Our politicians in the ring

Soon, we will be called to spend a couple of seconds wedged in between chipboard partitions deciding on the future of this country. Let’s try to put the facts on the table before we start ticking the boxes.

Why Nationalists?

The Nationalist Party in government has achieved. Saying it in any other way would only be the case of people speaking with their heads between their legs.

The PN has in these years in government given Malta a general stir. The country we were living in, especially in the second part of the 1980s, was one struggling with lack of character and it ran low on self-confidence. Even though the Labour era had its boons, as time went by most were convinced it was fitting for amendment.

Labour grew weary, fatigued, suspicious and disordered. In other words, it lost any semblance to evenness. Labour, at that point in time, had made so many bloopers in terms of social organisation that we were lucky the country did not implode.

People, and I remember that epoch very well, were feeling demotivated, bland and dreary, to put it kindly.

The moment had long come for another party with a new set of politicians to fill that void and, by and large, the PN in government did this abundantly well, especially in the areas of employment creation, education farsightedness and social policy.

The country almost immediately started to flourish in terms of poise. Two examples. Firstly, the middle class had stopped gasping for air and was now riding the waves and, secondly, social and public policy started converging. It was no longer piecemeal support but organised foundations and social structures that congregated all of civil society.

However, that crispiness so characteristic of the PN seems to be floundering. This is a party in disrepute and the more time passes the egos of some and the anger of others surface and are taking over the “core business” of this organisation.

The Prime Minister had a lot on his hands. He struggled with a backbench that was not ready to sit still. The moment one would think he had sorted it out, someone “pulls out a rabbit”.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister wriggled with a senior acolyte that expected to be shown the Presidential door and another one was rather annoyed with the “two weights and two measures” he had been faced with.

Once again, people thought that with Louis Galea in Luxembourg and John Dalli in Brussels (and a lucrative package) all was settled! But it wasn’t to be.

Then, there was time for an MP to get his knickers in a twist because of justice matters. It turns into a volley of insults and throwbacks and calls for respect coming from both ends.

The Prime Minister lamentably starts sliding into the water.

It goes quiet for a moment. A couple of motions and it’s brewing anew. Hell breaks loose. The first motion sees a government MP voting against his own party and bringing down a minister in the process. With him a family legacy gets a juddering. The second motion contributes to the downfall of a key “piece” in the PN’s chessboard, once again with the vote and an abstention of government MPs.

Keeping to the chess game allegory, slowly but surely the “blue pieces’” are being “captured” and fast.

Why Labour?

Our other choice is New Labour, the “newest” of them all, I would say! Joseph Muscat is, as a senior journalist told me, recreating a party around himself, a risky model that seems to be working well so far.

This seems to be a bit of a Fenech Adami-ation he is doing.

Dr Muscat wants to be Joseph as Edward Fenech Adami wanted to be Eddie! He wants to create lore. He is interested in pulling down the walls, which I think he has managed to do. On the other hand, he has drawn back to the barracks some old faces but only to be seen in planned events. Dr Muscat is working hard at keeping the troops in file but is also endeavouring to bring in new faces.

This PL is additionally starting to present its vision on an assemblage of issues, namely, social policy (like, disability) and young people (to reassure them that this is not the party of old that had buried their dreams).

The PL has its own set of challenges. It still has to convince that things that have worked will remain in place and not be changed for the sake of changing. People are also anxious on whether the rife socialist mentality based on save for a rainy day will affect us.

Having said all this, I believe the contest will centre around “leadership” this time round. Good leadership requires bold decisions that are taken speedily, visibly and noticeably.

I believe this election will draw two personae to the ring.

In the left corner, the contestant wearing the red shorts equipped with youthful liveliness and vigour, crustiness and enthusiasm will lead the thrust.

In the right corner, we can notice the contestant wearing the blue shorts and carries with him age and proficiency. His success stories in the Libya ordeal and the economy are his main jab.

People will have to choose between the two.Let the sparring begin…

Dr Azzopardi is senior lecturer at the Department of Youth and Community Studies of the University of Malta