Following his election defeat in November after two consecutive terms in office, former East St. George Member of Parliament and ex-finance minister Camillo Gonsalves has drawn a clear line in the sand between his approach to political discourse and that of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ (SVG) ruling New Democratic Party (NDP). In a recent guest appearance on the opposition Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) Star Radio’s *Morning Comrade* program, Gonsalves pledged that his on-air appearances would avoid the culture of unrelenting negativity that he says the NDP cultivated while it was in opposition, and continues to perpetuate today in government.
Gonsalves recalled that during the NDP’s time out of power, party members appeared daily on radio programs to stoke public anger and criticism. He specifically called out the former Hot 97FM show “What Gets You Vex”, a program that invited listeners to call in daily and share what was frustrating them. While the privately owned urban radio station has never publicly aligned with any political party and has criticized both major parties during their tenures in power and opposition, Gonsalves argues that the show’s format normalized a cycle of complaint that the NDP weaponized for political gain.
This culture of constant negativity, Gonsalves argues, has followed the NDP into government, where officials now spend much of their time dismissing SVG’s potential, pushing out political opponents, and framing the country’s future in pessimistic terms. In contrast, Gonsalves says the ULP has a responsibility to deliver a message of grounded optimism to SVG’s people, even when the party highlights policy missteps or areas in need of improvement.
Gonsalves emphasized that unbroken negativity creates a self-reinforcing toxic cycle, where constant criticism erodes public trust and turns citizens against one another. “If all you hear is negativity, all you will be is negative,” he argued, noting that SVG’s people have far too much potential to allow setbacks to turn them into what he called “negative crabs in a barrel, pulling down one another”. He added that even when addressing serious challenges facing the nation, the ULP will start and end its messaging with positivity, offering the public a constructive alternative to the ruling party’s persistent pessimism.
Gonsalves also took a moment to reflect on what SVG has to be grateful for, praising the country’s natural beauty and the warmth of its people. “We give thanks for where we are: peaceful, loving, harmonious,” he said, reinforcing his belief that a positive tone is not just a rhetorical choice, but a necessary foundation for building a better future for all Vincentians.