For over a year now, the UDP has turned infighting almost into an art form - and it started at the top - with sustained undermining happening between the top three elected representatives in Belize City: Shyne Barrow, Patrick Faber and Tracy Panton.
The battle lines were deeply drawn - but yesterday the UDP turned to a man of the faith - to find common ground at the top.
7News has seen an internal message from Shyne Barrow to his National Executive saying that he met with former Party Leader Patrick Faber and Tracy Panton today under the auspices of Reverend David Goff. Barrow's message says Rev'd Goff, quote, "helped to facilitate the frank and fruitful discussions on the way forward in a manner that is inclusive, just, respectful of all members of the UDP in adherence with our Party Constitution." End quote.
He said they aimed to, quote, "make every effort to resolve outstanding grievances, heal and unite."
Notably, his message stops short of saying that they came out holding hands and singing "kumbaya" and only say that he will quote, "take all necessary steps to find common ground…on our way to winning the next General Elections."
A press release issued a short while ago does add to that though. It says they met at party headquarters and that, quote,
"Coming out of the meeting, Party Leader Barrow, Faber and. Panton committed to a united Opposition," end quote. It adds that "a roadmap for cooperation was agreed upon."
It can't exactly be called a breakthrough - but it is an interesting new tack for a party that's been fighting to re-discover the meaning of the letter "U" in UDP.
