Politics of fear can’t be ignored, says McLaughlin

(CNS Elections): The Cayman Islands premierPremier of the Cayman Islands More and leader of the Progressives remains confident that under his leadership the people of Cayman are going to give his party a second term. Alden McLaughlin’s confidence comes from the improvements to the economy and fall in unemployment. But yesterday he also signaled his concerns over the politics of fear, which is likely to have an impact in Cayman’s election as they have in Europe and the US.

Given Cayman’s position in the world as a global financial services centre, the common ground among local politicians, with few exceptions, is a belief in free market global economics, fundamental to the existence and survival of the offshore sector. However, Cayman is not immune to the pitfalls of nationalist sentiment and there are endless arguments on the opposing positions on immigration. When it comes to labour, many MLAs and their constituents are trapped in the contradiction of supporting protectionist policies at the border for people while wanting complete open borders for capital and services.

McLaughlin raised his concerns about the global threat to liberal economic policies and what that may mean at the ballot box, when he spoke at the Fidelity CEO conference on Thursday.

“More and more unconventional politics — perhaps even bad politics — and not rational economics are driving change and policy making,” McLaughlin said, as he pointed to the election of Donald Trump, as well as the Brexit vote and the disproportionate influence Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), had on the result.

“Witness the influence of UKIP, a political party rejected at the polls in the UK, but still able to create the atmosphere for, and to influence the outcome of, the Brexit referendum,” he said. “Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen, but as a politician I know that you ignore the concerns of the electorate at your peril. So whilst I do not condone the politics of fear, I certainly understand the impact it has on those who vote.”

The PPM leader spoke about the revolutionary change over the last few years where “globalization, with its promise of the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, appears to have lost its lustre among ordinary folk”. He pointed to the increase in talk about trade protectionism and nationalism by politicians across the globe and how “the wealth gap between those at the top and the bottom is powering much of this disenchantment”.

McLaughlin said it was the “man on the street” that was driving the change, but populist politicians are happy to gain a competitive edge by falling in step.

“But there are other factors at play as well, including the ongoing impact of the 2008 recession, that have caused the loss of some types of jobs as well as a slower growth in real income,” the premierPremier of the Cayman Islands More said, noting that this was the case in Cayman too. But he said that the PPM government had focused from the beginning on providing business with an environment to grow and create new jobs.

Despite the tendency of the man in the street to reject liberal economic policies, he said the fair trade relationships between countries, along with the ability to grow or attract the best talent, “will be even more critical in the present swirling political climate on both sides of the Pond and will remain a key aspect of the success of western nations as globalization continues to evolve, or some would argue, disintegrate”.

He said voters must be careful who they choose at the polls in May.

Tags: Alden McLaughlin, PPM, Progressives

Category: Election News