A true coalition is better for the country
Votesmart writes: Although the election saga seems to be nearly over with the announcement of a majority and a full list of Cabinet ministers by Mr Wayne Panton, the proposed solution is not the right one for Cayman. Mr Panton as premier, aided by fresh minds such as Chris Saunders, Kenneth Bryan, and Kathy Ebanks-Wilks, among others, are the perfect choice as far as the leaders of the new government goes. But some of the proposed Cabinet ministers have little to no experience and a true coalition would address that weakness.
The Cayman Islands needs a change. And by all accounts, Mr Panton seems to be the right man for the job and has wide support within our community. There is no doubt that he, along with some of the more senior experienced colleagues, gives this country a decent chance for positive change.
But the proposed government which is scheduled to be elected in Parliament on Wednesday puts the former convicted speaker back in his old job. The general response on social media is ‘if that’s the cost of change, we will take it’.
But the question is: should we accept that cost?
If we do, we will be admitting as a country that we don’t condone violence against women except in cases where it is politically expedient to do so. Arguing that the benefits of change in policies is worth accepting Mr Bush doesn’t hold water either because the proposed Cabinet can significantly be improved by adding a few more experienced policymakers for the betterment of the country. Less credible policymakers makes it far less likely that we will get change, or worse, we will get changes that are harmful, not better.
To date, Mr Panton has handled the election saga extremely well (in fact better than his opponent, Mr McTaggart). If he could harness some of the experience from the other side by forming a full coalition or convincing two or three of the more experience ministers to join him, the country would have a stronger chance to enact the changes that all of us want to see.
That coalition would also say a lot about where we stand as a country when it comes to our ethics and moral compass. For certain, Mr Panton would have wrestled with the idea of bringing back Mr Bush because he made his views on the former speaker very clear months ago. So, he has made a significant personal sacrifice in making this U-turn.
With a coalition solution, he can straighten his moral compass again back to where it belongs, instead of adjusting it to suit the circumstances. As the eminent political leader of our country (and we are all looking forward to his leadership) if he chooses to make that change before Wednesday, it will reflect positively on all of us as well.
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Category: 2021 General Elections, Elections, Politics, Viewpoint
Well Wayne, in order to get the majority you needed, you’ve crawled into bed with some of the worst political slime. Devoid of any moral compass and self serving. Call it whatever party you want, the PPM tentacles are there. Too bad.
I split my response to this VP into a few semi-distinct sections just for the sake of keeping my thoughts collected but this should be one piece
re: Mckeeva
I accept that this outcome is not ideal but I have some serious disagreements with this idea that a “true coalition” is the answer. I will be the first to say I think working with Mckeeva is a mistake his conviction being one reason, and his inability to display even a modicum of self-control, his delay in issuing a sincere and complete apology, his general complete lack of decorum or behaviour that meets the standards of the 2nd highest elected office in our nation he has essentially directly caused or precipitated the collapse of government twice in the last 10 years etc etc but allying with the PPM who have shown us exactly where their focus lies in 8 years in government would be a mistake of titanic proportions for Wayne and any of the Independents currently in his group. I think it is all but a certainty that we will be heading back to the polls within 2 years under the current arrangement.
re: A “true coalition”
The first big issue I see is relatively simple, it is highly likely the only way the PPM would even consider a coalition proposal with Wayne and his wider group would be if they were granted half of the ministerial appointments and the speakership as part of the deal, the Speakership would give them full control of the Legislature, and half the seats in Cabinet would allow them to stop dead any policy proposals they disagreed with, by voting as a bloc in Cabinet
They might let Wayne be Premier for the visuals of a coalition but behind closed doors they would block any proposals that could conflict with their financial backers and monied interests. Signing on to a coalition deal with the PPM would mean that the same issues we have faced over the last decade would go unaddressed. At the end of four-years we would have nothing substantive to show for it, despite the PPM not having been given a majority by the people of the Cayman Islands for 20 years if they are given power in a coalition they will be able to stifle change that Caymanians voted for which is their only goal at the moment.
re: PPM Personalities
The other main issue I see is that there are slim pickings for persons who the Independents could actually work with for substantive change they fall into two main groups:
The group made up of Alden Mclaughlin, Joey Hew and Moses Kirkconnell have shown their true concerns lie in serving the monied interests and business groups. The do not want to fix the pension system, or address the issues in Healthcare on these islands they don’t want to address the affordable housing crisis, consumer protection or concerns with overdevelopment or raise the minimum wage among other things. They are fine with a system that screws over Caymanians in the interest of big $, sells land off to developers to be destroyed on a whim and they have no qualms with going against the public to meet those ends as we saw with the port debacle. I wouldn’t trust any of them to watch my monopoly money much less form a coalition government.
