According to information received by The Daily Herald, the three MPs reportedly are to join forces with opposition United People's (UP) party to form a new eight-seat government in the coming days. This will be a government supported by a one-seat majority.

 

A document outlining that the NA-led coalition had lost its majority was delivered to Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams (DP) on Sunday evening bearing the signatures of the MPs who had withdrawn their support. A letter of willingness to form a new government is expected to be submitted today, Monday. Notification also will be sent to Governor Eugene Holiday.

 

All parties involved in the negotiations have been very tight-lipped about the proceedings. Phone calls to UP and DP representatives and to Laville have gone unanswered, leaving the public to wonder about the details of the agreements they have made.

 

However, indications are that Heyliger will go to Parliament and a "semi-professional" cabinet will be appointed to continue the affairs of the country in the lead-up to general elections next year.

 

To keep this latest coalition stable, indications are that Laville will resign from Parliament to become a minister, possibly of tourism and economic affairs. His resignation will create the possibility for Heyliger to return to Parliament.

 

Laville was allotted his parliamentary seat as an UP member and with his resignation the seat will go to the next highest vote-getter on the party's slate who is not already serving in Parliament. In this case, that person is Heyliger, who was the highest overall vote-getter in the September 2010 elections.

 

The break in the coalition reportedly is based on the dissatisfaction of DP parliamentarians and Laville with the way issues have been dealt with in the coalition. In Laville's case, it is said that matters he wanted addressed were not addressed as quickly as he would have liked. This is similar to the reasons he broke with the first coalition.

 

There already were strong indications of trouble in the coalition in mid-April when DP parliamentarians indicated during the budget debate that they were not in support of several motions tabled by coalition members due to financial implications. One motion that stood out was, ironically, one presented by Laville that gave support in principle to the planned US $100 million Justice Park in Cay Hill.

 

Whether Wescot-Williams will remain prime minister or opt to go to Parliament, replacing either De Weever or Roy Marlin, is not yet known. If she stays on as prime minister, this will be the Wescot-Williams Cabinet III.

 

This shakeup will produce the third coalition government for St. Maarten since it became a country on October 10, 2010. It will see members of the first UP-led coalition join forces again, with the exception of independent MP Patrick Illidge.

 

In that first coalition, Laville was a member of UP until he pulled his support and went independent during Carnival last year. That government change is commonly referred to as the "Carnival Coup."

 

Wescot-Williams apparently gave NA leader William Marlin news of the fall of government at the French side's annual Fish Day in Cul-de-Sac, leaving some to refer to the shakeup as the "Fish Day Coup."

 

Sunday's development will send the five NA parliamentarians – George Pantophlet, Louie Laveist, Hyacinth Richardson, Dr. Lloyd Richardson and President of Parliament Rodolphe Samuel – together with independent MPs Frans Richardson and Patrick Illidge to the opposition benches. It is likely that Samuel will be replaced as president of parliament.

 

There also will be changes to the composition of the executive branch of government. With NA going into the opposition, Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI/Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin, who is also the NA leader, no longer will have a place in the executive branch or in the legislative branch. This puts him in the same position as Heyliger a year ago when the UP/DP/Illidge coalition fell apart.

 

Marlin's seat in Parliament went to Samuel in May 2012 when Marlin resigned to become a minister. An MP, once sworn in, can leave office only by resignation or by being voted out in a general election. Therefore, for Marlin to return to Parliament, Samuel or another of the NA parliamentarians will have to resign.

 

Controversial Justice Minister Roland Duncan, Finance Minister Roland Tuitt, Education and Culture Minister Silveria Jacobs and Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Romeo Pantophlet also will be changed. Pantophlet was appointed jointly by Laville and Frans Richardson.

 

It is not certain whether Health and Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever (DP) will remain in his post. 

 

(The Daily Herald)

 

In the picture: Prime Minister Wescot-Williams having a discussion with Governor Holiday on Sunday evening