There was a time when Partido PAR stood as one of the dominant political forces on Curaçao. It produced ministers, parliamentarians, policy thinkers and some of the island’s most respected political figures. It helped shape modern Curaçao and carried enormous political influence for decades.
Today, that same party has been reduced to just two seats in the Curaçao Parliament.
For a movement once associated with strong governance, economic reform and institutional stability, the current situation is not merely electoral decline. It is a political survival crisis.
PAR was built by statesmen such as Miguel Pourier, whose leadership style emphasized discipline, economic development, responsible governance and opportunity creation. Whether people agreed with every policy or not, PAR once had a clear identity. Voters understood what the party stood for.
That clarity is now gone.
The party leadership under Quincy Girigorie has failed to reconnect with the electorate. Meanwhile, the rise of figures who never built deep political credibility inside the traditional PAR movement has only increased internal uncertainty. The current parliamentary team has not generated the energy, visibility or opposition force necessary to revive a party already standing on the edge of political irrelevance.
Now even people inside the party appear to recognize the seriousness of the crisis.
According to information shared with Curaçao Chronicle, PAR recently requested outside experts to prepare an internal report examining what the party must do to survive and rebuild itself. One of the central conclusions reportedly presented to party leadership is simple: PAR needs new leadership.
That conclusion should surprise nobody.
A political party that has collapsed from powerhouse status to only two seats cannot realistically continue with business as usual and expect different results.
Several names are reportedly circulating internally as possible future figures capable of helping rebuild the movement.
Among them is Steven Croes, a former Member of Parliament and former Minister of Education who still maintains recognition within sections of the traditional PAR base.
Another frequently mentioned figure is Ana Maria Pauletta, who in recent years has arguably become one of the loudest and most visible voices associated with the party. Even outside Parliament, Pauletta has remained politically active and vocal on social and housing issues, something many voters now feel is lacking from the current leadership.
The name of Luigi Faneyte has also been mentioned in political circles. Faneyte’s columns and commentary often resonate with parts of the center-right electorate that PAR once dominated politically but has since lost almost entirely.
And that brings PAR to its second major problem: ideology.
For decades, PAR was viewed as a center-right or economically liberal party. It appealed to entrepreneurs, professionals, middle-class voters and citizens who believed in economic opportunity, business development, institutional governance and a more open economy.
But over recent years, the party increasingly attempted to move leftward politically.
That strategic move has failed.
The reality of Curaçao politics is that voters who strongly support left-wing or socialist policies already have parties they identify with ideologically. They are unlikely to abandon those movements for PAR.
Meanwhile, by trying to reposition itself ideologically, PAR alienated many of its traditional supporters.
The last election made that painfully clear.
Areas that historically belonged to PAR politically were lost. And who captured much of that support? Movementu Futuro Kòrsou (MFK).
Why? Because MFK successfully spoke to the frustrations and aspirations of voters that PAR once represented. Faster permits. More economic opportunity. Easier business development. Less bureaucracy. More direct communication with ordinary citizens.
In other words, MFK occupied the political space PAR abandoned.
That may be the harshest lesson for the party leadership.
PAR did not simply lose voters because of personalities. It lost voters because people no longer understood what the party represented.
And politics punishes confusion.
The road back for PAR will be long, difficult and uncertain. There is no magic solution. No single new leader will immediately restore the party to its former glory.
But survival is still possible.
The first step is honesty. The second is renewal.
If PAR truly wants to recover, it needs stronger opposition voices, stronger communication, stronger street-level presence and leaders capable of reconnecting emotionally with voters who once formed the backbone of the movement.
The party cannot afford more internal fragmentation or the loss of additional members. At this stage, every departure weakens the organization further.
The realistic short-term goal may no longer be returning immediately to dominance, but simply rebuilding relevance. Moving from two seats to four or five would already represent political recovery and restore leverage inside Curaçao’s parliamentary system.
But that process requires courage.
Because sometimes the hardest thing for an old political party is accepting that the people who led its decline are not necessarily the people who can lead its rebirth.