And while the Prime Minister said that losing Belize City and Corozal has energized him to regain the lost ground, the fact is that there is a tide in politics - and the UDP may been facing its inevitable low tide - meaning its quite remarkable winning stream going back to a 2003 by-election might just be running out. We asked the Prime Minister about things falling apart:…
Jules Vasquez
"Up until 10 years in it is the first time your administration is suffering a consequential setback at the polls. Setback, I have to make the question because I only get 3. So building on this my question is how will this retooling of the strategy to try to fight the inevitable inertia. How will that affect your timeline for departure if at all?"
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"When you describe it as a setback you're not suggesting that it is a loss."
Jules Vasquez
"It is certainly not the outcome you expected."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"It is not the outcome I had hoped for that I will grant you because I'm greedy, I always want to win everything. I will continue and give it my absolute best with no flagging of spirits or energies until together with the party, the determination can be made as to the exact time I am to leave. Collectively we will agree what month, in what year I am to take my leave but I repeat until that day comes I am determined, I've been given really a new lease on life by what I saw in terms of what I said the tremendous out pouring of support that is the bounty of the UDP and to the extent that we did have this setback to use your words. With respect to Belize City there is nothing I like more than a fight you know so I am fired up in terms of wanting to gather with my party to ensure that we put right whatever has gone wrong in Belize City."
Jules Vasquez
"How much of this is a referendum on you? How much of it is a referendum on Minister Martinez? How much of the failure in the city reflects right back to you?"
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"(Laugh) I imagine that is a bit of a trick question."
Jules Vasquez
"You said it's a failure in what went wrong. You said something went wrong, things should always go right."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"You know what went wrong? Take for example the constituency of Caribbean Shores, we lost it in 2015 and we've had no presence there since that time so we lost it by 50 odd or something, it's up now to 400. Fort George which we were never in a position to win, again absolutely no presence there."
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