For quite some time now, the Nationalist Party’s propaganda machine is focusing on harking back to certain unpleasant and unfortunate incidents that occurred in the 1980s.

...attributing all acts of violence to Labour supporters is far from accurate...- Josè Herrera

This tactic is undoubtedly a form of scaremongering.

In one poll after the other, we see a clear indication that the Labour Party is on the lead. This could have led the party in government to go into full campaign mode and risk taking extreme measures to counteract against its apparent loss of support.

This strategy is certainly the government’s attempt to dishearten potential new Labour voters.

This approach, however, is definitely unwarranted and will, in most probability, prove to be counterproductive at the end.

I must admit that all this is proving to be somewhat irritating and unnerving, especially to parliamentarians like myself who were very far removed from the political scene during that period and who, therefore, are totally extraneous to that reality.

I recall that, way back, as a newly-elected member of Parliament, I had the opportunity to publicly dissociate myself completely from any illegalities committed by party diehards in the past. In this respect I had affirmed and still do that I feel in no way obliged to be apologetic for anyone in this sense.

Times, however, move on and that episode today seems far remote. The PL had, in fact, taken a fresh start and I dare say that no one nowadays can impute even remotely any wrongdoing to it. The vast majority of the political players of that period are today basically out of the scene.

Without justifying anything, the propaganda being meted out is not as honest as it purports to be. It must be noted that attributing all acts of violence to Labour supporters is far from accurate because there are known episodes of political violence that can easily be ascribed to the other side of the political spectrum.

Thus, all this mud-slinging is causing undue political polarisation and tension.

Bringing back the ghosts of the past will lead to nowhere. This can have a ripple effect and prove impossible to know where to draw the line should the PL similarly opt to rub old sores.

The PL, for example, could easily recall the unfortunate experience of the early 1960s and the hardship its loyalists had to go through during the religious tensions of that period. To my mind, the PL in opposition should avoid being provoked into going down that road.

It must be pointed out, however, that it feels totally out of place all these years later to try and smear the Labour leadership and parliamentarians because of a scenario that is gradually fading into the distant past.

What is even less acceptable is the pivotal role being assumed by the national television station in these endeavours. By doing so, the Broadcasting Authority is divesting itself of any vestiges of impartiality it might still have retained.

Ironically, notwithstanding all the fanfare, we can see through a substantial dose of hypocrisy. It must be emphasised that, notwithstanding all this persistent hammering on this subject and after 25 years of a Nationalist Administration, few and far between were any of those involved in the incidents mentioned to ever be called to book. Amazingly, at the end of the day, the vast majority of these individuals ended up being promoted and exonerated by this same government.

At times, it is good to recollect the past and even mention the darker periods of our recent history. We do this primarily to help us avoid repeating past mistakes.

On the other hand, overemphasising ad nauseam past blunders just to hurt and to seek political advantage is simply not on.

I take the opportunity to pass on the season’s greetings to the readers of this newspaper.

Dr Herrera is shadow justice minister.