Email

Print

And as his big red suitcase might suggest – Penner isn't expected back until next week Tuesday or Wednesday. But, in the interim he remains in contact by telephone. He hasn't answered the Prime Minister yet to say whether he will or won't step down as UDP standard-bearer for Cayo northeast. Today, via telephone, the Prime Minister confirmed that Penner has not called him to state his position.

But we do know that Penner has been communicating with some in the UDP and reports say he's been telling them that he's been treated unfairly, even unconstitutionally. We are told that Penner has communicated officially to the UDP that he will come back and consult with the people of Cayo Northeast and his committee to decide the way forward.

Indeed, there are mixed messaged coming from Penner-land – but one man who has spoken to him as recently as this morning is UDP Party Chairman and Cayo colleague Alberto August. This afternoon, August told us how that discussion went:

Alberto August - Chairman, United Democratic Party
"We need to appreciate that the Hon. Elvin Penner is not doing well. We are hoping for to recover, and for him to recover well. He called me a while ago indicating that he was still in Guatemala, and that he's planning on returning to the country on Sunday. Subsequent to that, he will be having a meeting, and he'll be convening a meeting with the Executive Committee and campaigners in the constituency. From there, he will decide as to what he will do."

Daniel Ortiz
"In that conversation which you had with Mr. Penner, had the topic come up of the request from the Prime Minister that resigns effective immediately?"

Alberto August
"Well, you will recall that the Prime Minister, in opening the press conference, indicated that he spoke with Mr. Penner informing him that this was move that he was going to take?"

Daniel Ortiz
"But, that's yesterday, how about today? Has there been any discussion with you as Chairman, with Mr. Penner about that request?"

Alberto August
"Well, his first statement was that he is prepared to resign at this time. Like I indicated to you, he is saying that he will meet with the people in the constituency, with his committee, and with a few key people in the constituency, and after that, he will decide on the way forward."

Daniel Ortiz
"Having gone out to Cayo Northeast, and taking a heat test of what is the situation on the ground, would you say that Mr. Penner may be - the right word wouldn't be delusional, but - mistaken that he still has this strong support in Cayo Northeast as he asserts every time the question comes up from the media?"

Alberto August
"Well, you see, from any campaign, your key people are your executive committee, because in actual fact, they are the ones who get out there and get the ground work going. They are the ones who - yes, the area representative or the caretaker understands the constituency, but in terms of meeting the people, it is the soldiers, the campaigners and the committee who are out there. And, at the end of his meeting this weekend, then probably, he will get that information."

Daniel Ortiz
"Who will be running for the UDP if in the event, he does resign or the PUP is able to trigger that recall?"

Alberto August
"The question came up, and currently there are several names springing up. And as we are going along, and our supporters are looking toward the possibility for a bi-election, more names are popping up." Daniel Ortiz "Is there anyone in particular who the party is favouring, or believes could be the hopeful candidate?"

Alberto August
"Well you see, you recognize our middle name, 'Democratic'. It will be a democratic process. But, like our party leader indicated, the initial decision will be up to the Executive Committee of the Cayo Northeast Constituency, because of course, they are the people who know the people in the area."

Daniel Ortiz
"How would the UDP ask, or reasonably ask of the voters of Cayo Northeast to support them, or any candidate that is put forward, when there is the appearance of a mixed message being sent?"

Alberto August
"The situation changed. The situation was Hon. Elvin Penner with one allegation, and during the process we were out there, the situation changed. There were several other allegations, so then, you have to shift your gears, and that was what the party did. We said, 'Hold on.' The Prime Minister was telling us that he was going to be briefed of Monday night by the minister, and that he would have gotten in touch with us by Tuesday morning to advise us as to what the outcome of that investigation would have been. And he said it point-blank, if there are other allegations against Hon. Elvin Penner, then we will have to shift gears, and no longer be supporting him out there."

Daniel Ortiz
"So then would you accept or reject the assertion that the Party Leader and Prime Minister acted prematurely to rally support behind the UDP to reject the recall instead of waiting on that particular briefing with the Minister?"

Alberto August
"I would never say that our Party Leader acted prematurely. Like I said, it was the situation which changed given the information he had on hand, and the United Democratic Party is a dynamic party. We shift to address the situation. Basically, the bottom line is that the party operates in the best interest of the voters of the nation."

And while no one knows for sure what Penner will decide, there's a lot riding on his decision. The PUP is pushing forward with its recall effort, but even with the UDP not fighting it – a recall is difficult to trigger because of the 65% threshold. So, for the PUP, the easiest course is for Penner to resign and force an automatic bye-election. While the UDP says it is ready to contest that, in truth, the easiest course for the ruling party would be if Penner would just choose to be stubborn and refuse to resign.

If a recall were to fail, Penner not resigning would somewhat preserve the balance of power in the house while giving the UDP the moral distance from him since they have already publicly urged him to do so and washed their hands of him.

In that case, Penner would remain in the House, but the Prime Minister today confirmed to us that he would not stay on the UDP side; he would be sent over to the opposition backbench – what we like to call hardhat row – after the other UDP expellee Marcel Cardona famously donned a hardhat – when a UDP enforcer stoned him in the head with a wallet.

So, it's left to be seen whether Penner walks that difficult, lonely road, or if he does what both the opposition and the government are asking him to do and resign.

Whatever he does decide, the Prime Minister though will have to hear about it on the road. He left the country today for Los Angeles, California. According to an official release, the PM and his wife Kim Simplis Barrow is going at the invitation of "The Belizean Task Force in Los Angeles" which has organized several meetings and fund-raising functions. We have seen an invitation for one of the events, a Brunch and Town Hall Meeting on Sunday in Los Angeles.

As the Prime Minister discussed yesterday, he is also going to see specialists about possible remedies for chronic and acute back pain resulting from three herniated discs.

The PM will be gone for 9 whole days and in his absence, Gaspar Vega is acting Prime Minister.