PPM-IND coalition appears set

| 28/05/2017 | 176 Comments
Cayman News Service

Alden McLaughlin

(CNS): Alden McLaughlin looks set to remain as the country’s leader in a Progressive coalition with some of the Independent candidates, following a weekend of deals, counter-deals, backroom talks and double-crossing. While the front bench line-up is not yet firm, McLaughlin said Sunday he “expected to have a government in place” and would be “going to the governor tomorrow”. Although the PPM leader has not revealed details about the make-up of his new coalition government, CNS understands that it includes some former PPM members.

Already dubbed by pundits as ‘the weekend of the long knives’, since McLaughlin and CDP Leader McKeeva Bush signed a deal on Friday afternoon joining their parties in a coalition, there has been an enormous amount of backroom dealing to arrive at a new government line-up and a significant amount of double-crossing.

The Sunday evening agreement will probably sit well with the country, as it is believed to be a broader coalition and more reflective of what the people voted for than the first deal. The deeply controversial agreement the Independents struck late Friday night, which had Bush back as premier, did not appear to reflect the election result any more than the first deal with McLaughlin.

Sources close to the final deal have indicated that Bush, despite his about-face Friday, may have accepted the neutral position of speaker of the House.

The late night agreement that Bush struck with the Independents Friday night, which was brokered by Dr Steve Tomlinson, fell apart just as quickly as the deal Bush made with the Progressive leader on Friday afternoon. But the West Bay veteran politician left Grand Cayman early Saturday morning, and almost immediately the elder Independents made it clear they were not prepared to support Bush as premier.

Talks then went on throughout the weekend between the various groups of Independents and the PPM, with deals, demands, counter deals, offers and proposals over the premiership until late Sunday. At one point, it appeared that the 19 MLAs were going to struggle to form a government at all and a second election was on the cards, not least because of the difficulties of negotiating with the Independents, who did not come as a cohesive block.

In the end, however, some Independents have agreed to support a PPM-IND coalition, with, it is understood, subject to discussions, three cabinet seats going to the Independents and four to the PPM.

Although the deal has taken five days to broker, it was somewhat less “closed-door” than days of old, with details of the talks leaking constantly and appearing on Facebook.

The last time anything like these types of negotiations took place was before the emergence of the party system. In 2000, it took several days to get the first deal, which fell apart within 24 hours, and it was not until the eve of  ‘Swearing in Day’ that a deal was struck that put Kurt Tibbetts at the head of a coalition of various teams. That lasted twelve months, when the 2001 coup gave rise to the emergence of political parties, which has prevented this type of backroom horsetrading over the last three elections.

The resurgence of independent candidates in this national poll has underscored the problem of electing a group of non-aligned individuals who have not discussed their policy platforms with each other before being elected, leaving the question of who forms the government being answered, once again, in back rooms rather than in the ballot box.

While there is still the possibility that everything might change again, the existence of parties and the fact that almost half of the independents are aligned in a group has meant that a government that reflects the vote appears to have finally emerged.

But now that the government appears to have been settled, the next question is who will lead the opposition benches.

Check back to CNS Monday for more details of the new Cayman Islands Government.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Tags: , , , , , ,

Category: 2017 General Elections, Elections, Politics

Comments (176)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    Scandal deferred at best: Billion-dollar pension and healthcare liabilities ignored; >1000 PR applications unaddressed – all potential lawsuits in their own right; no action on GT and Brac dumps; civil and human rights obligations ignored; back-room deal-making with DART, Ironwood; weird pandering to Carnival; unaccountable civil service given a pay raise by broke gov’t; abandoned/unfinished high school from term 8 yrs previous; a variety of civil service dismissals, suspensions and settlements; disingenuous spinning and lying to the press, ongoing Cayman Airways, Turtle subsidies and infrastructure construction approved on delinquent inter-governmental fees. Just because there aren’t other options, should not be mistaken for performance approval.

    14
    31
    • Anonymous says:

      Why is this comment receiving thumbs down? So its wrong to state facts in Cayman now, whoa?

