It is accomplished, Patrick Faber will return as Leader of the Opposition. Reports say he could be sworn in as early as tomorrow.
Faber went to Belmopan today to hand deliver this letter to Governor General Froyla Tzalam. It bears the signature of three UDP Representatives, Faber himself, Hugo Patt and Tracy Panton. They comprise a majority of the opposition bench, and they tell the GG that Patrick Faber has their support as Leader of the Opposition while the current Leader, Moses Shyne Barrow quote, "does not enjoy the support required to remain in office…we crave your urgent intervention…to remove Barrow from the office he now holds and to replace him with Patrick Faber..."
So, it's game over for Shyne Barrow and he confirmed it in what he called a "farewell" press release 90 minutes ago, saying, quote, "I thank the…Opposition Members…who elected me to serve as Leader of the Opposition. I accept with grace that the majority of the Elected Opposition Members of the House have now elected a new Leader of the Opposition. I will discharge my duties as Leader of the Opposition faithfully until my successor is sworn in." End quote.
And that successor will take the oath, in time to give that all important Independence Day Address next Tuesday, it appears.
And that seems to have been the catalyst for Faber to make peace with bitter adversary John Saldivar and his Caucus For Change - which orchestrated a botched recall against him just weeks ago.
Reports say they have agreed to a unity pact which leads into a National Party Council meeting on Saturday. That meeting - Faber's first NPC since the election - has been called as a part of the party's internal reconciliation process.
The man now on the outside is Mesop Rep. Shyne Barrow - who after a brief but high profile stint as opposition leader - will now likely find himself at the far end of the opposition bench, alongside his aunt, Denise "Sister B" Barrow. In a US tour, Shyne Barrow presented himself publicly as "Leader of the House" and "Shadow Prime Minister." He would have capped this off with an Independence Day Address, but it now appears that singular honour will go to Faber.
The other big loser looks to be Khalid Belisle, who Faber was backing to replace Saldivar in Belmopan. He is now also likely to get pushed aside, as Saldivar is expected to have Faber's support to be re-installed as Belmopan standard-bearer - after a disastrous out-turn in the 2020 election.
