“...and when the tide is against them, you know they get desperate, and desperation leads to much attack on fair and decent citizens.”
Can you guess which political group this statement comes from?
Need some clues?
It’s pretty easy if you pay attention to the key phrases. Look for words like “the tide is against them” and “they get desperate.”
This statement was made a few months ago, in anticipation of the next general elections that are expected by July, next year, if not before.
As we get closer to this important date with destiny, let’s take a look at how the main political parties in Saint Lucia are doing. We have the two main parties – the United Workers Party (UWP) and the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP).
Which one seems more desperate to you?
Here’s some information to help you decide. The UWP is currently in opposition because they lost the last election really badly, only winning two seats in the parliament.
Now that they’re not in charge anymore, the UWP, led by Allen Chastanet, hasn’t shown the courage to admit that they didn’t keep their promises to the voters when they were in power from 2016 to 2021.
Because of this, the voters didn’t trust them enough to vote for them again in 2021.
What happened next?
In the post-election period, the Labour Party government ministers comfortably took charge of their portfolios, and since been working as hard as a unit to deliver on the Party’s promises to the people. They’ve introduced programs like the 'Youth Economy', which helps young people get funding and training to start their own businesses and cultivate self-reliance. This is great because it also creates jobs and helps grow economy.
At the same time, the Labour Party continues to introduce measures to lower the cost of living for everyone, especially for those who earn less money, pensioners, the physically challenged, and the poor. The latest action was the removal of the 12.5 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on 71 items of food and other household items to make them more affordable to the working people. Another measure is the removal of the government's service charge on imported food items, ensuring cheaper prices to consumers. Prices of fuel – gasoline at the pumps and cooking gas – have been stable, thanks to a decision by the government to absorb a sizable portion of the imported costs.
The Labour Government is doing all in spite of the tough challenges, like wars in other countries and rising prices around the world. Saint Lucia is feeling these effects too.
Walt Disney, who created what became a global entertainment business, once said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” This is good advice for politicians also, especially when they move from being in opposition to being in charge. Mr. Chastanet said he would run his government like a business, but it didn’t work out because of broken promises and poor leadership.
Dear reader, can you now guess where the statement, repeated below, came from and who said it?
“...and when the tide is against them, you know they get desperate, and desperation leads to much attack on fair and decent citizens.”
Having reflected on just the tip of the iceberg of the performance of the Philip J Pierre-led Labour Party Government you would have figured by now only one Party has cause to be desperate as election season approaches.
And who in the UWP are the most desperate? Those who have the most to lose, like Guy Joseph, the Deputy Leader, who made the “desperation” remarks on 23 March 2025. He was speaking at a public meeting called Sunday Live, 'Right the Wrongs'.
Unfortunately, this series of public meetings has turned into a platform for the most desperate in the UWP to attack SLP leaders and supporters with personal insults. They’ve even used mean comments about social issues and made inappropriate remarks about the Minister of Education, who is working to help school girls obtain menstrual hygiene products, at school, at no cost, in acknowledgement of the international movement to end period 'poverty'.
During a recent meeting in the series, the UWP got really negative and focused on shaming SLP members. If that’s not political desperation, then what is?
Senior UWP members like Lennard Montoute, Guy Joseph and Chastanet himself are the ones spewing invectives against the Prime Minister and other members of Cabinet, setting the wrong example to the new and young candidates entering the Party in search of an opportunity to make a contribution to the country. Even the credibility of our calypsonians is maligned at political events and online by the UWP for their lyrical interpretations of government and politics. Songs praising the good deeds of government are dismissed as propaganda, paid for by the SLP. Meanwhile, the UWP leaders have been seen in the calypso shows of the past cheering feverishly when the performance of SLP Governments is at the unfavourable end of calypso justice.
The Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Philip J Pierre, is doing well with the economy. They’ve made good progress in attracting investments in ports and tourism, and they have also delivered, or working hard to deliver road rehabilitation projects on the major highways and in various constituencies.
Do you think a ruling party that is doing so well should feel desperate about the next election?
After all its failures in government, the UWP seems to be doing even worse in opposition, focusing more on silly political drama, instead of having real discussions about how to win back the trust of the Saint Lucia people.
By Stanley Lester Pascal