      I’m truly lost for words.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Tomlinson is solely responsible for this mess. He spent almost limitless financing on selling the idea that independents were the answer. This misled so many. The Cayman system is based on the UK’s which is completely party oriented. Therefore electing many independents gets us the mess we have now. Dr. T thinks that he is smarter, richer than all the rest of us and only his ideas matter.

    65
    8
  3. Anonymous says:

    As someone said, can you imagine a soccer team who has never played together with half of them having never played soccer at all being entered in the world cup? That’s basically what has happened

    84
    6
  4. Anonymous says:

    What baffles me is the Caymanian voters chose to drop Archer and Panton from the former PPM government. Those 2 MLAs were the only ones to get things done, any success brought by that government came from those 2 men and they were not voted back for a 2nd term? I guess blowing smoke like Alden is what the voters prefer.

    132
    25
    • Anonymous says:

      McKeeva and his two donkeys from West Bay should be strictly Opposition. McKeeva should not even hold the position of Speaker of the House. Give that position back to Juliana or to Gilbert McLean.

      78
      9
    • Anonymous says:

      Archer was a shocking loss, Panton, terrible policies for Cayman, acceptable loss

      48
      19
    • Anonymous says:

      The Ego/Ind folks in GTC/Newlands/BTW/BTE/etc sold the electorate a false bill of goods. Promising more central government assistance. Promises that could not be delivered but sound real appealing. Those politicians will strip the tree bare of fruit and then blame someone/everyone else when it dies.

      Hard work and education is the ONLY way to improve yourself. Government should only provide us with the opportunity, it is up to us to accept the opportunities and make the most of them.

      45
    • Anonymous says:

      7.39am You left out a key fact..these two Ministers were part of a team, The PPM Party. They did not operate as independents.Too many people make the mistake of thinking that individual Ministers run their Ministries in isolation. They are part of the Party which meets to discuss what actions to take or not take. So think Team and not ‘lone wolf’.

    • Anonymous says:

      Let’s be clear here – not the Caymanian voters! The informed and ever enlightened GT central voters chose to elect their bobo, who they expect will gain them MORE access to government aid. Slow round of applause for GT central, folks!

      14
      2
  5. Sharkey says:

    As much as I don’t trust any politician today , I applaud Alden if he can keep this together by Wednesday .

    But what Dr T has done to the Cayman islands and the Politicians are worse than what the Media is trying to do with President Trump , he can somewhat control some of that fake News .

    Just imagine one man owning the majority of the Government Politicians , and any time he wants something done all he has to do is wave a big money in front of them and he gets it done because they are the majority . SCARY SCARY .
    This is what McLaughlin and Bush and any other Politician with a brain should be worried about .

    104
    14
    • Anonymous says:

      I pray this arrangement will hold .
      Alden/PPM will have saved Cayman from ridicule on the world stage, distrust of government’s word , and a flight of capital and investment , which we would have suffered if Mac became premier.

      71
      11
    • Anonymous says:

      Bush would be worried about his percentage. Nothing more.

      33
      4
    • Anonymous says:

      Sharkey, you seem like a really good person but I think you’re watching the wrong news in the US. Under Trump, readership and subscription for the New York Times and the Washington Post is way up, CNN and even more so MSNBC ratings are up and the N0 1 cable news show is now Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. Try watching it, please!!!!!

      The only people who believe that what Trump calls “Fake News” is actually fake news are die hard Trump supporters. Everyone else is taking note of what actual past and present leaders of the intelligence community and DOJ are saying. Stuff that is leaked is subsequently found to be true. Remember how much Trump loved leaks when they were in his favour?

      There is now a special counsel looking into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. That wouldn’t happen if there was no evidence. Think back to Trump’s long, vicious, racist campaign to throw doubt on where Obama was born. That did not give rise to a Federal investigation because it was BS, which Trump himself has now admitted.

      There are also numerous other Federal investigations into other aspects of Trump and his gang, including looking into his finances and how they mingle with Russian banks controlled by the Kremlin. Again, “fake news” stories cannot spark such investigations, only evidence.

