Tonight, Shyne Barrow is still the Leader of the Opposition in the House - and Party Leader Patrick Faber's plan to unseat him remains stillborn.
And the reason for this is Albert Rep Tracy Panton. Our reports are that despite pleadings from the Faber - Panton has held her ground that a National Party Council must be held before she considers signing unto supporting Faber as the Lead of the Opposition in the House. Faber needs 2 reps to support him - and he got Hugo Patt on Sunday - but Panton has refused to sign on.
The NPC meeting she si reportedly asking for is supposed to be held every six months - but Faber hasn't held one since the November election. And to do that, he would have to give two weeks notice - and that means Shyne Barrow would still be the Leader of the Opposition on Independence Day - and the one giving the address - which is what it seems Party Leader Faber wants to cut off at all costs.
And that is what may have led him to forge an unlikely alliance with John Saldivar, a better rival who he has lambasted for months behind closed doors - and who has done the same to him - but on social media. The two were said to be having a joint press conference today - but that did not materialise.
But, the reason they say they have joined forces is party unity. We have seen group text messages from within the UDP where Saldivar is quoted as saying "I am swallowing a lot, and so is Patrick. This unity is not easy to arrive at, but if any of you believe that this party can survive with any other solution that excludes me and Patrick, or any of us two, then we are being delusional. Our party cannot survive without Patrick Faber, nor can it survive without John Saldivar." End quote.
