"The PUP Millionaires" - John Briceno attacked that faceless blue brotherhood at a national party council meeting on Saturday - and already the term has gone into cultural lore; the millionaires now joining other deathless political phrases such as Jorge Espat's "bloated contracts," Said Musa's "billions with a 'b'", Mayor Moya's "under-deposits" and Ralph Fonseca's "balls in the air."
We gather that the incendiary statement by Briceno - which was broadcast live on Vibes Radio - and the resulting political fallout has stirred some unrest in the PUP. Whether it will be consequential or just another season of awkward dis-ease remains to be seen.
But, according to UDP leader Dean Barrow - who has called Briceno his favourite leader of the opposition, the man who would take his job should be weighing his options right about now:
Jules Vasquez
"Do you know that there PUP millionaires with off-shore accounts?"
Prime Minister Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"Well, anecdotally, I mean, I don't have the evidence of the account numbers and that sort of thing, but I don't think that it's a revelation. I think we all knew that. It's nice that it's been confirmed by him, but I don't think that he is giving us any news. And if you ask if I know who they are, who aren't they? In other words, which of them isn't a millionaire? That is how I would respond to that."
Jules Vasquez
"Being a leader yourself, when one calls out - imaginably - known and established members of the party like that, what would that be an indication of, if you where to put yourself in his position as a leader?
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"That I should start contemplating my exit, that I obviously am leading a party in which there are - to put it kindly, and in as minimalist a fashion I can - huge pockets of resistance - active resistance - to my leadership, huge pockets disgust with my leadership. And even if I, as a leader in those circumstances might be able to say to myself, 'Well, but I still have the majority.' It is as happened with Margaret Thatcher, when she was challenged by Heseltine. She won, but she won by such a slim margin that she felt that her leadership had been undermined. You can't go forward leading a party in which, if you have a vote tomorrow, you will get a majority of 2 or 3. At that stage, the proper thing to do is to say, 'You know what, if somebody else can unite this party in the way - obviously - I as leader have not been able to do, I need, for the sake of the party, to take my leave.'"
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