      The intelligence community’s investigations include how actual fake news was disseminated from Russia through social media in order to help Trump get elected. This was then picked up by right wing “news” outlets like Breitbart. All 17 intelligence agencies agree about this. Again, if you take time to watch them actually give evidence to the various committees in Congress on CSPAN, you can actually hear them say this. This is not generated by the media.

      Please please please stop listening to Trump. If you watch Fox, the actual news reporters, Chris Wallace and especially Shep Smith are doing a good job because they are real reporters. Blow hards like the jokers on Fox and Friends and Sean Hannity are just spouting nonsense.

      The truth is that Trump is in trouble and he is dealing with it by lashing out at his critics. It is very important that we do not allow our politicians to copy this behavior so please don’t give it any credit.

      I beg of you, please read this article in today’s Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/05/29/the-fake-news-comes-from-within-the-white-house/?tid=pm_pop&utm_term=.24e6f82b7110

      34
      33
      • Sharkey says:

        Anonymous 8:30am , thank you for the compliment , but I don’t need you to tell me that I am a really good Man . But I think that you’re watching and reading the wrong kind of News . But .

        12
        11
      • Anonymous says:

        It is absolutely insane that people still think Trump is a good President, same could be said about Mac and the premiership!!!

    • Trumped says:

      Please leave Trump where he is. We have all been trumped.

      14
      2
    • Anonymous says:

      If you are who I think you are and want to always have something to say about Cayman’s situations, come back to live amongst us. Help from the inside.

      6
      2
  6. Anonymous says:

    Ha ha ha ha ha, poor ol mac u-turned himself right out of the picture. Surely that is an act of God Himself.

    88
    4
    • Anonymous says:

      God clearly knew “that his hands were not clean and his heart was not pure” so therefore he deserves nothing more than being Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Opposition and Mr. Dress up Politician.

      55
      6
  7. Concerned Caymanian says:

    Despite any personal dislike people may have toward Alden, has the country not been better under his leadership for the last four years?
    Right now, if not Alden, the only other possible selection for Premier would be Moses.

    Which other person out of the rest of the elected besides Moses could be Premier right now? Not one!!
    We do not want McKeeva, we made that clear. Arden or Ezzard definitely not. Chris might be ready in a couple of years, after that who do you have? No one.
    Not Alva, John John, Austin, Joey, Babry, Roy and definitely not Kenneth.

    You people are as usual only thinking local. Think about this person going overseas to represent the Cayman Islands, taking on the FCO, taking on other countries that put Cayman Islands on the blacklist etc.

    McKeeva destroyed our relationship with the FCO, PPM restored that relationship, they for the finances back on track and got the FCO off our backs.

    I agree that we had/have many “deadwood” in government and they really need to go because I don’t see them making any meaningful contribution for the betterment of these islands so I am happy about fresh blood in Government but to all the newbies, do not be a Donald Trump and come in like a bull in a China shop.
    Humble yourselves to at least observe, listen then act.

    Dr. Steve, you served these islands well as a doctor, one of, if not the best. I understand that you have come into some money, go relax yourself with your wife, enjoy retirement and stay out of politics and stop trying to buy the Government of your choosing. That is corruption. Take note of Ben Carson. We all have to know where our strength lies, yours was medicine.

    Now lets stop fighting like school children, come together and do what is best for this country. Leave the egos and ambitions at the door. The world is watching and if they get a sense of any kind of instability, there goes our finance industry followed by Tourism.

    128
    17
    • Anonymous says:

      How can you state Chris may be ready in a few years but omit that Roy could be capable in a few years as well?

      35
      6
      • Anonymous says:

        Roy could do the job now if needed.

        26
        3
      • Anon. says:

        7:23am is right. Do you know Roy’s personality? Being an accountant/partner and a few years as a councillor does not automatically make him eligible to be Premier. As new as Chris is, I guarantee you he will be ready for the position of Premier long before Roy.
        The Premier has to not only be aware of global issues but he must be able to relate to other leaders, know how to negotiate, Roy is not the man for that job.

