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Prime Minister Barrow’s Take FM Elrington’s Speech
posted (October 8, 2015)
Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington - his critics - namely COLA and the PUP have been pounding him since he spoke at the United Nations last Friday. They criticized him for what he did and didn't say in his 19 minute speech to the UN. But what does his boss, the Prime Minister think? Today he had a 25 minute press briefing at the Biltmore and we asked him about it:..

Jules Vasquez
"You Foreigner Minister, should he have spent more than 30 seconds speaking about the aggressive Guatemalan behavior at the Sarstoon? Well he didn't speak to it at all. But should he have spent more than 30 seconds on the subject and should he have covered that?"

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I was foreign minister one time and I always knew these general assembly speeches to in the main concentrate on issues having to do with the UN's global agenda. Climate change is of course extremely high on that agenda. Now you do take the opportunity to say something about your particular circumstances and it was routine and when I gave my speeches to reassert Belizean sovereignty and to reject the unfounded Guatemalan claim. But again as I recollect I did that in a sentence or two. There is not too much to say; your claim is unfounded, we absolutely reject it, we are a sovereign independent country and we remain that way. So I don't know that it was incumbent on the minister to say very much more than he did."

So while the PM didn't have any criticism for his Foreign Minister - truth is with weeks to go before a general elections - you wouldn't really expect him to. After all, it's not like there's going to be a cabinet shuffle in the next 26 days! And so Prime Minister Barrow is really party leader Barrow who has to look after the political well-being of a city seat which his party needs. Right now Elrington is under attack from the PUP, COLA and the Belize Popular Party - but the PM said they won't have any effect on Elrington the politician:..

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I don't see that they're coming together will make one whit of a difference in terms of the campaign in Pickstock. Sedi Elrington has taken care of business. I have absolutely no doubt that Pickstock is one of the surest seats for the UDP in Belize City."

Jules Vasquez
"But he's become a lightning rod. Will he be minister in a new government?"

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