¶4. (C) On the subject of Barbados’ newly elected government, Gonsalves stated that he did not expect any significant differences in the ruling Democratic Labour Party’s policies, as both major political parties in Barbados are “steeped in social democracy and committed to regional integration.”
Echoing Grenada PM Keith Mitchell’s comments in the press, Gonsalves dismissed the notion of “winds of change” sweeping through the Caribbean with the recent change of governments in Jamaica, St. Lucia, Bahamas, and Barbados. According to Gonsalves, Barbados’ two main parties are so similar that “differences will have to be manufactured to keep the party faithful happy.”
¶10. (C) When asked about recent claims in the Eastern Caribbean that the sole regional air carrier, LIAT, was inefficient and guilty of price-gouging, Gonsalves replied that (St. Lucia’s Minister of Tourism) “Chastanet talks a lot of rubbish when it comes to regional air transport.” Noting the lack of air transport regulation in the Eastern Caribbean, and in regards to governmental efforts to increase competition in the region, Gonsalves stated, “we’ve been down that road before”, citing the failures of Carib Express, BWIA, and Caribbean Star, among others. Gonsalves said he was “not against competition” but wants “fair competition.”
¶11. (C) He further criticized St. Lucia’s Alan Chastanet as among “a species of brown people in the Caribbean with money” who are “not loyal to anybody”. Gonsalves continued by noting that such people, whom he described as “Castries mulattos”, believe they are “oracles” and represent a “break in the social advancement in the Eastern Caribbean.”
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While i agree with Balance and Josquin I cannot resist pointing out the difference between the two parties as told to me by an angry young man, and i quote
‘When the BLP in power dey does thief but at least de money does trickle down to the small man, but when the DLP in power dey thief but dey does keep all fah dem self’.
Here lies the difference. LOL
Seriously though Josquin I concur with your analysis.
@Josquin
Congratulations, Courtney Blackman and FranK Alleyne recognize that we are an open economy impactged by the international recessions. It is only theoriticans like you (Mascoll) that have the answers to our problems. It is the non-partisans like you that will reduc taxes to have more disposal income for barbadins to spend more on comspicous consumption on cars and imported foods to send more fx exchange out of the country, even though our two major revenue earners are not firing on all four.. it is people like you who have caused the problems of this world. You only look at dollars and cents and have no understaning of the social issues, that is why people like you oppose the goverenment giving free bus fare to poor children. Havnt you seen that Sir Courney support that socialsit stroke and that is a socialist strategy. Go sprout all you enonomic jargon, it does not move me from my persective.
I would never forget that your party, the one for which you write, have given barbadians false hope, a house without a solid foundation must fall. You are one of the few that believe that the lowering of taxes will cause people to spend more, you are forgetting that when there is a recessions, there is a propensity to save because of the uncertainy and that is why we are having so much liquidity in the bank and the banks can offer next skin to nothing on our money sitting there. Why are we not seeing businesses expanding since there is so much cheap money around?
I must regergitate, we have managed the economy, that is the governemt of barbados, similar to what Erskine Sandiford did. He had trimmed the Public Service to about 18 000- 19 000, thereby reducing our expenditure, How has it reached approximately 30 000. Would you prefer to see the poor Public Officers get laid off? You can respond to that. Since you are an economist, tell this blog how you would restore the argicultural and manufacturing sectors?
@Island Gal
Wait you still worryinng with this rooster, this useless one. You know i does left you to carson and bonny. But you have a rooster weekend.
@Balance
I always rebuke you. Amen.