INSIDE GRENADA JANUARY 16, 2008 From Press Secretary (Office of the Prime Minister) Wednesday January 16th 2008, St. George’s: “David Thompson’s Democratic Labour Party (DLP) victory over Owen Arthur’s Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in the January 15th General Election in Barbados must first be seen as a triumph of the democratic process at work in that country”, Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell said early Wednesday morning when the election results were announced. Prime Minister Mitchell further elaborated on what he called the sanctity of the “democratic space” in the Caribbean. “The outcome of the Barbados General Election, like other similar elections in recent time, have once again demonstrated to the world the stability of our democratic space here in the Caribbean where we change governments relatively peacefully earning in the process the distinction of being one of the most stable and most peaceful regions of the globe”, said the Prime Minister. The Grenadian Prime Minister, in congratulating Mr. David Thompson on his landslide victory at the polls, noted the highly responsible manner in which the DLP conducted its campaign. “Not once throughout the entire election campaign did Mr. Thompson sought to destroy the good name of Barbados and to tarnish the development of the country under the BLP of Owen Arthur”, noted the Prime Minister. This fact, he said, means that even those Barbadians who love Owen Arthur and the BLP will have no need to fear David Thompson and the DLP. “There is a great deal of convergence in outlook between the two parties as to the direction the country should take in its growth and development path”, the Prime Minister asserted. “This consensus around the critical variables of development not only reflects a level of political maturity on the part of the Barbadian people, but will make for a vigorous and robust five years in the political life of Barbados because the country has two very well established political parties contending for the privilege to assume the mantle of national leadership.” The former CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister of the OECS country of Grenada, cautioned political parties in the region quickly drawing parallels with the Barbados election outcome. “David Thompson’s DLP winning a landslide victory over Owen Arthur’s BLP doesn’t automatically translate to mean that the same will happen in other countries of the region where opposition parties are seeking to overturn incumbent governments. Politics doesn’t work like that. Thompson will now become the sixth Prime Minister of Barbados since Independence in 1966 after more than fourteen years in patient preparation which did not see him or his party recklessly lusting for power at the expense of the good name of Barbados”. The Grenadian Prime Minister, on behalf of the Government and People of Grenada, wish the new DLP Administration in Barbados every success throughout its term in office and said he looked forward to working with the new Prime Minister in the various CARICOM forums.