NEW PM GIVES FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE, BEGINS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 001127

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SOCI ASEC HA
SUBJECT: NEW PM GIVES FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE, BEGINS
NEGOTIATIONS ON CABINET

REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 1093

B. 07 PORT AU PRINCE 1678

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Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Thomas C. Tighe for reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).


1. (C) Summary: In her first press conference as Prime
Minister, Michele Pierre-Louis broadly outlined her goals for
the next government, which include addressing problems of
national production, health, education and security, and
moving quickly to attend to the high cost of living, delayed
Senate elections, and the national budget. Pierre-Louis and
President Preval also met with political parties to begin
negotiating the composition of her cabinet. The parties are
using their draft ''governability pact'' as a jumping-off
point for the negotiations, though Preval has reportedly
vowed he will never sign on to the pact itself. Meanwhile,
outgoing Prime Minister Alexis officially took control of the
Lespwa Platform, placing him in a position to engage in the
negotiations between the new PM and political parties.
Though the process of forming a cabinet and presenting a
general government platform could still take several weeks,
Embassy believes Pierre-Louis' immediate move to negotiate
with parties and communicate with the public is a positive
sign. End summary.

Pierre-Louis Gives First Press Conference
--------------


2. (U) While the Alexis government continued liquidating
current affairs, newly ratified Prime Minister Michele
Pierre-Louis on August 5 gave her first official press
conference. Pierre-Louis broadly outlined her goals for her
government, emphasizing compromise and cohesiveness
throughout. The major themes she plans to address in her
general policy are national production, infrastructure,
tourism, energy, education, health, justice and security,
regional development, and unemployment. She listed as
immediate priorities preparations for the reopening of
schools in September, a time when many families feel
additional financial pressure; finishing the national budget,
as the fiscal year ends September 30; launching elections for
one-third of the Senate; and addressing the high cost of
living. Pierre-Louis cited the need for her government to
have a ''plan of action'' that will achieve results, and
promised to that end a ''roadmap'' for each government
ministry. She said she will form her declaration of general
policies based on broad consultations to reflect the concerns
of multiple sectors. However, she stated she could not at
present set a date for her presentation of policies before
Parliament.


3. (U) Pierre-Louis also touched on the status of her and
Preval's negotiations with political parties over the
composition of her cabinet. She said negotiations ''will
take some time'' but that she and the President are open to a
compromise that permits government cohesion. She
specifically mentioned the importance of maintaining a good
relationship with Parliament.


4. (C) Haitian business leader George Sassine (protect) told
Econoff August 5 that the press conference was ''great'' and
that Pierre-Louis had astutely pointed out that the very
political parties that are fighting for a place in the
government are also destabilizing the government through
their bargaining for cabinet posts. Chamber of Deputies
President Eric Jean-Jacques (Lespwa, Tabarre/West) publicly
urged Pierre-Louis to present her policies as soon as
possible so the government could move forward with addressing
urgent issues.

PM, President Meet Political Parties
--------------


5. (C) President Preval and PM Pierre-Louis met on August 4
with leaders of Haiti's major political parties to discuss
the composition of Pierre-Louis' cabinet and the contents of
her general platform. The initial focus is on the division
of ministries between political parties and the method for

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doing so. (Note: There are 19 parties represented in
Parliament and only 18 government ministries, so not every
political party can participate. Major parties vying for
positions include OPL (Struggling People's Organization),
Fusion, LAAA (Artibonite in Action),Alyans, Union, Fanmi
Lavalas, and the President's own Lespwa Platform. End note.)
OPL President Edgard Leblanc stated OPL would like to retain
OPL loyalist Paul Antoine Bien-Aime as Minister of Education.
Union currently holds the Ministry of Environment, and
leader Chavanne Jeune has said he would like to maintain that
post. Evans Paul, leader of Alyans, has said he does not/not
want Alyans to keep the Ministry of Commerce. Fusion
spokesperson Micha Gaillard denied Fusion is set on keeping
the Ministry of Health under Fusion leadership. Instead,
Fusion will submit to the President a variety of candidates
for ministerial posts. The process has led to some confusion
as to who officially speaks for the parties. For instance,
Fanmi Lavalas Senator Rudy Heriveaux (West Department) is
participating in the meetings as the representative of
Lavalas, but other members of his party do not all agree he
should be their representative.


6. (SBU) Political parties are using their ''Governability
Pact,'' a proposed protocol between the parties, the PM and
the President, as a point of departure in negotiations.
Primarily drafted by the leadership of Fusion with input from
other major parties, the pact calls for ''equitable
participation'' of political parties in the government, in
proportion to their representation in Parliament. It
emphasizes government solidarity and cohesion as
prerequisites for stability and progress, and also outlines
three major policy objectives. The first is the
strengthening of state institutions, including increasing the
professionalism of the HNP, creating a ''new national defense
force,'' and reinforcing Parliament, the judicial system,
decentralized state structures and the electoral council.
The second theme is strengthening democracy and rule of law,
to include instituting dialogue as a means of conflict
resolution, developing of a 25-year plan, strengthening
political parties, and creating consensus around amending the
constitution. Lastly, the pact calls for socio-economic
reform to revive national production, improve irrigation,
increase access to basic education and health care, protect
the environment and lower the cost of living though food
rations or subsidies.


7. (C) Fusion spokesperson Micha Gaillard told Poloff August
6 that the August 4 meeting ''ended badly.'' He said Preval
criticized the parties' ''Governability Pact'' and vowed he
would not sign it. According to Gaillard, the President
reprimanded two parties in particular )- OPL and Fusion )-
for sowing political instability. Gaillard said he doubted
the President would facilitate Pierre-Louis' task of forming
a government. Fusion is not concerned about the government's
major policy priorities, as Pierre-Louis' ideas mesh with
their own. However, they are highly concerned about creating
a government team that is equitable as well as unified and
effective. Gaillard said the parties had not spoken with the
President or PM about specific cabinet posts.

Ex-PM Alexis New Leader of Lespwa
--------------


8. (U) An assembly of Leswpa leaders met August 2 and
elected former PM Jacques-Edouard Alexis national coordinator
of the platform. (Note: President Preval was elected under
the Lespwa banner in 2006. It remains a ''political
platform'' composed of two regional political parties and two
rural organizations, rather than a standard political party.
See ref B.) Outgoing Minister of Haitians Living Abroad Jean
Geneus, outgoing Minister for Parliamentary Relations Joseph
Jasmin, and Senator Joseph Lambert (Southeast Department)
will also be part of the new Lespwa leadership council. As
the formal leader of Lespwa, Alexis is now potentially in a
position to negotiate with PM Pierre-Louis and President
Preval over Lespwa's share of cabinet posts.


9. (C) Comment: Pierre-Louis seems to have made a good
first impression, immediately speaking to the public about

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her plans for the new government. She faces enormous
challenges in the wake of nearly four months of a caretaker
government, coupled with mounting fuel and food prices. The
policies Pierre-Louis laid out and those described by the
political parties are not, on the surface, incompatible.
Negotiations over cabinet posts, however, are highly
sensitive and could be time consuming. Some of the political
parties tend to mistrust Preval and are quick to criticize,
and though they claim to seek solidarity with the government
for the good of Haiti, there always appears an element of
self-interest at work. Alexis' continuing presence on the
scene adds another uncertain element to the mix.
MOORE