(C-AL9-01941) LEADERSHIP PROFILE: BARBADOS PM

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000617

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR INRB XL
SUBJECT: (C-AL9-01941) LEADERSHIP PROFILE: BARBADOS PM
DAVID THOMPSON

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires D. Brent Hardt, reasons 1.4 (b,d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson is a bland but
competent leader who is maintaining his country's
long-standing tradition of political pragmatism and fiscal
responsibility. He is also committed to an independent
foreign policy of "moderation and commonsense." This
commitment, reflected in the oft quoted statement of
Barbados' first Prime Minister that it is "friends of all,
satellites of none," lends itself to a cautious, middle of
the road approach in international fora. But that same
fierce independence has also made Barbados an impressive
bulwark against attempts by Venezuela to encroach politically
on the CARICOM space. End Summary.

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Thompson's DLP: A Difference With Little Distinction
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2. (C) Following fourteen years of Barbados Labour Party
(BLP) rule, David Thompson's Democratic Labour Party (DLP)
won a landslide victory in January 2008, security 20 out of
30 parliamentary seats. As the island nation's sixt PM,
Thompson has led a generally compentent if uninspiring
cabinet that has piloted the country through rough economic
waters with reasonably good marks. The most distinctive
policy of Thompson's government has been its firm stance on
curbing -- and even reversing -- illegal immigration and his
party's desire to protect employment for Barbadians. In most
other issues, from macro-economics to security and law
enforcement to foreign relations, Thompson's DLP looks very
much like the previous government. This bi-partisan
continuity in domestic and foreign affairs has been one of
the bulwarks of Barbados' political stability and economic
growth.


3. (C) Regionally, Thompson has continued to pay lip service
to regional integration, though his government's policies
have reflected a cooler attitude toward regionalism. His
immigration policies have angered the "have-nots" in CARICOM,
notably Guyana, and have inspired copycat policies from
Antigua. The global economic downturn has led to an "every
man for himself" approach in which Thompson went to bat
passionately with the U.S. over Tax Haven legislation as it
pertained to Barbados, but with little regards for the impact
on CARICOM neighbors in a similar boat. Thompson's
government has had something of a rapprochement with Trinidad
following a souring of relations between the two countries
(largely because of personality clashes rather than
substantive differences, we are told).


4. (C) Barbados remains deeply suspicious of Venezuela and
wants no part of PetroCaribe or ALBA. Barbados has a running
conflict with Venezuela, tense at times, over a maritime
border dispute that has impinged upon Barbados' efforts to
sell oil and gas exploration rights on the seabed in what it
believes is part of its EEZ. Barbados, with among the
highest per capita GDPs in the hemisphere, does not need
Chavez's money and does not trust his motivations in the
region. While the "friends to all, satellites of none"
mantra has made Barbados an often difficult partner, in the
case of Venezuela it is making this island nation a stalwart
against Venezuelan political encroachment.


5. (C) Barbados, one of the first countries in the Caribbean
to recognize Cuba in 1972, has long enjoyed friendly
relations with the Castro regime under the mantra that Cuba
is part of the Caribbean. While Thompson and his Foreign
Ministry recognize Cuba,s democracy deficit and human right
shortcomings, they have never been willing to criticize Cuba
publicly. Thompson has sought to deepen ties with China,
making a week-long visit there in 2008. His Foreign Ministry
is also planning on expanding diplomatic representation to
include a resident Ambassador in China and Cuba, as well as a
non-resident Ambassador for Brazil.

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A Trustworthy, if Prickly, Ally
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6. (C) The U.S. has a strong, and strong-willed, friend in
Thompson and in his government. This was in evidence during
the 2009 Summit of the Americas, when Barbados hosted U.S.
military support aircraft and held a reception in honor of
the strong military-to-military relationship. He and his
government have been similarly forthcoming and cooperative on
a range of security issues, most recently serving as one of
the strongest supporters of our nascent Caribbean Basin

Security Initiative (CBSI) and routinely proving helpful to
NOAA in its mission to study hurricane impacts. At the same
time, Thompson continues Barbados' aversion to being seen as
too close a friend of the U.S. and has rebuffed appeals for
closer cooperation on UN human rights issues. More than any
other country in the Eastern Caribbean, Barbados can be
counted on to act from a clearly articulated sense of
pragmatic national interest devoid of ideology and
grandstanding.
HARDT