Barbados is at a crossroads. The Barbadoan political landscape is at a crossroads and it is up to the people of Barbados to choose the right path. However, choosing the right path is easier said than done because the democratic scales in this country are unbalanced.
The Barbados Labour Party is the ruling party. It has won the last two general elections by taking all of the constituency seats. Due to those comprehensive victories, one member of the ruling party decided to cross the floor to become the opposition. This has been the reality in Barbados since 2018 and it paints a grim picture of the unbalanced scales of democracy.
Democracy is not only about having an opposition or having multiple political parties. Democracy and I dare say a balanced democracy is about having a strong opposition and having strong political parties.
Unfortunately, we do not have a strong opposition and that is not because there is only one person. We do not have a strong opposition because the opposition party which the opposition leader represents has lost its way and it’s influence in Barbados.
Therefore, the scales of democracy in Barbados are unbalanced and that does not bode well for Barbadians at home and abroad. Right now we are riding a red wave but all waves must break on the shore and when that wave breaks we need a political party that can punch above its weight (that has the ability to manage the affairs of Barbados locally, regionally and internationally). That party is the Leadership Party, and in time we hope to earn the trust of all Barbadians.