Now that?Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has stepped out of the shadows and has “legitimized himself” as leader of the country, the time has come for him to take over the Ministry of Finance.
This is the view of political scientist George Belle, who thinks that now Stuart has established himself as undisputed leader of his Democratic Labour Party (DLP), he can further assert himself as Minister of Finance and name Richard Sealy as deputy Prime Minister.
“In the political culture of Barbados, that gives the Prime Minister much control of his Government. David Thompson was Minister of Finance and no more versed in economics than Stuart. He just has to have around him good advisers and a supporting minister, probably a Minister of Economic Affairs.
“If he says he is Minister of Finance, he then has a right to make sure that everything is in order and to intervene as necessary.
“We still haven’t gotten out of the recession, we still haven’t built a recovery road and that kind of leadership by the Prime Minister is still necessary and I think his leadership was diminished because he had someone else acting as almost like leader of Government,” he said.
