On Monday St. Maarten marks 13 years since attaining country status. Although it regards the anniversary of 10-10-10, then-Prime Minister William Marlin decided Constitution Day should be observed every second Monday of October.
He did so to avoid the kind of confusion that tends to occur when public holidays fall in the weekend, also seeing that Saturday is considered a work day by law; hence the “Sun- and holidays” phrase.
Around this time of year an often-heard question is whether people are better off with the new status. A proper answer is not so easily given.
For starters, the term “country” is relative when “within the Dutch Kingdom” is added, which is why “constitutional state” would be more accurate, according to local scholar Julio Romney. Some even suggest that the former Central Government of the dismantled Netherlands Antilles seated in Willemstad has basically been replaced by the Kingdom Council of Ministers in The Hague, so the degree to which a greater measure of autonomy was actually gained by the government in Philipsburg can be questioned.
There were external circumstances, most notably Hurricane Irma and the COVID-19 pandemic, with such a devastating socioeconomic impact that St. Maarten’s reliance on the Netherlands understandably grew. Like it or not, but that is a reality stemming from the need to survive.
The young country also struggled with a switch to the dualistic form of government with completely separated executive and legislative branches, while in the past half the commissioners had to be Island Council members. This change contributed to elections on average every two instead of four years, except for the current Jacobs Cabinet II that will become the first one to complete its full term.
There were other contributing factors to this political instability, including what some consider misuse of the possibility for a Council of Ministers having lost majority legislative support to dissolve Parliament and call early elections. One can add the so-called Lynch Law whereby candidates earn seats based on personal votes rather than their position on the party list.
However, it clearly also has to do with integrity, seeing that half a dozen Members of Parliament (MPs) were charged with and in some cases sentenced for irregularities since 10-10-10. There have been several convictions involving vote-buying too.
Despite all these problems, the tourism economy withstood both natural disasters and other crises fairly well. Major setbacks like the aforementioned may have temporarily stunted growth, but in general the population’s main livelihood increased both in size and opportunities.
To what extent that translates to true progress in light of the many social issues plaguing the island is a matter for debate, but generally speaking inhabitants should be able to benefit more from the many millions earned in the dominant hospitality industry. To put it plainly, they deserve a bigger piece of the pie.
