P.U.P. convention big, but Mark and Cordel are no-shows
Over the last three years the People’s United Party government has lurched from crisis to crisis … with words like Social Security, D.F.C., and U.H.S. permanently associated with the perception of flawed and failed governance. But in politics, like show business and sports, what you’re most remembered for is your latest performance. And for the P.U.P., yesterday’s national convention was an effort to reawaken the spirit of accomplishment that has seen it win a majority of votes in every general election but one since independence. News Five’s Stewart Krohn reports from Corozal.
Stewart Krohn, Reporting
There was no shortage of enthusiasm on Sunday as the Corozal Civic Center was packed to capacity for a convention that was essentially a pep rally for the upcoming elections, likely to be held in early March.
There were some bits of officials business to be taken care of … like the ratification of the party’s executive officers, whose election had already taken place Thursday at a meeting of the National Party Council. The three deputy leaders—Godfrey Smith, John Briceno and Vildo Marin—remained unchanged and it became clear that despite his being fired from Cabinet over his position on the U.H.S. guarantee, Briceno remains very popular with the P.U.P. rank and file and will remain a key player in the electoral effort.
And speaking of campaign, you’d never know that as recently as last month national campaign manager Ralph Fonseca was seriously contemplating retirement from his seat in Belize Rural Central. On Sunday he was rallying the troops like a general on the eve of battle.
Also sounding a military theme was deputy leader and Pickstock representative Godfrey Smith.
Godfrey Smith, Deputy Party Leader
”We have come to declare war on the United Democratic Party. From today onward until victory is declared you are no longer delegate of the P.U.P. You, from today until victory is declared, are soldiers of the P.U.P.’s peaceful, constructive Belizean revolution.”
Like any revolutionary army, the P.U.P. took time to honour its heroes: veteran supporters and campaign workers who remain the backbone of any successful political party. It remains to be seen what kind of shape the blue machine is in, but off the podium party leaders acknowledge that winning a third straight term of office will not be easy.
Florencio Marin Jr., Standard Bearer, Corozal S.E.
I definitely say it is a challenging election but you got to admit…I mean they may criticize the P.U.P. for a lot of things but you don’t hear the criticism on the work. The PUP can win this election. I do believe the P.U.P. will win this election again because, simple, one we do have a platform for change; you know the PUP represents change. Errors there are, yes we’ve made some, but you look at the other side, I mean, do you see anything new put on the table?”
Prime Minister Said Musa, Party Leader, P.U.P.
”I would have to concede that yes, but that’s a comfortable place for me to be in. I don’t mind being the underdog”
That underdog role, confirmed by public opinion polls and the results of municipal elections, means that the PUP will depend on a strategy that focuses on thirty-one separate contests, emphasizing the improvements in everyday life in each constituency. And so party secretary general Henry Usher introduced the thirty-one member team, each man or woman offering a few words of encouragement and exhortation. By the time the roll call was finished, with a rousing speech by party leader and Prime Minister Said Musa, the joyous crowd could be excused for failing to do their math. Because while there may be thirty-one constituencies, only twenty-nine candidates spoke from the rostrum. Once again, rebellious candidates-and defrocked ministers–Cordel Hyde and Mark Espat, were missing in action. This unpardonable violation of party protocol was obviously anticipated, as the P.M. made unity the high point of his speech.
Prime Minister Said Musa
”My friends, this is no time for divisiveness. We have to rally together. We have been through many challenges but we have come out of it united, we have to be united. It is out of unity that we are going to win again. And let us all remember that no one, no one, not the Leader Emeritus, not the party leader nor any leader in this party is bigger than the People’s United Party.”
With two of his party’s youngest and most effective campaigners thumbing their noses at a party hierarchy facing its toughest ever election, Musa did not mince words.
Prime Minister Said Musa
”It was very disappointing and disheartening that our two representatives did not show up for the convention. It does send the wrong signal, a distressing signal in fact about the state of the party’s readiness for the elections but, as I said in my speech, no one is bigger than the party and you saw the energy today of the Belizean people, the base of the party. There is still very strong support for the People’s United Party and no one is bigger that the P.U.P.”
Stewart Krohn
“Does that mean that there may be some kind of disciplinary action taken against Mr. Espat and Mr. Hyde?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
”At the very least there will have to a reprimand, most certainly, and then we will have to speak to them and find out what are their real intentions.”
Those possible intentions run the gamut from full reinstatement in the PUP leadership to the formation of a third party. For now, however…and likely for the next eight months Hyde and Espat will occupy the role of a wayward but still loved spouse. That is: the P.U.P. can’t live with them but can’t win without them.
Stewart Krohn reporting for News Five.
We were unable to reach Mark Espat or Cordel Hyde for comment. One absentee party executive we were able to find, however, was newly elected Chairman of the Policy and Reform Committee, Eamon Courtenay. Courtenay, who resigned as foreign minister following the firing of John Briceno, said he was unable to attend the convention because he, quote, “wasn’t feeling well.”
