MLP delegates strike again... and again (1)

If any PN diehard had a smirk on his face when early on Tuesday morning it was announced that Jason Micallef had been re-elected as general secretary of the MLP they had better wipe it off and fast. Once again The Times online opinion polls were proved wrong.

Are the people who read The Times living on Cloud Cuckoo Land or are the MLP delegates? I wonder.

For those readers who can read The Times online, a perusal of the ensuing blog after the announcement of Mr Micallef's re-election reveals that there are far, far more frustrated floating voters than Yours Truly.

This is not a crisis for the MLP but a crisis for Malta. True democracy has not been upheld, honoured or maintained in this country by either party, while any of the small ones are unceremoniously elbowed out of the race and eliminated to boot. Electoral reform seems more unlikely than ever unless both big parties collapse like houses of cards and a new amalgamated party is born out of the debris. That would be the ideal political scenario to give a fossilized oligarchy a new lease of life.

There had been a glimmer of hope. Although the floaters and the thinkers would have preferred George Abela, the election of Joseph Muscat initially promised a new way of thinking in the opposition ranks.

That was well and truly stymied when "Joseph was sold by his brothers" when, against all sound advice and with far more acceptable candidates running for the posts, Anġlu Farrugia and Toni Abela were elected.

There was still a ghost of a chance of redeeming Joseph and the MLP by electing anyone but Mr Micallef but the MLP delegates, like lemmings, were, despite dire warnings, open letters, bold statements, scientific polls and brave declarations, unable to be dissuaded from their suicidal rush to the sea.

This latest news arrived on top of that of the tragic illness of one of the most promising young MPs in the opposition, Karl Chircop. A sad black day for the MLP, and for thinking Malta.