PHILIPSBURG--There has been talk again about National Alliance (NA) deputy leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson quitting the NA, with which he started his political career as an Island Councilman in 2003, and going independent.
Richardson declined to comment on the "rumours" when contacted by The Daily Herald on Friday and said only statements directly from him should be taken seriously.
When similar rumours started circulating in the community in early August, Richardson also was contacted by this newspaper and he gave the same answer as he did on Friday: "I don't comment on rumours."
The talk in 2009 was that Richardson was being courted by the Democratic Party (DP), which was in the throes of upheaval with internal issues and on the brink of being pushed onto the opposition benches. Richardson never left NA, although it was later confirmed by DP sources that talks were ongoing.
Richardson has been linked this time to the United People's (UP) party of Deputy Prime Minister Theo Heyliger. It is not the first time the two have been rumoured to be in talks, but no official announcement has ever been made.
The UP/DP coalition already is supported by former NA member, now independent MP Patrick Illidge and former NA minister, now Justice Minister on behalf of UP Roland Duncan.
There has been talk that Richardson's decision on moving would depend on the granting of a casino licence by government to one of his close associates. Dolphin Casino, which went out of business, had operated in Richardson's building in Cole Bay that once had housed Sunset Theatres. The forced closure of the four-screen theatre following the opening of Megaplex 7 a short distance away due to no cohesive government policy to protect certain businesses was part of the catalyst for Richardson's entry into politics.
Should Richardson go independent, the opposition NA would be left with only five MPs: leader William Marlin, Dr. Lloyd Richardson, George Pantophlet, Hyacinth Richardson and Louie Laveist.
The UP/DP coalition would then have 10 supporting MPs: six UP members, two DP members and two independent MPs.
The current rumours are circulating ahead of the first anniversary of the last Island Council elections on September 17, 2010, that saw NA winning seven of the 15 seats, UP winning six and DP winning two, and amid murmurs about an impending shakeup within the UP Parliamentary group.
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