Prime Minister's Statement and Comments, 27 May 2021

Speaker: Order, order! The Prime Minister requested a statement this morning, her last Parliamentary Session before her sick leave during which she will undergo surgery for Lung Cancer. During her sick leave, she will take on a temporary role as Vice-Prime Minister alongside Dr. Monica Ortiz. During her absence, Luke Phelps will take on a temporary role as Prime Minister, at the nomination of the Prime Minister. Shall we just take a moment, as a Parliament, to pay tribute to the Prime Minister and wish her well in her surgery?


Parliament: Yeah.

Speaker: Order! This is the Prime Minister's first absence from Office since she was first elected in 2017, she has been in Office everyday since, without fail. I think our Parliament and our country salutes that and looks forward to welcoming her back when she's ready to return to Office.

Parliament: Yeah.

Speaker: Order, order! Without further ado, for the last time, before her leave, I now call on the Prime Minister!

Government: Yeah!

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I did not, initially, plan to be here this morning, however, I realised that this chamber of Parliament only sits three days per week and that by the next time it sits, I will no longer, temporarily, be Prime Minister. 

Dr. Speaker, I have to thank you for the way you have treated me in my time in the chamber to this point and I look forward to the way you will treat my brief successor and myself on my return. 

Parliament: Yeah.

Prime Minister: Dr. Speaker, a number of months ago when I announced my illness, I nominated Luke Phelps as my brief replacement and he accepted it and I look forward to supporting him as Prime Minister. I won't tell you what he plans to do with his time as Prime Minister, Dr. Speaker, and I am not telling him what to do either. The plan I set out is binding enough on him and he will uphold that, I am not going to tell him what extra to do, that is up to him and I support all decisions he will make.

Government: Yeah.

Prime Minister: Dr. Speaker, the timeline for the next few months is as follows, please notice, it has changed a bit based on the advice of the consultant who will be looking after me during my surgery and recovery. I will step out of Office, briefly, as Prime Minister at the close of business on Monday, 31 May, 2021. Mr. Phelps will step into Office, briefly, as Prime Minister at the start of business on Tuesday, 1 June, 2021. My surgery is scheduled for 20 June 2021 and I will need a few days after this date to recover in hospital and then a few months at home to recover. If I am needed as a Vice-Prime Minister during this time, provided I am at home, I will connect via video link. I don't suppose, for a moment, that I will need to do that, Dr. Ortiz is very capable. 

Dr. Speaker, I initially intended to return to Office at the start of business on Saturday, 1 January 2022. My consultant does not think this long a period of rest will be required. I now expect to return to work in the autumn. I am not currently sure when but I will contact you, Dr. Speaker, beforehand to organise a speech in here in which I can inform the chamber of my intention to return to work.

Dr. Speaker, colleagues, do keep me in the loop with proceedings. I shall be watching you all on the television and keeping up with your work. I look forward to an interesting but painful time ahead. I thank you for having me here this morning and I wish my brief successor all the best of luck with my job in the coming months and maybe we are seeing the birth of a future, permanent, Prime Minister of our country.

Government: Yeah.

Speaker: Order, orderrr! The Prime Minister seems to be preparing to leave, if I could ask the Prime Minister to hold on for a short while longer, I'd like to open the floor to some comments and good wishes, if you'd like to stay for that. First of all, I want to call on our incoming Prime Minister, the Minister for International Diplomacy, Luke Phelps.

Luke Phelps: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I won't keep you long at all, I just want to thank the Prime Minister for her good words and best wishes, I extend my best wishes to her too and a speedy recovery to her. I sent my good wishes, also, Dr. Speaker, to her husband, Mr. Barrett, and her child. 

Government: Yeah.

Luke Phelps: Dr. Speaker, I will keep the seat warm for her and I look forward to seeing her on the other side. 

Government: Yeah.

Speaker: I thank the right honourable gentleman for his comment. The Vice-Prime Minister has indicated to me she wishes not to speak. So, I now turn to the Leader of the Opposition, Lorraine Drake.

Leader of the Opposition: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. Like the right honourable gentleman, I will also keep this brief too. We may not agree on anything in this chamber and in relation to the running of the country, it seems, but we do agree on the fact that this disease is an awful disease and we do not wish it on anyone.

Opposition: Yeah.

Leader of the Opposition: Dr. Speaker, we wish the Prime Minister all the best in the coming months, her family peace of mind, and we look forward to disagreeing with her successor.

Speaker: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her words. If I might now call on the Leader of the Incompetent Democrats, Stephen Spencer.

Stephen Spencer: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I might thank the Prime Minister before she leaves Office for facilitating our wish to have a World Forum Membership Referendum, which is on the schedule for August, and I am confident her successor will do a good job in leading us through that Referendum. I am sorry to see it happening before her return but it is essential that she now looks after herself and gets herself better for her country. 

Incompetent Democrats: (Quietly) Yeah!

Government and Opposition: (Laughter)

Speaker: (Smiling) Order, order! The Government, Opposition and I feel your pain, Incompetent Democrats, but I remind colleagues that there are less of them, for them to be heard, they have to try harder, there are even less of the Advanced Humanitarian League! I look forward to calling on him! Please continue, Stephen Spencer.

Stephen Spencer: Thank you, Dr. Speaker, I am considering getting the four of us some vocal training and projection training and then hearing us should be no problem.

Parliament: (Laughter)

Stephen Spencer: Dr. Speaker, we all stand with the Prime Minister in this tough time for her, we stand with her successor, we wish her a speedy recovery and return to work, and, above all, we hope we're all still here on that return.

Parliament: Yeah. (Laughter)

Speaker: (Laughing) Order, order! Settle! Order! I thank the right honourable gentleman for his humour in making his comment, it has certainly lifted my spirit and I hope it has also lifted the Prime Minister's spirit. Finally, and this will be interesting, I call on the Leader of the Advanced Humanitarian League, Harold Garcia.

Harold Garcia: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. You will know my manifesto falls behind the times but, at the very least, it agrees with the Government's in my respective areas. I know what it is like to be Prime Minister and my heart now goes out to Mr. Phelps and I leave my door open if he needs any advice or help, not that he will need me. (Shouts) YEAH!

Parliament: (Laughter)

Speaker: (Laughing) Order! I am glad to hear the right honourable gentleman has been doing some training! Very good! Harold Garcia.

Harold Garcia: Dr. Speaker, I am glad you could tell.

Parliament: (Laughter)

Harold Garcia: Dr. Speaker, I wish the Prime Minister a speedy and restful recovery, I think she has earned it, and I look forward to working with Mr. Phelps in the time ahead.

Speaker: Order, order. The Prime Minister, sorry, I nearly missed you.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I thank colleagues for their kind words. My right honourable friend has a lot of support lined up and waiting for him and I am grateful for that. I am grateful for the humour shown by colleagues today, any laughter, at this time, for me, is a great help. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Government: Yeah.

Prime Minister: Dr. Speaker, on a slightly morbid note, I'm really not sure what this other side is going to look like but there will be an other side, our country does have a future and that future is in safe hands and I have fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed for the outcome and, finally, I'd like to wish all the Presidential candidates all the best for Tuesday.

Speaker: I thank the Prime Minister for her acknowledgements. On that note, good luck, Prime Minister, good luck, Mr. Phelps, here concludes this special Session. Order!