UPP Deputy Political Leader Sherfield Bowen Says U.S. Wants ‘a New Government’ in Antigua
Sherfield Bowen, deputy political leader of the United Progressive Party, told supporters that the United States and Europe are “looking for a new government that they can work with,” using that claim to argue that Antigua and Barbuda needs a change in leadership at the April 30 general election.
Addressing a UPP rally, Bowen said the country is already paying a price internationally because of the policies of the Gaston Browne administration and warned that more consequences could follow if the government remains in office. He declared, “The United States and Europe are now looking for a new government that they can work with. That is why a change of government is essential.”
Bowen’s remarks were part of a broader speech in which he linked Antigua and Barbuda’s international difficulties to the ruling party’s stewardship of the country. He said, “The U.S. has slapped visa sanctions on the people of Antigua and Barbuda because of the Gaston Browne government’s policies,” and added that “more bad news is about to come if they remain in office.” He also claimed that “the European Union is set to impose its own visa sanctions by the end of the year.”
He argued that the current administration is incapable of reversing that trend, telling the crowd, “The Gaston Browne regime is unable to do what it takes to ensure that the sanctions are removed and new ones are not added.” Bowen then framed the election as the country’s chance to change course, saying the answer was to “remove Gaston Browne and Labour” and replace them with “a new government that finally works for you.”
The speech placed foreign relations and the visa issue at the heart of the opposition’s campaign message. Rather than focusing on a long list of constituency promises, Bowen used his time to make the case that Antigua and Barbuda’s international reputation has been damaged and that a UPP victory is necessary to repair it. His central appeal was blunt: “That is why a change of government is essential.”
Bowen’s intervention also reinforced the UPP’s wider effort to portray the election as a referendum on the Browne administration’s handling of national affairs. By tying visa restrictions and possible future sanctions to government policy, he sought to turn foreign policy fallout into a domestic political argument, one aimed at persuading undecided voters that the country’s standing abroad and prospects at home are now intertwined.
He ended that section of the message with a direct call for political change, telling supporters that Antigua and Barbuda needed “a new government that finally works for you” and urging them to back the UPP at the polls.