Elections and parties
It was interesting to see that many of the CNS bloggers seemed upset by the new PPM leader’s declaration that he was planning on fielding candidates from the party in every district in 2013. Some went as far as to suggest that he was behaving like a dictator. Yet in party politics that’s what happens. The main parties field candidates in all the constituencies in order to try and win.
During his speech at the PPM party conference on Saturday evening Alden McLaughlin was not suggesting that he expected to win every seat now he was leader of the party or was in training as a dictator and it was rather silly of people to suggest as much.
What he was doing was indicating that the PPM was serious about getting back into government and was therefore going to demonstrate that by putting candidates across the country, allowing everyone to vote for a PPM representative no matter where they lived. If the party is to be what it says it is – a party of the people – then it must offer all the people who can vote a chance to support it or not.
The comments demonstrate that on the whole Cayman does not yet fully understand the political party system and has certainly not yet embraced it. The fact that the UDP and the PPM have not yet fielded a full raft of candidates in all the seats since the two parties were formed also shows that the politicians themselves have been slow to adapt to the realities of democratic party politics.
Although the PPM has endorsed groups of candidates in the past, the party itself has never run any candidates in the district of West Bay. As the premier’s constituency, it will always be difficult for any opposition to take a seat there but it should still try. In the same vein, the UDP should also be running the full number of candidates in the outer districts if it wishes to continue embracing the party system.
The main issue, however, for the future success of party politics here is the fundamental question of policies. Neither party has yet truly defined itself around a group of common policies. The PPM has, of the two parties, come closest, but the new party leader appears to be aware that there is still further to go when it comes to defining what the PPM really stands for. When the people go to the polls in 2013 to cast their multiple votes, they will hopefully be deciding on policies and principles and not personalities.
Real party politics is not, as people seem to think in Cayman, about colours. Stories (true or false) of the premier having the decoration at public events completely overhauled at the last minute because it was red merely serve to illustrate the belief that in Cayman the only differences between the parties is the players.
This owes much to both the way the party system has evolved in the Cayman Islands since the 1950s and the colonial status of the islands, where locally elected politicians have had only limited influence over policies, which were essentially decided by the mother country.
Politicians have tended to run in teams or groups as a convenient way of winning their seat against people they really don’t like. As a result, people of diametrically opposed political views have joined forces in order to defeat a common enemy, which means the electorate have not been able to vote for a government that they can predict. Even at the last election the people did not chose the policies that the current government are now pursuing when they voted for the UDP candidates, as many of them were not in their manifesto. If Bush had run on a platform of building a commercial port in East End, a 25 percent increase in fuel duty, increased work permit fees, tort and legal aid reform as well as a channel in the North Sound, it is possible that people may have made different choices – no doubt some who did not vote for the UDP may have chosen to do so while others may not have.
What democracy is really about (besides single member constituencies) is being able to elect people that the voters believe will do the stuff they want done.
Whether it be more public spending or lower fees and taxes, more or less liberal policies, private or public financing of development, more environmental protection or more development, tougher action against criminals or tougher action against the causes of crime, more spending on education or more spending on tourism – these are the things that people need to be able to consider when they are standing in thepolling booth because the political parties have made commitments to them.
This means they need a clear understanding that when they cast their vote they can be more certain about what it is they are asking for. If the party they elect then forms the government and fails to deliver they will be ousted at the next ballot. If they do deliver than they will be re-elected.
Caymanian voters who hold specific political beliefs have essentially been left scratching their heads at election time as it won’t have been easy for them to decide which of the two political parties was likely to meet those political expectations. Moreover the yo-yoing between the parties will continue if people don’t really know what they were voting for in the first place as they will struggle to measure the results at the end of a four year term.
The personality of candidates even in party politics will always be a factor and it is important for people to like their political representative, but sharing common beliefs and a trust that they will do what they say is far more important. Voters need to know that the candidate they vote for stands for a certain set of policies, values and principles and once in office, he or (certainly we hope for 2013) she will stick to them.
With the new dawn over at the PPM party headquarters, the key issue that Mr McLaughlin must focus on if the party system is to succeed is policies and finding 17 people who have a common belief system to fight the election with him. Fielding 18 people is the first step in showing he is serious about governance but to show he is serious about politics he will need to define the future policies of the PPM clearly so that all 18 candidates will be following the party line.
Category: Viewpoint
If my memory serves me right, Alden was the man who declared that he would do whatever he wanted irrespective of what anyone else felt and that he would have his way regardless.
If that is not Dictatorial then someone please explain to me what is.
How refreshing to read such a coherent and intelligently written opinion. Polly, you have summed up Caymanian politics so clearly and concisely. I only hope enough people read your commentary so that it makes a difference in the next election. I don’t care which party you choose, but choose them based on the policie they stand for and what they will do for the country. Well done, Polly!
I second that!!
“DICTATOR” only apply to McKeeva Bush – Not Alden Mclaughlin! he is not a good man! Alden is PPM and is therfore a god man who will never dictate his policies!
famous last words,hahahahahahaha.
Excellent piece! We need much more sensible education like this.
Partry principles and policies are only any good if they are actually upheld – consistently. Unfortunately, in both parties there are too many personalities who put self before principle, policies and country in general. It would be nice if voters could (as the author suggest) vote based on the parties’ principles andpolicies but the experience of the past has shown that at the end this all doesn’t seem to matter as both parties have forgotten very quickly what has been promised during the campaign. Elected respresentatives who were previously approachable by the general public became arrogant and experts on all kind of subject over night.
The problem in Cayman is not party politics – it is that there are only two parties. The next government is therefore not forced to actually work together towards the common good of the country, and instead run their inflated egos to terr down what has been done by the previous government, just to prove a point. Until the general election process changes significantly and there are more parties to chose from and therefore a better “mix” is elected, I am afraid nothing will change.
If the Party is called LIBERTARIAN, MARXIST, SOCIALIST, DEMOCRAT, REPUBLICAN, or some name like that… you would know what they stand for! But names like UDP and PPM are COVERINGS to hide the leaders political agenda. And what really bothers me is that the people seem to be drinking their cup of tea.
Party system in Cayman is not a good thing as no one really works for the betterment of the Island, just what their party stand for. A good politician stands up for doing the right thing for his country and his constituents, voting their conscience in the right way, not being bullied to do what will be detrimental to his country. What I see here is that these so called politicians will only vote on what their party bring forward be it good or bad.
The PPM is no better than the UDP for that matter, they are all bullys with huge EGOS.
The one thing that I would love to see an end to, is the way that the nominees throw money, appliances ETC around. I have made a pledge that I will not VOTE for any one in 2013 that tries to bribe me. So I guess that I wont be voting at all. This little Island have gone to the dogs and there is not enough bones out there to satisfy them.