It seems to me that the PUP have a problem. No, not the problem of getting used to the realization that they are now the Opposition, and that there are only six of them.
The problem is that until Hon. Said Musa, their party leader and former Prime Minister, admits to corruption within the party, there can be no healing, of any sort, for the party, nor can there be any serious move to restructure the leadership in any meaningful way.
See, the huge problem with the modern PUP is their institutionalized lack of honesty, revealed, probably most forcefully, when Mr. Musa insisted during the campaign that his party was not corrupt, and that any such perception was as a result of a “hostile” media.
Even after his resounding defeat, he still blamed the “hostile” media. Obviously, Mr. Musa does not want to face reality, and until he does, and “confesses” to the party and the nation, there will be no healing.
Perhaps, thankfully, another leader will emerge. Such a new leader must distance himself from Mr. Musa’s silliness, and let his party understand that the days of naked hustling and corruption are over. The Belizean people simply will not stand for it. If a 25-6 thrashing is not convincing enough, then truly, the PUP are doomed to remain the Opposition, unless the UDP, at some point in the future, become the PUP, which is not likely to happen anytime soon if Prime Minister Dean Barrow sticks to his game plan, which was a pleasure to hear, when he announced his cabinet today, Monday.
Needless to say, I am not swearing for Mr. Barrow, because, in the final analysis, his power is the same as Mr. Musa’s was – absolute. What I am swearing to, however, is that until and unless the PUP begin looking at the man in the mirror and stop blaming the independent media for its own wickedness, the party will remain …corrupt.