"There are no American infidels in Baghdad" -
Mohammad Said Sahaf (Comical Ali)
"Integration is in the bag" - Dom Mintoff
"Partnership has won" - Alfred Sant
It is with regret that I have to associate two Maltese politicians with such an irresponsible person. Unfortunately, however, I couldn't find a better way of describing the Labour leadership. Promises galore and substance none whatso-ever.
Everybody knows that the Labour Party leadership never says what it means and never means what it says.
Before responding to a few points raised by Lino Spiteri in his column (The Sunday Times, May 4), I would like to take the opportunity of listing just a few of Labour's contradictory policies.
The first that comes to mind was the 1955 slogan "Integration or Self-Determination". It sounds like somebody wanting to get married in order to get divorced. Then came the 1958 resignation of the Labour government, which made way for the British government to implement what they threatened, without hindrance.
Then, in the Seventies, came the promise of controlling inflation. This was successfully implemented by depleting the shelves of the grocery shops. Thousands of jobs were lost and the people were deprived of the right to choose. Killing two birds with one stone seemed to be their policy then.
Then, in the early Eighties, in their wisdom, their sword fell on all private schools, which were contributing immensely to our children's education.
Today's youngsters have no clue what life was like under a Labour regime, thank God. But the youngest voters, in last month's election, remember Alfred Sant's contradictions. Here are just a few: "Labour opposes VAT" and then it accepted it. "Labour is against having a Minister for Gozo" and then, just a few days before the election, "Labour will appoint a Minister for Gozo". "Membership lost" (in the referendum) and then "the MLP now had a duty to accept the people's decision in favour of EU membership".
Yet, the absolute majority of the electorate had voted for a Nationalist government in 1981 but Labour opted to cling to power. Surely Dr Sant should condemn the then leadership of the Labour Party for their actions.
Dr Sant himself admitted, on May 1, that "democracy requires that the people's decision be accepted". Come on, Dr Sant, denounce all those who acted, as you indirectly implied on Workers' Day, against democracy. Until you do so, the Maltese people will never believe that you mean what you say.
The problem with the Labour Party is not leadership. It is ideology and policy. For the lack of a more appropriate phrase, the truth is that Labour does not know its a** from its elbow.
Mr Spiteri, an ex-Labour minister, confirms this point. He believes that the party should do some soul-searching and come up with new policies first and then deal with the leadership issue later. He believes that "though who the singers are, will be quite important; of far more relevance will be the party's song for the future".
That's exactly where Labour has always been wrong. They have no clue as to who is the singer and what is the song. They end up immortalising and glorifying the song without knowing the singer. At one stage, they gave the impression that Dom Mintoff was infallible and Malta's saviour. Not realising that political party leaders are just the song by which the singer expresses himself. Like all famous singers, a great political party will portray its image though its leader - the song.
The Nationalist Party had great songs. Fortunato Mizzi, who consistently strove for representative government and saw it materialise. George Borg Olivier, the architect of our independence, gave us what rightfully is our - our sovereignty.
His successor, Eddie Fenech Adami persevered to lead us into Europe; earning himself the title Missier Malta fl-Ewropa. These people have proved to be great, not for who they are but for what they represent. Yes, for sure, it's the singer not the song.
Mr Spiteri concluded by stating that at the next election, the Nationalist Party will be "no longer with its icon, Eddie Fenech Adami, at the helm". The PN has no reason to replace its leader. In him they have a winning card. The Prime Minister is leading the government machinery impeccably. There is an English saying that states: If it's not broken, why try to fix it? The singer has a great song and its number one on the hit parade. No other political leader has ever attained as many votes as he did. No other leader has managed to get the thumbs up from the electorate six times out of seven.
Dr Fenech Adami is not a Nationalist icon, as Mr Spiteri said, he is more than that. He is a golden chapter in Malta's history. Next year we will be joining the EU and, later in the year, we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of independence. On both occasions the nation will rally around Dr Fenech Adami. Through him, we will express our gratitude to the Nationalist Party, for its foresight, its principles, its policies and its morals. God willing, I will be there. On May 1, 2004, spring arrives and the Nationalist government will start harvesting for the nation.
Mr Spiteri's prediction that there will be a change of leadership in the Nationalist Party can only come true if Dr Fenech Adami, of his own free will, decides to retire from politics. However, let's make it clear, the singer will come up with another great song.
The Nationalist Party has a strong voice that is appealing to the majority of the electorate. Unlike Frank Sinatra, Mario Lanza and others, the Nationalist Party will live on for as long as this nation stands. The Nationalist Party and the people have become one - one body and one soul. No wonder it is called Nationalist: it stands and upholds everything that makes us a proud nation.
Long live the singer and long may the song endure!
Mr Saliba is writing from Cape Town, South Africa.