        6
        27
        • Caymanian says:

          Okay let me say this to you now…..STOP SWALLOWING KOOLAIDE!!! Layoff the stuff it ain’t healthy.

          Roy is a millenium further along that Chris is. It’s not even close. BUT Moses could run the show.

          18
          1
    • Anonymous says:

      A dearth of better alternatives does not equate to widespread support of their performance. Frankly, we have the same unfinished projects, lack of CIG accountability, negligence-related lawsuits, back-room deal-making, and faux surplus reports that we had under the UDP/CDP. Add to that, no acknowledgement of the failure to address our Billion-dollar pension and healthcare liabilities and human and civil rights abuses. Unless the electorate compels the next government (via public petition) to perform certain actions, our kleptocratic opaque system is unlikely to change organically. That is sad, already existent, and on us.

      9
      5
      • Anonymous says:

        Name one back room deal. Faux surplus? I suggest you become better informed. Not hear-say.

        6
        1
    • Anonymous says:

      Never socialist Chris. Don’t believe me? Have a look at his “homeland” (based on his strong accent).

      19
      6
    • Diogenes says:

      IMHO, Chris and the rest of the Tomlinson “Independents” are all ready to be Premier right now, the problem is that not a single one of them is capable of doing the job of Premier, or any other ministerial job in government; not now, and not any time in the foreseeable future. Chris and the rest of the so-called independents, as well as the 3 CDP members they met with, are text book examples of the Dunning-Kruger effect. However, like all elected representatives, they embody the desires of the electorate who put them there.

  8. Anonymous says:

    More hogwash!

    7
    17
  9. True Aheist Witness says:

    When so call God fearing politicians aligned themselves and lined up behind Ungodly leaders the Lord’s wrath is near, the problem Cayman we will all see and have to endure this great calamity which has descended upon us .

    6
    20
    • Anonymous says:

      Instead of being a doomsayer, why not work to build a better Cayman? I never understood religious folk and their thought that prayer and worship makes things better when, in fact, it’s about as good as doing nothing. Two hands at work do more than a million clasped in prayer.

      23
      9
  10. Anonymous says:

    Tomlinson, your mother would be so proud of you .
    NOT!

    59
    11
  11. Anonymous says:

    As long as Eden is not pat of it, I am ok with anything.
    This guy would put us back in the 1800’s.

    58
    22
  12. Anonymous says:

    So let me get this right..Alden managed to get his ex-PPMer’s back into the fold and at the same time managed to convince Ezzard to join the PPM..Alden, for what it is worth, you deserve a medal for this one..It proves your point about the independents..All of them could not come together.

    I am assuming that will all get Cabinet Positions as these men all had big egos and would have required big carrots to get them.

    Money, position, power equals a true Cayman Politician.

    Our forefathers are rolling in their graves..What has Cayman sunk to? Lord help us!

    79
    12
    • Anonymous says:

      Anonymous 4:58 am ,I agree that there’s no honesty and integrity in these Politicians . All they cares about is MONEY and POWER .

      JUST look at what these leaders did for their party members , what Bush did for Whelma Powery , and what McLaughlin did for Marco Archer .

      14
      8
    • Caymanian says:

      I highly doubt either of them are going to JOIN PPM. They are only siding with them to form the government. This is going to be kind of similar to Tara and how she operates although I would expect that they would probably still vote their minds on various issues still. I feel Tara operates a bit closer to PPM than they will.

      7
      2
      • Anonymous says:

        They have to vote with PPM. They are in cabinet. It’s called Collective Responsibility.. Tara is PPM she just choses to call herself something else..

        7
        1
        • Caymanian says:

          Not really. It does not matter if the are in cabinet or not. The still have to vote on issues. They still have the right to say yes or no on issues.

          2
          1
        • Anonymous says:

          Correct; however, note that the PPM will be aware of potential instability created by collective responsibility and may tailor their policies to push forward accordingly. Being the majority of a coalition government is not a green light to do whatever you want, because it only takes three defections to lost their coalition majority in this case. They now have to compromise on anything contentious enough to drive off Ezzard, Arden, Alva, Tara, and/or Anthony, depending on the situation.

