Except for one or two announcements made by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, such as that budget day is November 3, much of what was said in the first televised debate between the two main party leaders was predictable. The Labour leader, Joseph Muscat, appeared cool and confident, at times perhaps too confident, even when he was driven into a corner, although many say they expected better. Dr Gonzi, on the other hand, looked a bit tense, though he was convincing in his arguments most of the time.
The ultra-hype surrounding the debate, generated by the programme presenter, may have drawn a big audience but, in essence, there was very little that was inspiring.
Dr Muscat, fresh in his new post as Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition, could afford to play to the gallery. Probably that is what many of his party's hard-line supporters expected from him that day, though, to be fair, he once again nailed his colours firmly to the mast as regards his commitment to help turn a new leaf in the way his party plans to conduct itself both in and outside Parliament. His commitment is music to the ears of the thousands of uncommitted voters who have been growing increasingly disenchanted with local politics.
As MPs are quick to point out whenever they are strongly criticised over their partisanship and inflexibility, there are instances when both sides cooperate in the drafting of legislation but progress in this direction has so far been slow, perhaps too slow, for the uncommitted voters, who are anxious to see the change happening in their lifetime. However, now that the Labour Party has a "new generation" man at the helm, there would appear to be better prospects for the change to come about, though, as this newspaper said only the other day, it remains to be seen whether Dr Muscat keeps to his commitment. Hopefully, he will, and if he does, his party will stand a far better chance of winning a general election than before when "opposition" was the party's byword in most of what it said in the course of the legislature.
Dr Muscat's first big test of objectivity will come when he gives his reaction to the upcoming budget. For it is all very well to pontificate, as he did in the debate, that, in view of the recessionary times ahead, this is not the time for the government to raise the water and energy rates astronomically at one go. This is quite a reasonable comment and, indeed, The Times too has suggested that the proposed rise ought to be "spread over time, even, if necessary, at the cost of the government adjusting its own financial targets". This might actually have been the government's intention all along and, as many had perceived, the proposed rates could have been purposely meant to condition the people's minds to the need of removing the subsidy.
On the other hand, though, the Labour leader could not just go about hitting out at the government over its proposed rates without at least making some proposals, even if it is the government that has and must decide. For Dr Muscat to be credible and not to be accused of political opportunism, he is expected to do far better than this when he comes to dissect government decisions and plans. Indeed, with his political honeymoon as MLP leader well over now, the party for the new Labour leader ends now.