John Briceño Says Ad Plays into Negative Sentiments on Faber Leadership

Dean Barrow

Prime Minister Dean Barrow told reporters after Friday’s House meeting that he is seriously contemplating early retirement depending on how much longer his back is giving trouble, though his present timeline for the end of 2019 remains in place. An advertisement aired on local television attacks his deputy and the man widely tipped to be his successor, Patrick Faber, for a chequered personal life, which has drawn condemnation from his party. Opposition Leader John Briceño told us today that in the case of Faber, he feels that personal issues ought not be introduced in politics; but he does concede that with no one else in the U.D.P. seemingly up to the job, Faber is a convenient target.

John Briceño

John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader

“The problem that he has is that his party is nowhere near ready for an exit strategy, because we see that the Deputy Prime Minister is having lots of problems internally, within his party; he does not command the respect of the Ministers; he does not command the respect of hardly anyone. They see him as being immature and not ready to be able to lead the U.D.P., and much less the country. These are not allegations. As I’ve been told – and I have not seen the court records – but these are direct quotes from the court records; I am for one and I will answer you this way. I am for one that have never gotten involved in the personal business of a family. Me, John Briceño, and speaking for myself, have always done my very best to respect the sanctity of the family. Now some people would argue that this young man – the Deputy Prime Minister, is aspiring to be the Prime Minister – and it is important for people to know; that is debatable. But I personally don’t feel comfortable in using the family to score political points.”