The birth of a new era
Louis-Constant Fleming is beginning to sound presidential and like a leader very much on the job and at work. We wish him and his Territorial and Executive Councils well as they seek to take St. Martin to its rendezvous with prosperity.
We wish them well as they run slightly ahead of their colleagues on the Dutch side of the island and try to rediscover themselves even as they grapple with their newly acquired greater autonomy, their long-denied authority and their new and far-reaching responsibilities within St. Martin’s new constitutional dispensation as a Collectivité d’Outre Mer.
While the jury is still out on the question of the efficacy or effectiveness of the new structures now being put in place to shore up their new constitutional status, the fact is that they have come from behind and have moved past St. Maarten in their quest for a new and more meaningful and sustainable structure.
In this regard, the French approach to constitutional reform seems to be much bolder and much more resolute than the Dutch approach. But it is now up to Fleming and his team to make the new arrangements work in the best interest of the people of St. Martin.
History and common sense dictate that if they are to succeed, as indeed history and common sense dictate that if the Dutch side is to succeed, jointly and severally the two governments must fashion and further enhance and keep alive programmes of meaningful cooperation.
It is against this backdrop that we welcome the news that the Executive Councils of the two sides are scheduled to meet on September 6 to chart their way forward.
Louis-Constant seems to have come to the party brimming with ideas matched by a seemingly contagious brand of enthusiasm. We like what we have been hearing from him and we look forward to a new era in relations between the two sides – relations that pay due regard to the principles of the Treaty of Concordia.
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