COMMENTARY | DP Statia says it does the work. Voters deserve to see it.

The leader of the Democratic Party of St. Eustatius, Raquel Spanner-Carty, has taken issue with a recent observation by The BES-Reporter that St. Eustatius “appears to lack an effective political opposition.” She is, of course, fully entitled to challenge that assessment.

What is less convincing is her suggestion that the observation demonstrates bias, a lack of understanding or a tendency by The BES-Reporter to present only the side of a story that “suits your narrative.”

Those are serious accusations to make about a news organization. They also conveniently divert attention from the question that prompted the observation in the first place: what exactly is the opposition on St. Eustatius doing to scrutinize the government?

The BES-Reporter would genuinely welcome examples.

We cannot recall the last press statement we received from the Democratic Party critically addressing an issue of government policy. Nor can we readily recall a recent occasion on which the DP publicly submitted a substantial set of written questions about decisions or actions of the Executive Council.

Perhaps there are examples we have missed. If so, the DP is welcome to provide them, and we will happily acknowledge them.

But that is precisely the point. An opposition party should not be invisible when important questions arise.

Opposition does not mean obstruction

Spanner-Carty argues that the role of an opposition also includes contributing to democratic stability, representing people, offering different viewpoints and putting the public interest first.

On that, there is little disagreement.

An effective opposition does not have to shout. It does not have to oppose every proposal simply because it comes from government. It certainly does not have to sabotage an Executive Council or manufacture political crises for entertainment.

But neither should “stability” become a euphemism for avoiding scrutiny.

The institutional structure of the Caribbean Netherlands is quite clear. The Executive Council conducts the daily administration of the Public Entity. The Island Council has its own legislative, budgetary and representative responsibilities and, crucially, provides democratic scrutiny of that administration. The Executive Council and its individual members are accountable to the Island Council and are required to provide information requested by its members.

In other words, asking difficult questions is not evidence of political instability. It is part of how democratic accountability is supposed to work.

Look across the water to Saba

One does not have to look far for an example.

On Saba, the Party for Progress, Equality and Prosperity (PEP) regularly uses written questions to seek information from the Executive Council on matters affecting the island.

That does not mean PEP is always right, nor that the Saba government is always wrong. It means elected representatives are using the instruments available to them to obtain information and require government to explain its decisions.

Recently, PEP submitted extensive questions about Saba’s goat control program, including its costs, contracts, results and future. Those questions produced a detailed government response showing, among other things, that more than $2.6 million had been allocated to the project and thousands of goats had been removed.

That is useful democratic scrutiny. The questions themselves produced information that the public could then assess.

Opposition is not measured by volume. It is measured, among other things, by whether elected representatives critically examine government policy, demand information and make government explain itself.

Plenty to ask about on Statia

St. Eustatius has hardly been short of subjects deserving questions.

There have been major infrastructure projects, government expenditure, environmental issues and questions about public administration. The recent oil spill at GTI alone should provide elected representatives with ample reason to establish what happened, what went wrong, what the consequences were and what measures followed.

And now questions have arisen within the hospitality sector about the government’s use of Orange Bay Hotel to accommodate Ballast Nedam workers.

BES-Reporter did not report that the government had acted illegally. In fact, our article explicitly stated that we had not independently established that the hotel lacked required permits or approvals. We reported concerns raised within the sector and submitted questions to government about room tax, permits, food preparation, fire safety and the reasons for using government accommodation while commercial hotel capacity is reportedly available. Government has said it needs a week to answer those questions.

That is not taking sides. That is journalism.

If government’s answers establish that everything has been handled correctly, BES-Reporter will report that too.

The press is not the opposition

There is also an important distinction worth making. The press should not become a substitute for political opposition.

Journalists and elected representatives have different roles. BES-Reporter requests documents, speaks to sources, raises questions and asks public authorities to explain their actions. Island Council members possess democratic powers and responsibilities that journalists do not.

When journalists repeatedly find themselves asking basic accountability questions that one might reasonably also expect elected opposition representatives to ask, however, it is legitimate to wonder why those questions are apparently not coming from the political opposition.

Spanner-Carty is therefore welcome to scrutinize The BES-Reporter. The press should be open to criticism, just as government should be.

But scrutiny works both ways.

Rather than suggesting without evidence that critical reporting is driven by a political narrative — or dismissing criticism of the opposition as shallow — the DP might provide a more persuasive answer by showing the public how it has actually held the Executive Council to account.

Which policies has it challenged? Which documents has it requested? Which written questions has it submitted? Which government decisions has it investigated? Where has it demanded answers on behalf of residents?

If there is a substantial record, publish it. We will report it.

Because an effective opposition is not defined by how fiercely it attacks government, and certainly not by how much noise it makes.

It is defined by whether it does the work.

And asking questions is a very good place to start.