  13. An says:

    I going back sleep. It might change again. What a mess ! They better have country and people first ’cause people pretty fed up of this back anf forth business. Some is evident that control and power is their agenda.

    40
    2
  14. Anonymous says:

    I reluctantly endorse this current formation 🙂

    Granted the GT and BT “grassrooters” will be up in arms, however this, to me, represents the best way forward in light of the available options.

    Quite sad though for it being a numbers game, we lost Marco and Panton from one side – both of whom were quite good at their specific functions.
    Even within the PPM party membership, many would have preferred to have lost Alden than either of the other two.

    (Marco, I wish you the best but I trust you now see the true character of those for which you opted to risk your own neck. Certain people are all for self and are currently sailing away into the sunset with a sly smirk on their face. That alone renders such an individual unfit to lead the country I love so dearly – in my opinion.)

    That being said, the PPM is now acutely aware of the political reality on the ground and this combined with the perspective and positions of members like Alva, Eden and Arden, we should see an encouraging balance as it relates to government policies.

    There is much required change to our way of doing things, however, a drastic and EMOTIONAL overhaul of government policy by fresh-legged bulldogs was NOT the best plan – especially in light of the complexities of this jurisdiction.

    Here’s to a better Cayman – for all, but primarily for Caymanians (as it should).

    – Whodatis

    *Re criticism of independents’ inability to forward a plan; I believe the timeframe of expected government formation is rather short (24-48 hours), therefore initial chaos was almost inevitable.
    Some are suggesting the independents should have worked out their fantasy government long before the stage of post-election, however, I dare say that would defeat the purpose and essence of independency. Even established political parties go through much wrangling post-election therefore I am not one to overly criticise the independents in this regard.

    43
    12
    • Anonymous says:

      Marco lost because of his own arrogance. Nothing more. He at no time during the campaign sought to humble himself.

      25
      53
      • Anonymous says:

        Amen

        11
        17
      • Right ya so says:

        Total trash! There is nothing arrogant about Marco. Went to school with him and, like many intelligent people, he was just on another plain/in another world to the rest of us. Unlike the others who are kissing babies, shaking hands and making empty promises whilst lining their own pockets he gets the job done for the good of his country not himself.

        26
        1
      • Anonymous says:

        Marco was humble before he ever started campaigning. If he is not humble, then I have no description for Mr. Bryan. Maybe pompous!

        20
        1
    • Caymanian says:

      To me the mistake that was made was placing Marco in front of the train instead of Mrs. Lucille. I always thought the best line up placed Alden in Prospect, Marco in Red Bay and Lucille in Central. I felt of the challenges Kenneth was the most threatening and as such you should present him with your weakest candidate, the one you could lose and wouldn’t die from. PLUS it presented Kenneth with an interesting fight. Mrs. Lucille was fresh and not part of previous admin. Mrs. Lucille is an elderly lady which would make Kenneth walk a chalk line. Mrs. Lucille is more connected with the grass roots than Marco and them are. She more than likely would have still lost but it’s an acceptable loss.

      Instead you run to get all and lose 2 instead of running to lose 1.

      18
      • Anonymous says:

        hindsight is 20/20, but I agree with you completely. Losing Marco is a huge loss for this country.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Brac blood built these islands, check out guys,110% bracka.

    24
    20
  16. Anonymous says:

    Alden for Premier! Most capable of the bunch!

    57
    34
  17. Onlooker says:

    Whee does Wednesday come from? There is nothing in the Constitution to say the L.A. must meet a week after the election.

    13
    4
  18. Anonymous says:

    Tara I bet you wished you had joined the. PPM.

    21
    4
  19. Anonymous says:

    I will never vote independents again. These guys fell down right out of the gate.

    75
    3
    • Anonymous says:

      Alden, Alva,and Anthony were not true Independents, just former PPM in waiting…just like Tara in West Bay..

      16
      7
      • Caymanian says:

        Arden wanted a bit more power in PPM than they wanted to allow him. Anthony and Alva split because of religious issues.

