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Country Report Curaçao 2nd Quarter 2017
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HTMLUpdate Country Report Curaçao 08 May 2017
Curaçao forms governing coalition
Event
On May 1st three of Curaçao's political parties agreed to create a coalition, allowing them to form a government following a general election on April 28th. The government will be led by the Partido Alternativa Real (PAR), the largest single party in parliament.
Analysis
The PAR has agreed to form a coalition with the Partido MAN and the Partido Inovashon Nashonal (PIN). The PAR has six seats in the 21-seat legislature, while the Partido MAN and the PIN hold five seats and one seat respectively. The combined tally of 12 seats gives the new coalition a sufficient majority to form a government.
Curaçao's new prime minister will be the PAR leader, Eugene Rhuggenaath. Mr Rhuggenaath previously served as minister for economic development in the short-lived administration of the Partido MAN leader, Hensley Koeiman, which collapsed only seven weeks after forming a government following a general election in October 2016. Co-operation between the two party leaders in the Koeiman administration will form the basis for co-operation in the incoming government.
According to the agreement between the three parties, the PAR and the Partido MAN will both have four ministries and the PIN will have one. Among other portfolios, the PAR will manage oil, education, transport and justice. The Partido MAN will oversee finance, economic development, welfare, planning and policy, while the PIN will take on the health and environment ministries.
Given previous co-operation, the PAR and the Partido MAN are likely to function well as a coalition government. However, the opposition Movementu Futuro Kòrsou, led by the former prime minister, Gerrit Schotte (2010-12), will undoubtedly prove a belligerent opposition.
Impact on the forecast
The new government has a relatively strong mandate and will now move to push ahead with its legislative agenda, which is likely to be similar to that proposed by the Koeiman administration. A key economic priority will be pushing ahead with the refurbishment and upgrade of the Isla oil refinery.