Convenient discourse in politics

The author of the piece Is Labour Ready To Govern? (April 27) alleged that the Nationalist media is not credible when it says that the Labour leader “tries to please everybody in order to win power”.

May I point out that many other media also claim that Joseph Muscat will do anything to win the next election. Here go several edifying examples: Muscat’s New Face(s), carried on October 4, 2010, said it all: “Take a few phrases from Dom, steal a sentence from Eddie, throw in a large dose of strategy from Alfred and what have you got? A rather confusing Joseph, who, by his language and conduct, is showing he will do whatever it takes to win the next election”.

This is not just a perception. Dr Muscat, the politician says one thing to one group one day and another thing to another audience on another day. He tells employers he will share the burden with them and then he tells employees he will introduce a “living wage” to help them cope with their financial difficulties, hence burdening employers!

After denying that there was an international recession for two whole years, it dawned on Dr Muscat that, yes, something bad out there was happening. But did he ever explain that the utility tariffs rose exorbitantly because of the international price hikes and not because of anybody’s incompetence? No he did not as it would not gain Labour any extra votes, would it?

Neither will he ever consider acknowledging the fact that our unemployment rate is down and our economy is on a sound footing in spite of the global financial crisis. In sharp contrast to the praise many world leaders and leading credit agencies showered upon the government for our economic growth, all Dr Muscat has to say is that “he has no lessons to learn from government on the economy”.

Parroting his leader, the author of the piece continues: “Economic growth under Labour would not mean placing unbearable burdens on the shoulder of many Maltese citizens. The opposite would be the case and taxes would be reduced…”.

Do Labour enthusiasts really mean what they say? I hope not because if the government took Labour’s advice and cut our taxes our deficit would soar, our country would go bankrupt and dire austerity measures would have to be introduced pronto?

Another editorial: Where The Labour Party Is Really Failing (January 12) claimed that: “Labour is taking full political advantage of the situation, going all out to appeal to the masses and projecting the government as incompetent and insensitive”. It warned: “Labour has to keep in mind too the people are becoming increasingly weary of politicians’ tactics, rhetoric and, even more so, of promises”.

Another enlightening piece: Defiant Muscat Fails To Offer Concrete Immigration Solutions (April 12) shows without a shadow of a doubt that Dr Muscat wants to win votes at all costs. Preying on the people’s concerns on the ever-increasing illegal immigration “Muscat surprised many on Sunday when he said Malta should do as Italy had done and put its national interest first. He also failed to condemn the fact that Italy had refused to rescue or accept migrants in distress just off the Italian island of Lampedusa last week”.

When asked by The Times “whether (as Prime Minister ) he would let the migrants drown, send them back to Libya or give them food and petrol to resume their journey to mainland Italy” the PL failed to offer any concrete proposals.

Even MaltaToday’s editorial (April 13) asked “but what exactly does he intend to do differently, given the chance?”

So, on the one hand, we have Dr Muscat criticising all the government’s strategies ad nauseam and, on the other hand, we draw a big blank. The MaltaToday portal (April 11) could not resist stating the obvious that “on immigration he enjoys flexing his populist muscles”.

Another editorial – A Populist Rant Backfires (April 17) – tackled Dr Muscat’s “reprehensible comments on irregular immigration”. The Times told him were to get off: “Only those who put principles above convenience and who make concrete proposals that are both humane as well as viable should be entrusted with the privilege of leading this country.”

So you see, it’s not just the PN media, is it? Which brings me to the crux of the matter: Labour is definitely not ready to govern. It is shallow, it is inconsistent, it is featherbrained, it is opportunistic and, above all, it is simply not credible.

To top it all, it also has a very arrogant leader who does not only enjoy bullying the government but even the European Union, demanding we use our veto to force its hand but that is another story. If Dr Muscat ever gets to lead this country, he will be bulldozing his way left, right and centre, believe you me!

In perfect synch with his leader, the author of the piece mentioned above wrote that “a future Labour government would do its utmost to ensure the Europeans treat Malta with the dignity and respect it deserves”.

How exactly is Labour going to do that? Even if, just for argument’s sake, the Europeans are not treating us with respect and dignity, what is this Labour champion suggesting: boycotting it, vetoing it, leaving it, waging war on it? What?