It is most likely that Dr Kenny Anthony and his St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) went into the campaign for St Lucia’s general elections, held last week, with a perception that there was little to offer the electorate. For the former prime minister obviously and immediately found himself, in the face of the country’s recognized economic difficulties, having to defend the burdensome economic pronouncements which he has felt constrained to make over the period since the last elections of November 2011.
His efforts to explain his government’s implementation of a Value Added Tax (VAT) in 2012 seemed, then, to represent a hope that an attempt at rationalization and stabilisation of the tax system would provide an assurance of consistency and stability in the imposition of taxation and, at least, consistency in government revenue, that the population would accept.
But this seeming solution, the persistent advice of the international and regional financial institutions, did not match Dr Anthony’s expectation that the people would, by the end of the five-year post-2011 period of government’s tenure, accept his policy in the sense of at least establishing a consistency and stability in taxation policy.
The assumption of the leadership of the United Workers Party (UWP) by Mr Allan Chastanet, who replaced former Prime Minister Stephenson King (successor to Sir John Compton) described as lethargic, was probably not expected by Dr Anthony and the SLP. But Chastanet rapidly seemed to ignore suggestions that the party would not be able to heal a split provoked by King’s subsequent apparent non-acceptance of a role in the UWP; and, as time went on, Chastanet’s policy of ignoring King’s protestations while seeking to draw in the former leader’s supporters, eventually prevailed.
In that context, Chastanet was able to go the polls, called four months before the due date, with a relatively unified UWP, and appealing to the party’s supporters to focus on the new unity attained as a situation which Sir John Compton, still a substantial icon of the party, would have desired.
To that extent, it would appear, the leadership of the SLP seems to have been caught napping, as the new UWP leader felt free to focus on what many saw as the potential Achilles heel of the SLP, this being the persistent relative stagnation of the economy. Increasing concern was expressed not only by UWP supporters, but by the general public, many in the population expressing the view in a vernacular refrain to the effect that “nothing not running” (a sentiment that there was insufficient work because of insufficient government economic activity, and insubstantial private sector activity, with the consequence of no income for the masses).
For indeed, up to the date of the calling of general elections, the government still felt constrained to focus on the challenge which it had been facing, in particular that of little growth in the economy, with high debt servicing obligations on the government’s account being a substantial burden on revenue.
Perhaps the best indication of the government’s perception that it was impelled to raise a consistent level of revenue was the introduction in 2012 of a Value Added Tax (VAT), initially seen by segments of the population as an imposition, especially as, by definition, it did not discriminate between persons with different levels of income.
Government’s persistent attempts to assure the public that the tax represented a rationalization of government’s levies on purchases of goods did not seem to be successful. And this was spectacularly indicated when opposition UWP leader Chastanet proposed to find alternative avenues for raising revenue; a position which, having seemed to find a certain level of public approval, became a matter of public contention with government constantly on the defensive before and throughout the electoral campaign.
Government and Dr Anthony’s (as Minister of Finance) position in that context, seemed to weaken as the campaign progressed, for the Prime Minister’s challenge to Chastanet to indicate the means by which alternative revenue could be raised did not seem to find a resonance in the electorate. Indeed, on the contrary, Chastanet’s VAT stratagem seemed to have provided a way of attracting possible dissidents back to the UWP as the election drew near, and as they found themselves in a situation of having entered the campaign period still unhappy with their leader.
What now appeared to be a successful call for the abolition of VAT, also seemed to provide a consolidated support base for his leadership.
Dr Anthony’s immediate announcement as the election results became evident that he would not wish to be Leader of the Opposition in the St Lucia parliament, or seek the leadership of the St Lucia Labour Party, now creates a pause in the SLP’s focus on the immediate post-election period in terms of the new government’s performance. But it would seem to give Prime Minister Chastanet an opening for consolidation of his new position.
In addition, evident in the SLP’s post-election position is a reduction in its overall electoral support that it hardly anticipated, with most of the elected members, including the core leadership below Dr Anthony over the last ten years, now perceived as having been demonstrated not to have the traditional level of electoral support of their individual constituency electorates.
From the perspective of leadership at the regional level, the positive perception of Dr Anthony as consistently capable of contributing to regional discussions and solutions, seems not matched by any of the UWP political stalwarts now summoned to leadership of the country (though former Prime Minister Stephenson King has been re-elected to the parliament). But there is some perception that Mr Chastanet has, over the years, gained some substantial connection with persons now prominent in, or near to, Jamaica Labour Party politics and government, given what has been a seeming presence of that party during the St Lucia election campaign.
The economics of these times seem to have taken Dr Anthony and his SLP to defeat. No doubt St Lucians will be anxiously waiting to see whether that economic challenge will be met over the next five years, and whether solutions alternative to Dr Anthony’s, as approved by the international financial institutions, will be found by Prime Minister Chastanet’s government.
