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A Zinc Fence Between Leader Briceno and The Old Guard?
posted (March 3, 2016)
Tuesday March 7th, that's the date for first house meeting in John Briceno's second go as leader of the opposition. But this time, the often-accommodating Briceno looks like he's playing hardball with his party's old guard. He already turned down old guard favourite Lisa Shoman who wanted to stay on as a Senator - and on Tuesday in the house, he's putting what you might call a zinc fence between himself and the old Guard. And by zince fence, we mean Cordel Hyde.

Reports to 7News say that the seating arrangements for the opposition bench have been finalized, and it's a shocker: the four term Lake I Representative - who is not on the PUP executive - is going to take the seat right beside Briceno - while Francis Fonseca and Said Musa will then be seated after Hyde. Now, that second seat right after the leader is usually reserved for a former leader or a deputy leader; it's a mark of respect and seniority.

But, Briceno, who did say he would find a meaningful place for Cordel Hyde is putting him in the second seat - suggesting a sort of de-facto deputy. The actual deputies, four of them will be seated after Said Musa. Now, the arrangement of seating on the opposition bench in the house of representatives is mostly political trivia for deep insiders, but it does give a very clear indication of the balance of power, as to who's in play and who is not.

And while the move is sure to ruffle some old guard feathers, Briceno can credibly make the argument that both Fonseca and Musa have indicated that they will be retiring shortly - whether that will actually happen is another matter altogether.

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