The Labour Party is crying to people to vote Labour because they have been in opposition for 20 years (not to mention the disastrous two years led by Alfred Sant in 1996). These have been 20 years of wilderness for the MLP but why have they been so long in opposition? There must be something wrong with the MLP.
Since being at the helm of the MLP, Dr Sant has always opted to make crucial decisions on his own, at times without even consulting with his colleagues and people inside the party. Much worse is the fact that these decisions affect us all as citizens because Dr Sant is constantly making wrong decisions that have a long-term effect. We can all recall some of these pronouncements, one in particular being the decision to freeze Malta's application to join the European Union when he was elected Prime Minister. What would have been Malta's situation if we didn't join the EU?
Additionally, before the 1996 general election, because of his obsession to win power, Dr Sant had promised the electorate that the MLP in government would remove VAT. Lino Spiteri himself (at the time the party's spokesman for finance) had confirmed that he didn't know anything in advance about such declaration. Dr. Sant makes decisions on his own!
The MLP is the same party with the same leader that, for the first time in Maltese history since Independence Day, wasn't competent enough to remain at the helm of the country for more than two years.
The MLP is the same party with the same leader that had to face the resignation of influential people such as George Abela (the third member of the winning triumvirate in 1996) and Mr Spiteri (MLP Finance Minister for only five months after taking office and when the major exercise involving the replacement of VAT was still less than half-way through), not to mention other key persons within the party, such as Alfred Mifsud. All of them could not work with Dr Sant.
The MLP is the same party with the same leader that, to everyone's surprise, declared a victory in the historic referendum of March 8, 2003. This particular incident led the MLP into another cul-de-sac when Dr Sant chose to add the dead, the sick, the moribund, invalid voters and all type of abstentions as votes for his "partnership". This led to the obvious debacle in the ensuing general election when Dr Sant, of his own free will, made Europe the main issue.
The MLP is the same party with the same leader that before the 1996 general election opposed privatisation and VAT, among other things.
The MLP is the same party with the same leader that had to do a never ending list of U-turns simply because Dr Sant makes the wrong decisions.
The MLP's major problem is its uncertainty and, as rightly said by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi last Saturday, Labour politics are build on a national inferiority complex. The reality is that a vote to the MLP in the next general election will mean a throwback of 12 years, when Dr Sant was elected as a Prime Minister.
Quoting Dr. Gonzi's speech during the official celebrations marking Malta' entry into the eurozone: "We are celebrating today a nation that is not afraid to be ambitious in what it sets to achieve. We are celebrating today a people that believes in its ability to succeed.
These achievements are the foundations of the next successes we are determined to achieve for our country. We are celebrating the start of a new journey". The Prime Minister's speech says it all! Soon we will enter into the general election campaign and one's decision on how to vote should this time be simpler than before.
Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.