Elections 2017 of the Collectivité: MVP between continuity and renewal
Alain Richardson took advantage of the inauguration at his campaign headquarters in Marigot on Tuesday, March 7 to present one by one the 25 men and women who make up the list of his political party “In the March towards Progress”. "I am very proud and very happy to have had the consent of men and women committed in the life of Saint Martin," he said in French, English, and Creole before continuing: "some people had already buried me but my strength and that of the party are these men and women." Elected in 2012 to the Presidency of the Collectivité following the victory of his former party, the RRR, he had been relieved of his duties in 2013 by the (French) State Council for having used a second account for his campaign (in dollars), then he was replaced by Aline Hanson. On the flags of the MVP, the red of the RRR is accompanied by white, which seems to symbolize, both continuity and renewal ambition.
At the inauguration of the headquarters of the MVP, which is none other than the former HQ of the RRR located at 1 rue Saint James, the running mates all sported a white shirt on which was embroidered in red the logo of the party. For this 2017 campaign, the assumed continuity of the RRR is expressed especially through the presence of the running mates that Alain Richardson described as “faithful”. The unconditional(s) who had already followed him in 2012 (and even some in 2007), such as Ramona Connor, current Vice-President of the Collectivité and number two of the list (for which he said “If she told me she wanted to stop politics I would have hesitated to run”) and of Alain Gros-Desormeaux, current Territorial Adviser, and number 3. Are also the two outgoing territorial advisors, Antero Santos (11) and José Vilier (13), as well as Sophie Jaboin (14) and Dr Lazare Noubou (21). But the team, with new faces, also seems to aim at the renewal, represented among others by Hervé Meunier (5), Director of the Princess Casino, and Ida Zin-Ka-leu (4), former Director of the Tourism Office, committed with Louis Constant Fleming in 2007 and 2012. As well as by young people such as Lucie Dormoy (20) or Guynaëlle Connor (22). “The role of this team is also to train young people to ensure the succession” has stated Alain Richardson.
If the “synopsis” of the MVP program was distributed at the end of this ceremony that opened and closed on a prayer, Alain Richardson has not developed his proposals for Saint Martin. There, he simply, yet in the continuity of the RRR, invited to the gathering: “the future of Saint Martin will depend on our ability to move forward together.” And to add: "I have no need for a career in politics, what drives us is the desire to serve Saint Martin and build a more harmonious society.” He then unveiled the products of the campaign (T-shirts, hats, flags and stickers) before recalling that an election is won by the number of votes and encourage activists to become “missionaries” to convince others to vote for the MVP team.
