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The Reagan Administration's satisfaction at the election outcome was undisguised. A State Department spokesman hailed the islanders for concluding "a yearlong process aimed at putting Grenada firmly back on a democratic path." Said the spokesman: "We look forward to cooperating with the new government." The Administration asserted that despite the continuing presence of 225 U.S. servicemen on Grenada, it had tried to stay out of the contest. Said a U.S. official: "We maintained a hands-off policy. But anyone who knows anything at all about Grenada knew that a moderate party was the best bet. What everybody wanted was a government that was neither leftist nor a brutal, corrupt, fruitcake regime that would pave the way for another radical takeover."
Despite the size of Blaize's triumph, he was never considered a sure winner. Indeed, only two months before the balloting, the dominant political mood in Grenada appeared to be apathy, especially among political moderates. The N.N.P. was hastily cobbled together from three rival Grenadian parties only last August. During the low-key, three-month campaign, Blaize and his supporters emphasized the themes of economic development and safeguards against the abuse of power, while Gairy's G.U.L.P. ran under the slogan "Americans must stay forever." New Jewel loyalists tried to whip up sentiment over alleged CIA interference in the elections, and staged rallies honoring their murdered leader.
Despite the official U.S. neutrality, Blaize benefited from outside help. A variety of private Caribbean, West European and U.S. organizations, including the AFL-CIO and a number of conservative public-interest lobbies, funneled money into Grenada to heighten civic awareness and get out the vote. Local taxi drivers were paid as much as $130 on election day for carrying citizens to the polls. The assistance was nonpartisan, but the enlarged turnout probably helped Blaize to defeat the remnants of Gairy's Boss Tweed-style political machine.
The winner's other great advantage was his reassuring lack of charisma. As he puts it, "I'm just an ordinary guy who believes in the Lord and trusts in him for support." The son of a laborer, Blaize was born on Grenada's sister island of Carriacou and moved to Grenada in 1930 to attend secondary school. A bicycle accident two years after graduation left him briefly paralyzed; as a result he suffers from degenerative arthritis and walks with the aid of a cane.
A onetime clerk for a U.S. oil company in Aruba, Blaize first won a seat in Grenada's colonial Parliament in 1957. In 1960 he served as the island's interim Chief Minister for 14 months before losing an election to Gairy. When his opponent was forced out of office 18 months later for "financial irregularities," Blaize won a five-year term as government leader. During that time he took a correspondence course in law, finally earning a degree after ten years. Critics claim that Blaize's first term was uninspired; supporters answer that his patience and caution now make him the perfect national healer. Says George Brizan, a victorious N.N.P. parliamentary candidate: "People are not prepared to experiment with their lives any more."