Faber Weighs in on New Leader of the Opposition
On Thursday evening in Belmopan, a new Leader of the Opposition was sworn in, effectively sidelining Patrick Faber from representing the U.D.P. in that capacity. It’s a direct blow to his self-image, as well as his ambition to someday become the next prime minister of this country. While he did not communicate with his parliamentary colleagues prior to their decision to remove him, Faber says that the recent swearing-in has since seen a move to replace Senator Khalid Belisle in favor of another parliamentarian. That, he says, does not sit well with him.
Patrick Faber
Patrick Faber, Party Leader, U.D.P.
“As far as I have been able to follow, nothing has been done that is against the laws of Belize. So what has happened is allowable by our constitution and so I fully yield to what has happened. People are wondering as to whether or not I will sit beside the new leader or the opposition and work for my party, absolutely, absolutely. I am elected by the people of the Collet constituency, I serve the United Democratic Party and there is nobody who will stop me from arriving in that house, God willing, to represent the people of Collet and the people of this nation who have been duped by the People’s United Party so greatly on November of last year. I learned of course of the decision of three of my colleagues to sign a letter of no confidence while I was away traveling home on Monday afternoon. I had been of the opinion that at least one of those colleagues did not intend to sign the letter of petition to the Governor General or instruction to the Governor General and I was saddened by that, I will not tell you otherwise. As we speak, I am told that the new Leader of the Opposition is firing a senator and hiring a new one. So without any consultation with me as the leader of the party, without any confrontation with anybody, other parliamentarians, but that is his right as the new Leader of the Opposition. But I will tell you that it does not sit well with me, merely because this is a mass party and that we have several layers of leadership and opportunities for participation and where it is that three persons take on controlling the party in that manner, it is heading for dangerous waters in my opinion.”
