Journalist Bernadette Heiligers wrote an interesting letter to the editor in Curaçao that seems worth sharing with the public of St. Maarten. It was published by the Amigoe newspaper in Dutch under the heading “Election result is known,” so with the author’s indulgence The Daily Herald offers a free English translation:
“Polls are not necessary. Those who looked and listened well know who will win the upcoming elections.
“Our country has become like a children’s party. The naughtiest kid decides who plays what and the others follow willingly. The game gets rougher, rougher and rougher, until it ends in crying. Children go look for consolation with their parents, but as soon as the tears dry they run back to the rascal who threw them on the ground.
“Elections show that adults are no different. Wise guys win souls with honeysweet words. ‘I will raise your pension … I will lower the gasoline price … I’ll make salaries go up … I will hire you even if there is no work for you. Here is 100 guilders, vote for me.’
“The party can start. People are happy until they realise the party was paid for from their pockets and the wise guys have stolen all the presents.
“Reluctantly they seek consolation with leaders who tend to be trustworthy. These start disinfecting the wounds that the wise guys caused. But that hurts. Thus the people go crawling back to the wise guys and in the next election again give them the mandate to mess things up further. That’s just how many people like it,” she concluded.
Voters in Curaçao go to the polls on September 30 to choose a new Parliament while for St. Maarten it’s four days earlier. Whether the aforementioned can also be applied locally is up to readers to decide for themselves.
Source: Daily Herald
Decide for yourself
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