By Alex Rosaria
On some political lists – though not all – that participated in the (pre)elections, there were new and promising candidates who, however, did not receive the necessary support from the electorate. What is also notable is that many of them appeared on the list without the necessary knowledge of our governance structure, political history, laws, principles of debate, oral skills, and even familiarity with our national anthem.
Those who know understand that finding quality candidates (excluding those who are opportunistic) is a difficult task.
It is unfortunate when these promising individuals get lost in the political maze. Many times, parties have little “support structures” to stimulate and encourage candidates with potential to improve themselves after the elections, which results in them simply becoming political contenders. Next time, parties rush to find new people instead of retaining their promising candidates.
It would be beneficial to work on a structure to educate and upgrade promising candidates – not only on legal and governmental aspects but also on political history, ideology, and oral and debate skills.
I quote Jossy Henriquez, President of the Colonial Council before the Estates convened in 1938: … realizing that the quality of the people who must manage the structure is the most important aspect of our democracy. After 90 years, we still have not realized this.
~ Alex David Rosaria (53) is a freelance consultant active in Asia & the Pacific. He is a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Economic Affairs, State Secretary of Finance and UN Implementation Officer in Africa and Central America. He is from Curaçao and has an MBA from University of Iowa (USA). ~