The second group are the Minions and Turncoats made up of the minions Dwayne Seymour, Barbara Connolly and David Wight all of whom are essentially grunts who appear to be incapable of original thought, people who do as they are told without questions, concerns or hesitations, they are all unsuitable for government and public office in my opinion and I wouldn’t trust any of them further than I could see them.
That leaves the turncoats Julianna O’Connor Connolly and Issac Rankine
Julianna has been a part of every group I can think of going back as far as I can remember, out of all of them she might be the most reliable in that I don’t think she has ever missed an opportunity to jump ship and turn her coat to get what she wants, ironically enough that means she might be convinced to jump ship on the PPM but I think she has gotten cosy with them now and wouldn’t move without a ministry. I don’t think I need to highlight why Issac Rankine should not be trusted seeing as he was likely involved with the PPM the entire time and went to the IND group on election night to try to pull other Independents who may have been on the fence to the PPM as according to what was said by the PPM they had a deal preceding the election that they never bothered to publicise. Neither of them can be relied on, and in all honesty unless there are no other options they should be left to languish on the opposition benches so all can see their incompetence
That leaves Roy McTaggart as the only remaining person who I think the Independents could possibly work with although the thought of being Premier seems to have given him delusions of grandeur of late. Prior to this election cycle he and Wayne were the best parts of the PPM and I can only assume giving him leadership was part of a concerted effort to keep him in the fold. It is a shame what he has been pushing since the election but I still think he believes that the PPM is the best avenue for him to effect change he just happens to be wrong. If they could unplug and remove him from Alden, Moses and Joey I feel he could serve ably with Wayne and the others, as things stand he will most likely make an excellent chair of the PAC.
Throughout the piece you seem convinced that if multiple members are brought over they will just willingly go with the Independents agenda and implement polices they have never had any interest in pursuing which I think is farcical there is no IND/PPM coalition waiting to be formed, the PPM will only accept terms that transform their loss on Wednesday the 14th of April into a victory and that cannot be allowed to happen under any circumstances
If the cost is letting Mckeeva wear a wig once every 3 months to get up and ramble about nothing and feel important that is better than the alternative of hell under the PPM
too late now PACT getting sworn in. We will see how this thing lasts. I don’t think it will be very stable. especially with Big Mac holding it together
The pickings are slim all around. It’s time to let all Caymanians, regardless of place of birth or parents or passports, be allowed to run for public office. If you are Caymanian you are Caymanian, full stop.
No Joey Hew
No Dwayne Seymor
No Alden McLaughlin
No Moses Kirkconnell
No David Wight
No Barbara Connolly
That leaves Roy and Juliana to join the Independent led coalition if they truly stand for love of country.
this makes sense. put egos (and convicted criminals) to one side and put together a true coalition that works for the people…
The PPM does not want a broad coalition…they want control.
Finally some common sense . No lie but s few of the cabinet ministers Wayne listed are just not qualified Just ask 2 or 3 from Roy to work with you
He did ask and they won’t!
Personal sacrifice 😂
We have different definitions of what sacrifice entails. Mine doesn’t involve promoting a convicted criminal who I publicly opposed so that I could wear the crown. Have you considered the offer of coalition on the part of PACT is paltry at best? Everyone seeming to act like Roy is the only sticking point here, but let’s be frank (not the Dr.), I suspect both are equally unwilling to sacrifice personal power for the sake of the country at this juncture. Shame on them both.
You fail to mention that Wayne tried to do exactly this, however Roy and the PPM completely shot this out of the sky because they will settle for nothing less than absolute power instead of compromise.
Yes, Wayne is making a huge sacrifice bringing McKeeva into the fold, but it should be stated that he only did this once backed into a corner by the PPM with no other option.
True colours emerge when backed into a corner…