During yesterday's conversation with Shyne's father, former UDP Leader Dean Barrow, we asked him for his take on all the leadership drama that's been unfolding inside the UDP after his retirement. As viewers are aware, there has been a constant jostling within the Opposition Party to fill that massive vacuum.
The ensuing internal turmoil intensified up until the point where Patrick Faber was voted out as the Leader of the Opposition and replaced by Barrow's son, Shyne. Faber then had to survive a recall motion orchestrated by another faction of the party.
Yesterday, Dean Barrow told 7News that he is concerned about the current state of Belize's democracy in which the Opposition Party is not in the kind of fighting shape needed to keep the ruling government in check. Here's how he explained why:
RT. Hon. Dean Barrow - Former UDP Leader
"I would have to be living under a rock if I weren't keenly aware of the unfortunate state of affairs. I'll be careful because I will certainly not going to cast blame on anyone. I will just say that I think it's a great tragedy in terms of all burning national issues, and the fact that there is - and I say this with no rancor or malice. I am not in politics, but the scorecard of the current administration is not exactly one that they can feel proud about, and certainly, I think with respect to some of the issues of the day, there is very strong public sentiment. Take this whole BTL saga. And so, it is a pity that where that is concerned, and where other issues are concerned, the democracy of the country, is suffering - has been dealt a blow by the fact that the Opposition does not have its act together, and is in - to put it bluntly - a state of turmoil. I can only hope and wish that a repair job will be done as quickly as possible, that the personalities, who so far have been unbending in terms of the divide that has wracked the party -."
Reporter
"One of them being your son though, sir."
RT. Hon. Dean Barrow
"Indeed, indeed, but I'm saying that I'm not personalizing it, and I told you right at the start that I'm not going to blaming a soul. I'm just going to express the hope and say that I do so with a sense of urgency that a way can be found out of this impasse. I think those personalities, the party, the members of the leadership owe it not just to the party, but to the country to re-establish themselves as constituting a viable Opposition. You cannot have this sort of a vacuum, in which the government, even it is not doing a particularly good job inoculating people against COVID, is doing a hell of a job in inoculating itself against the blowback and the disapproval that has attached to very many of the things they have done. In other words, the absence of a credible Opposition at this point confers, I think, a sense of impunity on the Government. And that is most unhealthy for our democracy."
We note that Barrow's 21 years at the helm of the UDP is the record for the longest post-independence run as party leader in Belize.