        I find these are all within an arms reach of remedying if egos can be put aside. A good sound one on one talk with Alva and Anthony on the positions with some frank discussions on how jointly they would proceed would do wonders. I think Alden was erroring on the side of caution in being too firm on certain religious issues choosing to skirt them so as to not get us white papered into something. I don’t feel he is not on their side just choosing to finesse the subject a bit more than they are prepared for.

        Arden would want a senior post within PPM for him to return IF HE WOULD EVEN WANT TO at this point.

        Again none of these people NEED to return just make sure you account for their position on sensitive matters and explain EXACTLY YOUR POSITION. Then bridge the gap between the two positions.

    • Anonymous says:

      The reality is that the Independents can’t form a Government on their own and their choice is going to be between McKeeva and Alden. Who would you chose between those two?

      A lot of people this year didn’t vote party lines, but rather who the best candidate was in their district and if they happened to be PPM, so be it.

      21
      1
  20. Anonymous says:

    Hey Alden. Would you ask Mr. Speaker if we can contribute whogene’s salary to the mortgage assistance program? I don’t think he’s going to be needing his extensive services any longer.

    39
    5
  21. Anonymous says:

    Why on earth all the weekend deals, counter-deals, backroom talks and double-crossing??? It is clear as broad daylight that only one person in this bunch is remotely qualified to serve as premier: The honorable Mr. Premier Alden McLaughlin. Wake up Guys, you’re here to serve the country, not yourselves and Dr. T. And most certainly not professor bush.

    57
    22
    • Anonymous says:

      I voted UDP but at no time should this country have Mr. Bush back as Premier. Shame shame on Dr. T for even endorsing such a thing.

      42
      1
      • Anonymous says:

        Then WHF did you vote for a UDP candidate for then??????

        15
        • Anonymous says:

          The sad and strange effects of too much koolaid.

        • Anonymous says:

          Anon 9:24a.m.

          Do you think everyone who voted for a PPM candidate likes Alden? I bet a good chunk of them don’t!

          Don’t be so narrow-minded. Don’t fall into trap of voting or not voting for a candidate just because of the colour he wears or because of his party leader.

          Vote for a candidate who will be the most capable ‘voice’ for your area.

          That’s what OMOV is about – grassroots representation and accountability.

          Mac’s credibility aside, there remain good activists and politicians in the CDP. For e.g., Mike Adams – remembered fondly for what he did with Cayman Airways.

          Let me add – the kind of thinking you espouse is why many people dislike party politics. It’s so damn polarizing people become ignorant. People see only party colours or party leaders NOT the competency of a candidate. As such, people may end up voting for the crappiest candidates all because they wear the right colour.

  22. Anonymous says:

    Ha Ha, a weekend of deals, counter-deals, backroom talks and double-crossing. I bet mac is wishing this weekend never ends. Give thanks mac. You were Cayman’s premier twice. If only for a day the second time. We’re most certainly thankful for that.

    39
    11
  23. Anonymous says:

    This a better look for Cayman instead of Alibaba gang.

    33
    7
  24. Anonymous says:

    They are all equally revolting, greedy, dishonest and egotistical. I can’t stand any of them.

    29
    17
  25. Anonymous says:

    Alden should not be premier again! EVER …

    32
    69
  26. Where's the Anti-Corruption Unit? says:

    Whats gonna happen to those that tried to use large sums of their own money to pay people to form what they wanted.

    I believe the Anti-Corription Commision should wake up and start looking into some of these deals and start checking documentation (like bank statements).

    If they find nothing then great. But what if they do?

    Wake up guys. Wake up!

    56
    3
    • Anonymous says:

      Allegedly…..There was also financial backing for Mac from an overseas hotel developer who would inevitably have much to gain in partnership with the Darts.

      24
      5
    • Anonymous says:

      The Anti corruption and the standards in public life commissions should both be working overtime to investigate, uncover and charge those who broke the laws of this country during this election with the distribution of money to buy voter’s support. XXXXX

      19
      1
  27. Anonymous says:

    I hope this holds up. Progressives plus Independents is the way to go here.

