By Ernie Seon

CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – Embattled St. Lucian Prime Minister Stephenson King says elected members of his government will meet on Wednesday to seek an “amicable solution” to the impasse that has split his administration in recent months.

In a radio and television broadcast on Tuesday night, King blamed dismissed foreign affairs minister, Rufus Bousquet, for the ongoing situation that has led to calls for his own resignation as head of the government and the removal of his Economic Affairs and Planning Minister Ausbert D’Auvergne.

King said that his “deliberate and thoughtful approach” to the in-fighting within the government were demonstrations “of a Prime Minister who is democratic, who allows for full consultation, but who is resolute and above all else places the interest of the country first”.

“It is with this interest of country at heart that I appeal to my parliamentary colleagues to remember the oaths which we all took and our call to service. I implore you all to put our own personal interests aside. Let us come together to resolve and work together towards the development of our people and country.”

In the broadcast that was aired nearly three hours after the scheduled 8 p.m. start, King said it was his “fervent hope” that at the meeting of elected parliamentarians on Wednesday they would be able to "come to an amicable solution to the issues which currently confront us”.

Disgruntled government legislators have already given King an ultimatum regarding the dismissal of D’Auvergne, who they regard as having too much power as a non-elected member of the Cabinet.

But during his address King gave no indication that he would adhere to the demand, neither did he mention D’Auvergne who was brought into the government through the Senate by the former prime minister, the late Sir John Compton, following the December 2006 general election.

“As I said before when I took the oath of Office of Prime Minister I took that oath seriously and will do everything that I must do to uphold the integrity of the Office of the Prime Minister. I am therefore not prepared to put the interest of my party or of any group or individuals before the interest of the country," King said.

“Sometimes politicians forget that they are elected not to serve their own interests, or to pursue their personal ambitions for power, but to serve the people and to bring improvements to the lives of every citizen.

“I expect every member of my Cabinet to continue to place the interest of the people first,” he said, adding “I am aware however that certain individuals will do their utmost to prevent this administration from achieving its goals but I know that you, the people, will deal with those who seek to undermine the progress of our beloved St. Lucia.”

“I will personally continue to place the interest of the country above all else."

Over the weekend, Bousquet and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Marcus Nicholas said they had written Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy indicating that they no longer supported King as Prime Minister.

But the Prime Minister told the nation that the “roots of the current situation that confronts the country” are the demands from Bousquet who has questioned why he had been fired from the Compton Cabinet.

King said that the late prime minister had “initiated and authorised by his own signature” Bousquet's dismissal over his handling of the change in diplomatic relations between Castries and China in favour of Taiwan.

He said Bousquet had repeatedly claimed that he did not know why he had been fired and had been using “this manipulated claim of unfair removal from the Cabinet to justify his current demands for reinstatement to ministerial ranks”.

But King said that Bousquet had been sacked for deliberately ignoring a demand from Compton for him not to sign the documents paving the way for diplomatic relations with Taiwan instead of China.

He said Sir John had indicated that even though the Cabinet had agreed in the shift he still wanted to revisit that decision and had instructed Bousquet accordingly.

“Despite this directive from the prime minister, Mr. Bousquet proceeded later that morning to sign a joint communiqué that established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in the presence of some of his ministerial colleagues, several of whom were unaware and had not been notified by Mr. Bousquet that Sir John had instructed that this ceremony be delayed until after the scheduled Cabinet meeting," King revealed.

“This behaviour on the part of Mr. Bousquet, the deliberate disobedience of the instructions of the prime minister, is what led Sir John to relieve him of his ministerial portfolio,” he said, adding that he had disclosed that information for the first time because of the “unjustifiable call of Mr. Bousquet to be reappointed to the Cabinet".

“As I see it, it is of greater importance for my administration at this time to be rightfully focused on the matters of governing for all St. Lucians and not the disgruntled bantering and desires of the few."

King said in recent months he also had to deal with a criminal matter concerning Housing Minister Richard Frederick who is said to be among disgruntled legislators seeking his removal as prime minister.

He said the arrest of Frederick and the seizure of his vehicles last year by the Customs Department have been “a source of serious grievance to Mr. Frederick (and) every possible effort had been made to support Mr. Frederick as he faces this criminal investigation that was initiated by the (former) Labour Party administration".

“The options available are limited and any direct intervention in this legal process could be construed to be an obstruction of justice. As a leader who seeks to do what is right...and as a man who seeks to find the good in all men I have done everything possible through consultation and conciliation to find solutions that would be satisfactory while not compromising the integrity of the Office of Prime Minister.

“I am taking time to consider all views and to exhaust all avenues to arrive at solutions to these issues. I have gone above and beyond what would have been expected of any Prime Minister. I have not done so out of weakness but out of an acute sense of a need to heal the administration through a process of dialogue and close consultation in the aftermath of the trauma associated with the death of our iconic leader,” King told the nation.

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