Whether it’s a caller on Q95, a cousin at the rum shop, or a voice note in a WhatsApp group, one thing keeps coming up: “What happen to the UWP?” Not as a real question, more like a sigh, part confusion, part indifference. Some say Dr. Fontaine is still trying; others say they hardly hear from him. Most just shrug.
It’s not anger anymore, it’s apathy.
People are talking, but not because they believe the party is going anywhere. They’re talking because the silence is too loud. UWP used to mean rallies, strong statements, community visits, and real fire. Now, even the faithful are unsure who is in charge, what the party stands for, or why it’s still called the opposition.
That word, opposition, means something. Or it used to. In Dominica, the opposition was the balance. It was the questioner. It was the reminder that power wasn’t everything. Today, people are asking if the UWP is truly opposing anything, or just trying to hold on.
Not Showing Up Is Worse Than Losing
There’s one thing you’ll hear from people over and over again, and it’s not just about elections. Dominicans are facing pressure every single day. The cost of living continues to stretch households thin. Gun violence is rising in places we once considered safe. Opportunities feel far away for those without connections. And through all that, there’s barely a voice standing with the people.
Nobody expects the UWP to stop crime or reverse economic pressures. But people expect to see them walking through Pottersville, Salisbury, Stock Farm, Vieille Case, not just scrolling on Facebook or making occasional radio appearances. And they definitely expect more than a press release when something serious happens in the country.
It’s a quiet kind of failure, when a party exists but doesn’t participate. When it has representatives but they’re rarely seen. When it claims to be rebuilding but never shows signs of life. That absence creates space for mistrust, speculation, and ultimately irrelevance. The country may be under the DLP’s rule, but the public still wants to hear another side. If UWP isn’t that side, people will stop asking where they went, they’ll just forget they were there.
Still Caught Between the Past and the Present
The problem isn’t just who leads the UWP. The problem is what the UWP even means anymore. For older supporters, it was the party of Edison James, of pride, of resistance. For Dominican youth, it feels like a brand without a product, something they’ve heard of, but never really seen in action.
Some still speak fondly of Lennox Linton’s fire, his fight, his willingness to go toe-to-toe with Skerrit. But even that chapter now feels like history. And the Fontaine chapter? It’s still too quiet, too distant. That’s not an insult. It’s just the truth you’ll hear from barbershops, bus stands, and home visits.
The party is suspended in time. It doesn’t seem ready to let go of its old ways, but it also hasn’t shown the courage to write something new. That in-between space is deadly. Because Dominica is changing quickly, socially, economically, culturally, and UWP is standing still.
It’s Not a Shame to Start Over
Sometimes, in life and in politics, you have to know when to step aside, or start fresh. That doesn’t mean giving up. It means being honest. Maybe UWP, as a structure, has run its course. Maybe the logo, the slogan, the history… maybe it served its purpose. But if Dominica needs a real opposition now, and UWP cannot become that again, then holding onto the name helps no one.
A movement isn’t just colors and slogans. It’s people, energy, relevance. And those things are missing. Maybe what’s needed now is a new generation, a new name, something that speaks to the realities of today’s Dominicans, not just their memories.
Still, the party has a chance. A real one. But it has to be willing to do the hard work. Not radio shows or political appearances during crises, but real, constant organizing. Quiet, respectful listening. Walking with people, not preaching to them. Standing with the Kalinago woman trying to register her land, the Portsmouth father struggling with his son’s violence charge, the young man in Coulibistrie who just wants a job in something besides construction.
Dominicans still want help. Still want choice. But what they don’t want is more silence dressed as strategy.
The Final Question Isn’t About Fontaine, It’s About Purpose
There’s one thing most Dominicans agree on, even those who still wear red on their backs: Dominica needs opposition. It needs a second voice, one that doesn’t echo but challenges. One that holds power to account without being reckless. That isn’t UWP’s entitlement, it’s its job.
If Thomson Fontaine and those around him cannot provide that now, then when?
If the party can’t appear in times of tension, grief, or injustice, then why should the public look for it at the polls?
This isn’t about loyalty to the past. It’s about relevance in the present. And while Dominica continues to wrestle with crime, joblessness, and social breakdown, it needs something more than a placeholder. It needs political courage, not just credentials.
Whether that comes from the ashes of the UWP or something altogether new remains to be seen.
But the clock is ticking, and people are no longer waiting for answers.
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