PM ALEXIS SAFE FOR NOW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000715

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV HA
SUBJECT: PM ALEXIS SAFE FOR NOW

REF: A. PAP 609

B. 06 PAP 2387

C. PAP 577

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Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).


1. (C) Summary: Following President Preval's intervention
with legislators on Prime Minister Jacques Edward Alexis'
behalf and an intense round of discussions among Haitian
political leaders during the first week of April,
parliamentary leaders are voicing their support for stability
and have dropped efforts to remove the PM by a vote of no
confidence. The PM on April 12 told the Ambassador that he
had Preval's full support and felt secure in his position,
the government planned to replace some ministers, the
presidents of the senate and chamber of deputies separately
confirmed to the Ambassador that majorities in both houses
believed that stability in the executive at present was more
important than removing the PM. President Preval was slow
off the mark in stepping in to defend his PM, but once he
made his position clear the movement against Alexis appeared
to quickly crumble. End Summary.

PM Feeling Secure
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2. (C) The PM on April 12 discussed his standing with the
Ambassador on the margins of a reception at her residence.
The PM related that he met earlier in the week with President
Preval, who had reaffirmed his support, and was also pleased
with Preval's previous direct intervention with key
parliamentarians (reftel A). The PM, in a decidedly upbeat
mood, felt there was no immediate danger of a vote of no
confidence in either house. He acknowledged, however, that
some parliamentary criticism was warranted and that the
government was considering the replacement of a limited
number of ministers to improve the cabinet's performance. He
also admitted that the government had been ineffective in
communicating its accomplishments to the public, and that he
himself had made mistakes in dealing with the parliament. He
was looking to hire a spokesperson to help him in that
regard.

Stability First, Lambert Asserts
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3. (SBU) Senate President Joseph Lambert, in an April 11
meeting with the Ambassador and three other senators in his
office, stated that stability within the GoH was his first
priority, and that the rest of the parliament will also
eventually take the same position. He presumed that this was
also the view of the international community. Lambert
weighed the following events in assessing the government's
performance: the pledging conference in July 2006; the
presentation and publication of the budget in September 2006;
and the government's reaction to gang activity and subsequent
improvement in security in early 2007. These were
significant steps, and parliament must allow the government
to build on these accomplishments. However, a cabinet-level
shuffle and/or summons of the PM to account for government
performance before parliament are not out of the question.

PM is Safe, Jean Jacques confirms
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4. (SBU) Chamber of Deputies President Eric-Pierre Jean
Jacques reaffirmed to the Ambassador on April 13 that PM
Alexis was safe. In a meeting at her residence, he recounted
that the lower house's dissatisfaction with the Prime
Minister had "heated up" over the past weeks, but that a
majority now recognized the need to preserve the "momentum"
from which the country currently benefits. He reminded the
Ambassador that the chamber is inexperienced, but
demonstrating more responsibility as its term progresses.
Jean Jacques added to the criticism, however, of the
communication between the PM's office and the legislature.
Despite the initiative the PM took in creating a minister for
parliamentary relations, communication between the two
institutions has been nonexistent.


5. (SBU) The Ambassador asked Jean Jacques whether the
government's reported halt of paying bribes to legislators

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contributed to parliament's dissatisfaction with the Prime
Minister. Jean Jacques readily agreed this was the case,
stating that it will be hard for some to accept that politics
in Haiti are changing. To facilitate this "divorce from
politics as usual," Jean Jacques opined, the USG should
include the deputies in their development programs, building
police commissariats and schools via coordination with the
deputies.


6. (SBU) Party leaders from the OPL (Struggling Peoples'
Party) met with Ambassador on April 11 to discuss the
political situation. According to OPL Deputy Director (and
former Presidential candidate) Paul Denis, the OPL
understands the need for stable institutions in Haiti and did
not want to create a situation that could easily spiral out
of control. While the OPL disapproved of Alexis, it was not
pushing for a vote of no confidence and amenable to
"compromise" with the government to ease the strains between
Alexis and the parliament. Nonetheless, Denis offered sharp
criticism of Alexis. The PM has failed in his task to unite
the government. He has proposed no solutions to Haiti's
myriad problems, nor has he facilitated coordination amongst
the different government ministries.

Comment
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7. (C) The movement against Alexis in parliament first came
to a head in November-December, 2006, when public
dissatisfaction with the government's response to kidnapping
and other gang activity reached its peak. At the time (as
reported in reftel B) Preval weighed in early on Alexis'
behalf, and the lack of a clear alternative as PM eventually
quelled serious thought of a vote of no confidence. Since
then, with the government (and MINUSTAH) boasting significant
accomplishments regarding security, anti-Alexis sentiment has
re-emerged focused on Alexis' own perceived poor performance
and his failure to communicate with the parliament and the
public at large. While some of that sentiment reflects
parochial self-interest of various parliamentarians, the
constant refrain regarding Alexis' arrogance and his failure
to communicate reflects legitimate concerns regarding his
leadership, and Preval may well have thought seriously before
again intervening to save his PM. Fortunately, having
approached the brink of a vote of no confidence against
Alexis, Preval and Haiti's political leaders appear to have
recognized that removing Alexis at this point, with no ready
alternative at hand, would have created more problems than it
solved. We hope that Alexis' comments to the Ambassador were
sincere and that he has drawn lessons from this episode and
resolves to constructively respond to his critics.
SANDERSON