    53
    11
  28. Anonymous says:

    Cayman is in crisis. And yet the difference between a stable, popular government and the anarchy we face boils down to just 50 votes, those that put Kenneth Bryan and Alva Sucko ahead of their rivals, Marćo and Wayne.

    The latter are widely considered the top performing ministers of the last PPM administration, and their removal is likely to be a huge loss for the country. So Kenneth, so Alva, it is in your hands. If you.resign, Cayman is once again a stable, successful country. If you hold on to power for personal.gain, then our future is uncertain, with Mckeeva chomping at the bit to grab power. God gave his son to save the world. Will you give up.your personal ambition to save Cayman?

    47
    13
    • Anonymous says:

      They cannot give up the best paying job they have held, back to obscure unemployment is their future , which is why they all have to feather their nests over the next 4 years.

      13
      1
    • Anonymous says:

      Huh? Elected officials should resign despite receiving the majority of the votes?! Your statement is an insult to the voters of those two constituencies. They decided, period. Why should their duly elected officials resign as if they did something wrong. And why do you assume these two politicians are in it for personal gain. They are doing exactly what everyone else is doing, trying to form a government and be in the best positions they feel to make a difference in the country. Since when is that a quality that should force resignation?!

      3
      11
      • Anonymous says:

        I guess you didn’t get it. They are they only two people in Cayman who could sort this mess out on their own, but only if they were to act completely selflessly. I did not expect they would, but I thought I would throw it out for discussion, particularly as Christianity is based on a profound selfless sacrifice. What would Jesus do, comes to mind.

  29. Anonymous says:

    If only Alden could lead the country beyond not being McKeeva.
    Want to bet the dump will remain the same in 4 years? Unless Dart sorts it out.

    18
    10
  30. Anonymous says:

    This should be better for the Islands than what was being presented earlier. For the last four years, we had stability and no controversy. There are still a lot of work to be done. I do not understand why there was an issue with that.. May God bless the PPM/IND and may God bless these Cayman Islands.

    38
    7
  31. Happier voter says:

    This is more aligned with the people’s wishes but will wait for the swearing in before I breathe a sigh of relief.

    I don’t think Dr. T finish his horse-trading yet. He made a significant investment in this election and he wants a ROI.

    As Alden said Dr. T was acting like the non-elected Premier.

    Independent voters did not vote for McKeeva to lead this country and I hope everyone realise that he has no integrity. Your word should be your bond. His cooperation was for sale to the highest bidder and whatever met his own agenda.

    He is only responsible for his constituents in WB, he don’t care about GT, BT, NS and EE voters.

    Independents, do not be disappointed. Working with the PPM is not a betrayal to your supporters, you have no choice because you do not have the majority. We voted you in to represent us, the people, and if that means working with the PPM, so be it.

    I will accept Alden over McKeeva Bush any day. The election results show that the island except for the republic, feel the same way.

    People are beginning to look at the Independents as Dr. T’s puppets. We put you in, not Dr. T, so you should only answer to us, your constituents.

    54
    5
    • Anonymous says:

      What irks me the most is that Dr. T has the audacity to think that his vote means more at the ballot box than anyone else’s. Candidates should have realized that by running as “Independent” with him as puppet master behind them they will commit political suicide as they will only last one term!

      People have now seen who they are actually voting for when they vote “Independent”

      20
      1
    • Anonymous says:

      Ezzard defeated Dr. T money and his candidate in North Side handily, Arden defeated his candidate in East End and Eden defeated his candidate in Savannah, as did Suckoo in Newlands and JohnJohn also did in BTE.
      As far as I know, the only candidate that Dr. T helped get elected were Austin Harris and Bryan.

      How do you claim that these MLAs are now Dr. T’s puppets? You should try to get your facts straight before posting rubbish that paints everyone with the same brush.

  32. Anonymous says:

    McKeeva only wants to be Premier again so he can give handouts to the muppets from West Bay. Whilst not a fan of Alden, I can honestly say that the last 4 years has been scandal free and as a nation we should be proud of that significant accomplishment. Make McKeeva the premier again and the UK will be on our backs within 6 months.

