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WILLEMSTAD, Curacao -- Three political parties in Curacao, Pueblo Soberano, MFK and MAN, have indicated a willingness to form a new coalition government, just as they have in recent years, and have signed an agreement to this effect.following last Friday’s elections. There are also candidate ministers now ready to be screened.

These are:

Ivar Asjes – Prime Minister
Terry Hernandez – Minister of Finance
Elmer Wilsoe – Minister of Justice
Nasser el Hakim – Minister of Economic Development and Tourism
Jacintha Scoop-Constancia – Minister of Public Health and Environment
Charles Cooper – Minister of Traffic, Transportation and Urban Planning
Hensley Koeiman – Minister of Labor and Social Affairs
Carlos Monk – Minister of Education
Caryl Monte – Plenipotentiary Minister in the Netherlands

It is also proposed to appoint former Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte as president of Parliament.

These are all proposals at this stage and it is still left to be seen which of these candidate ministers will pass the screening process and form part of the government.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands Kingdom Relations minister, Liesbeth Spies, said she finds it too far to conclude that the elections in Curacao proved that the population wants independence from the Netherlands.

The demand for independence was in itself not a dominant theme in the election campaign. However, the political party Pueblo Soberano, which is fighting for an independent Curacao, ended up as the largest party in last week’s polls.

Spies spoke on Thursday in the Netherlands Parliament during a debate regarding the Dutch Antilles and stressed that it is up to Curacao itself to make the choice through a referendum.

Spies said she awaits developments, and will then work with the new government.

However, the Lower Chamber of the Dutch Parliament is very concerned about the likelihood of good cooperation with Curacao politicians. In recent years, Curacao politicians have sometimes been uncooperative towards the Netherlands and have made a financial mess out of the island’s economy.

When new relationships within the kingdom were created in 2010, the Netherlands helped Curacao with its financial problems by taking over nearly 2 billion euro of debt. Since then the island has, yet again, produced a large budget deficit. Now, the Lower Chamber is insisting that Curacao puts things in order and adheres to the agreements with the Netherlands.

Republished with permission of the Curacao Chronicle

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