Is Labour a pressure group?

If I had to describe in one word the last week of 2010 and the first hours of the New Year I would say it was “great”. We all had a break from the usual political activities as, like the rest of us, politicians had a well-deserved break from their routine.

The festive season was celebrated without any of the usual serious traffic-related accidents. The drink-driving campaign and the efforts by the police to keep streets safe seem to have paid off. Well done to all those involved; a truly commendable effort for the safety of one and all.

The fundraising events organised by the Community Chest Fund and Id-Dar tal-Providenza were a big success as record sums of money were collected once again bringing to light the generosity of us Maltese.

Apart from the public transport issue, the two New Year’s Eve events in Valletta and Floriana were also a success as thousands flocked there to celebrate the birth of 2011.

Business for the hotels and restaurants seems to have been good despite the fact these are not the best of times for the economy. The announcement by Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco that Malta registered the highest percentage increase in tourist arrivals augurs well for 2011.

We had barely digested the New Year’s Day lunch and the positive events of the previous week when the Labour Party announced it will be holding a protest march and present a motion in Parliament against the increase of fuel prices. Joseph Muscat is right to discuss matters he feels are of national importance in Parliament, however I have strong reservations about his decision as leader of a political party to take people to the streets on what are fundamentally fiscal- and economic-related issues. That is a role generally associated with pressure groups and trade unions, something the social partners did not deem fit to do; instead they called a meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development to discuss the issues around the table.

Paradoxically, the PL decided to take on a more militant approach, which jars with the political rhetoric we associate Dr Muscat with. Has his call for “moderates” to join his fold been thrown out of the window already? Is it truly “progressive” to take people to the streets on issues over which the government has no control – the international price of oil and gas?

Still, the Labour leader and his party have every right to demonstrate and protest if they so wish but they should behave as a political party not as a pressure group if they aspire to be the alternative government. At times, Dr Muscat and the PL seem to confuse the different roles of the two. There is a distinction between a pressure group and what the PL should stand for.

The role of a pressure group is simply an interest group that endeavours to influence public policy and governmental legislation in line with its particular concerns and priorities. On the other hand, a political party is a group of people organised to acquire and exercise political power. So while pressure groups are expected to protest against a particular measure they are not bound to offer solutions. A serious political party, on the other hand, must suggest alternatives for measures it is criticising.

Therefore the people have a right to ask Dr Muscat, as leader of a political party aspiring to govern Malta one day, what his strategy and policies are to combat the international oil price hike. Would Dr Muscat keep on subsidising the fuel prices for consumers? Would he reduce the electricity and gas bills for Maltese families? If so, how would he finance the subsidies? These are simple questions the Labour leader ought to answer.

Dr Muscat appears to be attempting a replica of Eddie Fenech Adami’s 1980s national movement and protests. Well, Dr Muscat may have been in his early teens then but I am sure he remembers the national protests organised by the Nationalist Party a quarter of a century ago were not on matters of fiscal or economic policy but on matters of democracy. Times have changed since then thanks to Dr Fenech Adami’s national reconciliation project and Alfred Sant’s stand to continue in his predecessor’s (Dr Fenech Adami not Dom Mintoff’s) footsteps when he took office in 1996.

Dr Muscat and the PL ought to understand that Malta is part of the world. The world economy is fragile; the international price of oil is soaring and countries around the globe are struggling. Other governments are taking drastic austerity measures to cope with the present crisis. Malta and its people are feeling the pinch as well but one would not be honest to attribute this situation to the government’s policies.

We expect the Leader of the Opposition to be fair in his criticism and not condemn the government on matters that are beyond its control. On other matters, we expect Dr Muscat to offer alternatives and not simply criticise the Administration. This is what distinguishes a political party from a pressure group.