Cowboy tactics: PL's standard ammunition

Actions speak louder than words and the Labour Party (PL) should practise what it preaches. It has promised a new political season but in reality, this "new" season is as old as the hills.

Many of my pieces over the years have been pregnant with examples of Labour's negativity. No to: free market, privatisation, technology, private and Church schools and private clinics, stipends, the ombudsman, the Partnership for Peace, the Permanent Commission Against Corruption, the power station; Mater Dei Hospital, the Gozo Ministry, local councils, the Gozo ferries, the closure of Magħtab and Kortin rubbish dumps, the modernisation of the recycling plants, the reverse osmosis plants, VAT, the EU, the euro, just to mention a few.

Today, the PL is still saying no to everything the government embarks upon. Anything the government considers, proposes and executes is immediately shot down. Unfortunately, this not-so-new style of politics is not doing the country any good. And, may I add, there are limits to political opportunism.

A case in point is Joseph Muscat's partisan comments regarding ST Microelectronics' downsizing. Instead of proposing "creative" solutions to ease the workers' plight, he found it more convenient to attack a government minister for being "unaware" of ST's plans, to demand his resignation and to propose measures already implemented by the government.

Inconsistency is also still the name of the PL's game. The worst case of partisan politics came with PL's "supposed" anxiety over immigration. During one of his Sunday morning shelling sprees (February 15), Dr Muscat bombarded the government over everything and immigration, alleging that "the country had lost another opportunity to present a strong case to the EU after the arrival of two large groups of immigrants despite bad weather". He played the same tune in Parliament on February 18.

Ironically, a couple of weeks ago, in the European Parliament, the three PL MEPs voted in favour of accepting prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, a US military-operated prison to be brought over to Europe. Rightly so, the Nationalist MEPs voted against. Let it be known that if the EU proposal passes and these inmates are transferred to any EU country they can then walk into Malta whenever and however they please and we wouldn't even know! Is this was the PL wants to risk?

So, can the real Dr Muscat please stand up? Is he concerned about immigration or not? Why on earth would he defend his MEPs for giving the green light to potential "terrorists" to settle in Malta?

Other sterling examples of Labour's militant style include numerous heavy-handed assaults on the government: calls for a plethora of resignations; threats to government to "forget pairing"; delaying tactics and spokes in the wheels during parliamentary sittings regarding procedures and doubts cast on SmartCity and on whether the €80 million regeneration project for City Gate and the old opera house is a good idea. Even the proposed eco tax on plastic bags provoked the PL's objection and so on and so forth.

Name calling is also still in fashion. Alfred Sant is still imagining corruption on every corner. He insulted The Sunday Times comparing those like it to a "network of power". He still believes that Malta would have fared better had it not joined to EU and says that the government was acting in a "fascist" manner. Evarist Bartolo chose to attack Where's Everybody? and PBS while Anġlu Farrugia attacked The Times alleging it is a PN media machine. Joe Debono Grech et al have all made it their sacred mission to shout at and shoot the government at every turn.

The behaviour of most of the Labour speakers during their January party conference was simply atrocious. Voices resounded to inhuman decibels, tempers rose to the highest mercury levels and unbridled accusations gushed out, much to the assembly's delight. In response to the frenzied bombardment on the "fascist" Nationalist government standing ovations hit the ceiling. Labour's aggressive demeanor in Parliament is no better.

There is no doubt that these cowboy tactics are Labour's standard ammunition. At least, with the older version of Labour, missiles were fired left, right and centre only by its leaders. Now, with this mixed trigger-happy gang, it's a free for all shoot-out.