REUBEN T MEADE BACK AS PREMER IN MONTSERRAT

By Michael Jarvis, UK Correspondent

Reuben T Meade is back at the helm as the Premier of Montserrat.

Mr Meade led his newly formed United Alliance to victory in Montserrat general election on Thursday October 24th.

His party secured five of the nine seats in Montserrat’s Legislative Assembly, with three going to the previous opposition People’s Democratic Movement(PDM) and the other to the Movement for Change and Prosperity(MCAP) which formed the last government.

It was a particularly bad outcome for MCAP, Meade’s former party,  as it only held on to one seat, with former Premier and leader Easton Taylor-Farrell and his recently-anointed replacement as party leader Deputy Premier Dr Samuel Joseph both losing their seats.

Reuben Meade had led MCAP to victory in the 2009 election becoming Montserrat’s first named Premier under a new constitution introduced in 2010. However, MCAP lost the 2014 polls to PDM in 2014 with Meade quitting politics two years later.

He nevertheless was urged to campaign for MCAP in the 2019 election with his late intervention seen as securing them victory.

An acrimonious falling out with his former colleagues and what he said were calls from many people for his to return to active politics enticed him out of retirement this year.

He quickly assembled a mixed team of political first-timers including the rising star namesake son of former Chief Minister John Osborne(deceased), ex civil servants, was joined by two members of his former party MCAP (an elected member and the Public Relations Officer), and recently added a high profile Montserrat-born former Caricom Secretariat lawyer to his nine member roster.

Five of them won a place in the Assembly with Meade himself securing the third highest number of votes behind another United Alliance candidate Dr Ingrid Buffonge (second highest). Another Alliance candidate, rising star John Osborne Jr placed third. The top vote-winner was Crenston Buffonge, the only successful MCAP candidate and Minister for Agriculture in the last government.

Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony on Friday October 25th, the first public-attended and live-streamed swearing-in in Montserrat’s history (it’s normally held in the Governor’s Office), Mr Meade set the tone for his United Alliance government.

“We promise you to be a government for the people. YOUR government. You will never hear us saying MY government. It is YOUR government,” he declared.

Expressing pride and confidence in his fresh team, Mr Meade sporting his now trademark cornrow hair style, stated: “Part of my job is to continue training the team as they each continue their growth in their political life.”  That training entails rotating the role of Deputy Premier.

At the end of a gruelling campaign, Mr Meade’s United Alliance government is now expected to immediately start work on their main campaign policy priorities. These include improving air and sea transportation to the island - a perennial challenge for governments since the devastating eruption of the Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills volcano between 1995 and 2010. That caused extensive economic and population dislocation, and rendered two-thirds of the island out of bounds.

Montserrat has been struggling to rebuild since then with the once thriving island now the recipient of UK budgetary aid.

In addition to the slow pace of rebuilding the core infrastructure and stagnant economy, tensions have recently emerged over the manner in which some UK policies are being implemented. That was also key platform issue during the recent election campaign across the political spectrum.

Prior to the election being called, the Montserrat Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution called for constitutional reform, especially to roll back some of the powers of the British-appointed Governor.

Mr Meade who previously as Premier and Chief Minister of Montserrat was a leading figure in relations between the British government and the Overseas Territories is expected to reprise that role.