the time for a change in Government. That turned out to be the case although no one foresaw the eventual result.

It is up to the public now to judge the performance of the ruling party after being in office for three years.

Having said this the two opposition parties themselves will equally be looked upon as to how effective they have been in keeping the government on its toes while making a case for their individual relevance.

The People’s Party for Democracy and Development headed by Bishop Atherley has been very vocal. Along with the party’s two Senators in Crystal Drakes and Caswell Franklyn, they have made valuable contributions during parliamentary debates.

The DLP is still trying to find its feet following the massive defeat it experienced at the polls in May 2018.

With no representation in either the House of Assembly or in the Senate it has been a tall order to match the Government, with spokespeople, including Ms. Depeiza having been critical of the government.

This week therefore and continuing for a while, the country will get opportunities to hear how the politics shape up and who has been effective and not effective and what will set the stage for the future.