Back to the people
Emphasising that constitutional reform should lead to noticeable improvement in people’s daily lives, Dutch Minister of Kingdom Affairs Alexander Pechtold moved decisively to better the lot of the weakest in our society on the first day of his visit to St. Maarten yesterday. The public should take note.
In a refreshingly open and critical approach Pechthold left no room for further delay in bringing care of neglected children provided by two local foundations up to par. (See our reports on “Children’s homes” in this edition).
The underlying thought, he made clear, is that reforming constitutional relations must result in establishing equal basic standards within the Kingdom. We wholeheartedly agree. It should not be that the most vulnerable in one part of the Kingdom are worse off than in other parts. The same applies to educational opportunities offered the youngest generation. Pechtold suggested that the unique constellation of the Kingdom should be something to be proud of in all parts of the Dutch realm. On an earlier occasion during his visit he stressed that such pride would awaken if the same basic standards applied in every part of the Kingdom with regard to education, administration of justice, health care and a “roof above one’s head.”
This bold, visionary approach should bring down to earth the sterile constitutional talk focusing mostly on dates. The constitutional reform process offers a unique opportunity to put a better foundation under our respective societies. Pechtold’s appeal for broad involvement of the community on both sides of the ocean to help build such a foundation deserves full support. The time has come for a broad discussion on the basics of reform. The question is: who will take the initiative to give the reform process back to the people? This newspaper in any case offers once more its opinion pages to people to express their hopes and desires.
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