    73
    7
  33. Anonymous says:

    Whatever it takes to keep Dr. T…errrrrr i mean Kenneth out of the ministry of health.

    55
    2
  34. Anonymous says:

    Ppm not even looking that bad now with that line up and not Alibaba and the 40 thieves.

    35
    3
  35. Unison says:

    McKeeva missed a grand opportunity in becoming Speaker of the House! I guess Julianna will show him how its done. ?

    20
    7
  36. Unison says:

    So this means the Opposition includes the CDP plus Kenneth Bryan, Austin Harris, Chris Saunders, and Dwayne Seymour = 7

    Chris Saunders will probably become the Opposition leader if McKeeva Bush has gives up.

    15
    5
  37. Anonymous says:

    This is great news for Cayman. Lesson No.1 to those who voted in talk show hosts to run this sophisticated country.

    Let’s see what Lesson no2 will be

    36
    1
  38. Anonymous says:

    I’ll put my fire sale on hold.

    25
    1
  39. Anonymous says:

    I’ll believe it when they are sworn in on Wednesday. Everyone wants be chief and no indians.

    123
    6
  40. Anonymous says:

    No comment

    25
    7
  41. Alexander Diocletian. says:

    Arden for Premier.

    36
    170
  42. Anonymous says:

    The entire business community was ready to jump ship at the thought of MacKeeva and his lost boys.
    This sounds like the only way forward for the country.

    172
    32
  43. Anonymous says:

    Good Lord! who brokered this one? ..Slokey!!! This is PPM all together again and bringing Ezzard with them.This is not the People’s wishes. This is Alden’s wishes..

    So disgusted! We should have learned from Tara that these former PPMer’s that say they are independent are only doing that to get re-elected. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!

    6
    37
  44. Unison says:

    So the 4 Veteran Independents run off and leave the Newly Independents with the 3 CDP Amigos of West Bay ?

    So with Aldens 6 plus Tara Rivers and the 4 = 11. There ya go – WE HAVE ANOTHER PPM COALITION GOVERNMENT.

    Oh wait … still not Wednesday yet! Is this the final deal?!

    85
    17
    • Anonymous says:

      Not a coalition..just PPM getting back together and bringing Ezzard into the fold…Once they are cabinet members they have collective responsibility which makes them part of the PPM government, like it or not..

      I just threw up!!

      6
      20
    • Caymanian says:

      Alden has 7 and Tara makes 8…so with 4 its 12….

      Alden, Joey, Roy, Moses, Julianna, David and Barbara plus Tara = 8

      70
      7
  45. Anonymous says:

    Thank god for that.

    111
    15
  46. Anonymous says:

    Return of the PPM …with Ezzard..never thought Arden or Anthony would stoop that low…Alva, you are no better than Tara in West Bay..I should have just voted for Wayne instead..no difference..

    Ugh! this makes me sick to my stomach!

    6
    24
  47. Anonymous says:

    So the PPM is back together with Ezzard int ow..How does this make a better representation of the people will…pray tell?

    Is Alden still going to be Premier? Why doesn’t he do the honorable thing like Kurt did when he failed and resign and allow Moses to become Premier..

    4
    14
    • Marie Rivers says:

      What’s going on in our Beloved Isle Cayman – Very disappointed especially from the results on Wednesday of the only one of the MLA’s (Marco Archer) that made us proud – none other has done what he has done. How can we make Alden Premier again when he was too weak to run against Bryan. Shame on Alden and again congrats to Marco, the one and only.

      6
      2
  48. Anonymous says:

    Proud of my fellow Brackers that returned two experienced representatives. What a mess this country would be in Cayman Brac had returned any of Tomlinson’s stooges.

    150
    28
  49. Anonymous says:

    I wish these men had the power to love instead of the love of power. Cayman would be better off.

    167
    8
  50. Inspector Clouseau says:

    At one point three of the four previously left the PPM government. Should they disagree with the PPM again somewhere down the line and decide to leave, the government is therefore destabilized once more.

    What will happen next is known to all.

    13
    3

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.