Talk earlier this week of the Kingdom Charter going “in the waste basket” by Dutch Member of Parliament (MP) André Bosman isn’t very helpful to efforts taking place in Curaçao and St. Maarten to give content to a relationship the majority of their voters have chosen to continue in two separate referenda each. If with every problem a bomb is put under the kingdom, that would be very demotivating for persons who are trying to make the best of it.
Bosman represents the VVD led by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, but that does not mean the entire party or government agrees with him. Coalition partner CDA’s Chris van Dam, for example, said, “You don’t get rid of family on a Tuesday afternoon.”
Incidentally, the Rutte cabinet just lost its majority support in the Second Chamber when a VVD faction member went independent, although he pledged to keep backing items from the governing programme. This once again illustrates that such a crisis can always occur in the kingdom’s parliamentary democracy system.
Political instability and especially some of the underlying reasons have certainly been a concern since St. Maarten gained country status per 10-10-10, as has the number of alleged – and in some cases proven – involvements in penal offences by parliamentarians over the years. Those kinds of transgressions are clearly being tackled and while that must indeed remain a priority, it does not justify dismissing all legislators as unreliable beforehand.
An interim cabinet with specific tasks given by the governor is being formed and elections are scheduled on January 9 for citizens to exercise their right to representation. Two new parties have registered, while three existing ones reapplied for their certification, indicating some movement within the field of candidates.
Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops rightly stated that the Netherlands cannot unilaterally abandon the charter. However, he does favour discussions on the future of the Kingdom and has invited the prime ministers of Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten to form a workgroup for such.
Talking can’t hurt, but one needs to tread very carefully when it comes to abandoning the 65-year-old charter, and to take into consideration almost four centuries of historic ties; the good, bad and all in between.
