ST. LUCIA'S NEW CABINET SPORTS FAMILIAR NAMES,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 001225 SIPDIS SIPDIS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ST XL SUBJECT: ST. LUCIA'S NEW CABINET SPORTS FAMILIAR NAMES, MISSING INFAMOUS ONES REF: A. 07 BRIDGETOWN 01168 ¶B. 07 BRIDGETOWN 000749 ¶C. 07 BRIDGETOWN 01021 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: On September 9, 2007, Prime Minister Stephenson King was sworn in as Prime Minister of St. Lucia, following Sir John Compton's death on September 7th. King appointed his new cabinet on September 12th but made few changes to his predecessor's cabinet. The new cabinet is most notable for the absence of the two former ministers who were on the losing end of a power struggle with the late Prime Minister earlier this summer. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On September 12th, newly appointed Prime Minister of St. Lucia Stephenson King announced his new cabinet. King's cabinet closely mirrors the late Sir John Compton's previous cabinet, at least as it looked following a power struggle within the United Worker's Party (UWP) earlier this summer (Ref B). The new cabinet appointments are as follows (noting key changes in parentheses): Stephenson King: Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, External Affairs, Home Affairs, and National Security Lenard Montoute: Minister for Social Transformation, Public Service, Human Resource Development, and Youth and Sports (added Public Service, relieved of Family Affairs) Dr. Keith Mondesir: Minister for Health Wellness, Family Affairs, National Mobilization, Human Services, and Gender Relations (added Heath Wellness and Family Affairs) Richard Fredrick: Minister for Physical Planning, Housing, Urban Renewal, and Local Government. Arsene Vigil James: Minister for Education and Culture. Ezechiel Joseph: Minister for Agriculture, Land, Fisheries and Forestry. Senator George Guy Mayers: Minister of Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Guy Eardly Joseph: Minister for Communications, Works, Transport and Public Utilities. Senator Allen Chastanet: Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation. Senator Ausbert d'Auvergne: Minister for Economic Affairs, Economic Planning, Investment and National Development (relieved of Public Service) Senator Gaspard Charlemagne: Minister in the Ministry of Education and Culture. Edmund Estephane: Minister for Labour, Information and Broadcasting (formerly Minister of Health) Senator Dr. Nicholas Frederick: Attorney General and Minister for Justice. Senator Charlotte Elizabeth Theresa Tessa Mangal: Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister (formerly Minister in the Ministry of Social Transformation, Human Services, Family Affairs, Youth & Sports- Responsible for Human Services and Family Affairs. Cosmos Richardson Cabinet Secretary Anthony Bryan Severin: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs ¶3. (U) Among the most interesting aspects of the minor changes to the Cabinet is the continued service of Ausbert d'Auvergne over such important ministries. Many of the UWP hate him and resent his power, but he obviously carries weight in the party (ref A). Perhaps the most notable aspect of the new cabinet, mentioned in most of the local press, is the continued exclusion of former Foreign Minister Rufus Bousquet and Marcus Nicholas from the party. Rumors abounded that Frederick, Bousquet, and Nicholas held considerable sway in the party, particularly given Frederick's financial BRIDGETOWN 00001225 002 OF 002 support of the other ministers. As such, many expected to see Bousquet return and d'Auvergne relieved of his responsibilities. The fact that this did not occur suggests that the King/d'Auvergne faction of Cabinet still holds more power. COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Although a smooth transition was made, the UWP administration is not out of the woods yet. A source close to Bousquet shared with PolOff that Bousquet may skip town and "lay around on the beach in Miami" because he is upset that he did not get a position. Marcus Nicholas also appears to be upset over not being returned to the cabinet, but has yet to clean his laundry publicly regarding his traffic arrest in April and the circumstances surrounding the subsequent dropping of all charges (Ref C). He stated publicly that he would explain everything soon. Potential mischief by these two MPs who were left out of cabinet could considerably weaken the strength of the new government. ¶5. (SBU) Although PM King has not yet made many changes, more are surely to come. The UWP will still have its party convention in October, which has the potential of shaking up the party leadership. Within 90 days of Sir John's death (September 7th, the government must hold a by-election for Sir John's seat (Micoud North). This could also introduce someone new into the cabinet. Also, King still has too many portfolios -- Finance, Ex Affairs, Home Affairs, National Security-- all of which are among the largest and most important portfolios, so it is likely he will have to relinquish some of these duties. When he does so, the internal power struggle among UWP leaders figures to influence the final composition of the cabinet. End Comment. FISHER