GREAT BAY--Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling said she is under no illusion about the political and personal resistance that comes with her position, acknowledging during the 2026 Budget debate that she has already been attacked as both a person and a minister, expects more to come, and has no intention of backing away from the work she believes St. Maarten needs.
Tackling’s remarks came in response to MP Francisco Lacroes, who asked whether she was satisfied with the way things are going in the country, whether she believed St. Maarten was moving in the right direction and what she intended to do about the problems that remain.
Her answer was immediate: No.
The Minister pointed to the reality facing residents every day, including higher gasoline prices, rising utility bills, expensive groceries, unaffordable housing and pensioners trying to survive on limited incomes. She also acknowledged deteriorating infrastructure, schools in need of repairs and a Justice Ministry that has struggled with years of underfunding.
At the same time, Tackling stressed that the picture is not entirely negative. She said there are measurable areas in which the country is moving forward, even if those improvements have not yet translated sufficiently into relief that residents can feel.
She pointed to more than 1.5 million visitors arriving in the first six months of 2026, an increase of 16 percent over the previous year, while also citing a 19 percent reduction in homicides and a 15 percent reduction in armed robberies.
The economy, she said, is growing.
But Tackling cautioned Parliament against confusing improved statistics with improved living conditions.
“The numbers improved but the light bill did not,” she said, capturing what she described as the disconnect between positive indicators on paper and the daily pressure being experienced by households.
The Minister argued that St. Maarten has spent too many years postponing difficult decisions, replacing them with easier measures that look attractive politically but do not solve underlying problems. Decisions that are avoided, she warned, do not disappear. They remain and become more difficult to address later.
Tackling also spoke critically about attitudes within Government and the wider public sector, saying St. Maarten continues to hold on to practices and a culture that can work against change.
She said the country must become more willing to make decisions based on what is best for St. Maarten rather than what is most comfortable for the person occupying a particular position.
“We need to stop treating accountability as victimization,” she said, arguing that discomfort cannot be allowed to become an excuse for resisting change.
Tackling then shifted from policy to the personal reality of serving as Minister of Justice.
She said she did not enter the position for comfort or personal gain and had made sacrifices to take on the responsibility because St. Maarten is her home and she still believes meaningful change is possible.
“You do not change things by sitting on the sidelines,” she said. “You change it from within, where the decisions are made and where the resistance is.”
The Minister acknowledged that she has faced attacks since assuming office and said she fully expects that pressure to continue.
“I have been attacked as a person and as a minister and I expect more of it,” Tackling told Parliament.
She said she was not making the statement to seek sympathy, but because she has begun to view sustained opposition as an indication that she may be interfering with interests that prefer the status quo.
“People do not work that hard to remove someone who is not standing in the way of something,” she said.
Tackling made clear that the criticism would not change her approach.
“So I will stand and I will withstand and I will keep going,” she said.
