By asking during this week's talks in The Hague for a procedure to come to full political independence for Curaçao, the new MFK/PS/MAN government is treading on thin ice. After all, voters have clearly rejected independence in two separate constitutional referenda held on the island, during which in both cases it was the choice with the least preference.
Moreover, a majority – be it a narrow one – already said "yes" to the current agreements for the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles and for Curaçao to become an autonomous country, during the most recent, third referendum in which independence was not even an option. Of course, the incoming coalition parties and/or politicians supported the losing "no" vote on that occasion, but this can never be a justifiable reason to go against the expressed wish of the people, certainly at this stage, with the new relations within the Dutch Kingdom to take effect on October 10.
The Executive Council sworn in on Saturday keeps saying it has no intention of endangering the almost-completed process of constitutional change, yet by instructing its delegation in the Netherlands to bring up new points of discussion the new coalition may be doing exactly that. MFK's Constitutional Affairs Commissioner Sheldry Osepa, when pressed by the opposition, admitted he would have to sign the final Round Table Conference (RTC) resolution confirming the current package even if there was no room to accommodate the wishes expressed in Saturday's Island Council decision, but the question then becomes what purpose the latter served.
The answer is obvious. The MFK (5 seats) led by Gerrit Schotte apparently prefers a coalition without PAR (8 seats) in which it is the biggest party and can deliver the first prime minister of country Curaçao, and thus opted for PS and MAN as its partners. This also meant something had to be done to appease especially the pro-independence PS in a such manner that its leader Helmin Wiels would not pull out of the proposed coalition as he had threatened up to Friday evening.
What the politicians involved in the coalition talks may not have taken into account sufficiently is the waning support for the changes within the Dutch political establishment and particularly the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, which still must approve the amended Kingdom Charter going into effect. The latter has become increasingly doubtful over the last few days and haggling over new wishes from any of the islands could certainly have an adverse effect.
There is in itself nothing wrong with the MFK/PS/MAN coalition seeing full independence as long-term objective, but to bring it up without consulting the population at a time when crucial decisions are being taken to execute what the people did choose is asking for trouble and raises the issue whether the voters of MFK and MAN, both of which did not campaign for independence, are really getting what they had expected and/or want.
