Simon Busuttil’s arrival as PN deputy leader was trumpeted as a game-changer. Now, the Labour Party has joined the music with Louis Grech. Where does this dance of the deputies lead?
Saturday’s evening’s debate between PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil and his PL counterpart Louis Grech was always going to struggle to match the rising crescendo of its politically charged build-up.
The PN believed their horse to be more suave, so the PL went for suave too, and brought in Louis Grech
Dissett viewers hoping to see sparks fly had to settle for two men more accustomed to Strasbourg parliamentary halls, taking it in turns to argue their points, more or less civilly, on national television.
There were no graphs or spats with the debate moderator this time, as had happened when Mr Grech’s predecessor, Anġlu Farrugia, squared up to Dr Busuttil on Xarabank two weeks ago.
Whoever viewers perceived to have won the debate, it was not the comprehensive victory of 14 days earlier, when Dr Busuttil was widely seen as having trounced his counterpart.
Both major parties now enter the electoral campaign with deputy leaders poised to play a more prominent role than in previous elections.
“Who remembers last election’s deputy leaders?” asked historian and former Labour activist Dominic Fenech.
“I doubt many people knew Tonio Borg was PN deputy leader until he ceased being so.”
Heightened focus on the deputy leaders was a PN tactic prompted by Dr Busuttil’s election that national broadcaster PBS – which Prof. Fenech dismissed as being “wagged by Where’s Everybody” – had acquiesced to, he charged.
In Prof. Fenech’s eyes, “the PN believed their horse to be more suave, so the PL went for suave too, and brought in Louis Grech”.
Labour’s chess move of elevating Mr Grech to second-in-command by way of countering the PN’s unveiling of Dr Busuttil was proving to be clever, analyst Claire Bonello said.
“Louis Grech hasn’t got the stigma of ‘Old Labour’, he’s not in the Alfred Sant constellation and his links with Joseph Muscat are quite tenuous. He’s seen as a bit of an outsider, and you can’t help liking him as a first impression.”
Former PN executive president Frank Portelli also felt Mr Grech had lent the PL credibility among undecided voters.
“Louis Grech has a much better image than that projected by Anġlu Farrugia. He appears a balanced and mature politician, and that is the image the PL hopes will sway that large section of the electorate – around 35 per cent – who until today are registered as ‘undecided’,” Dr Portelli argued.
Opinion writer and communications specialist Alison Bezzina felt both deputy leaders would play an important role in their respective parties’ electoral fortunes.
But despite the frisson surrounding Mr Grech, she remained unimpressed by his debate performance.
“I was a little bit disappointed,” she said. “I was expecting him to give Simon Busuttil a harder time. Perhaps he still needs to find his feet.”
Ms Bezzina was almost overawed by Dr Busuttil’s camera skills. “He’s way too cool, and he was extremely good at derailing Louis Grech with his interruptions. I’m convinced he’s received intensive training at some point.”
The die cast, neither party could turn back the clock now, Prof. Fenech said. “Perhaps we’ll return to a focus on the party leaders, but the newly-recharged deputies are definitely going to be a permanent feature of this electoral contest.”
But elections were not won or lost at televised debates, Dr Portelli said. “At this point, the game changers are home visits and meeting people disillusioned by the Government, its advisers, civil servants and the ruling elite.”
The former MP pointed to people’s relative lack of trust in Prime Minister Gonzi as a prime cause of concern for the PN, and had some ominous words for his former party. “I meet people every day who feel that the Government has distanced itself from the electorate.
“Abandon the electorate and they will abandon you. Around 35 per cent of the population remain unconvinced. The PN needs to convince them that it can make a difference in their lives.”
Saturday’s debate had further confirmed that individuals, rather than issues, would loom large throughout the campaign, Ms Bonello predicted.
“It seems this campaign is going to be very personality-based. We’re talking about people rather than issues – probably because it’s easier to run a political campaign that way,” she said.
Prof. Fenech believes policy debates will still feature prominently, but that the “personality and credibility” of either party’s leadership team would also come into play.
But the inability – or unwillingness – of both Dr Busuttil and Mr Grech to speak factually on specific issues left Ms Bonello slightly dispirited.
“Alternattiva Demokratika’s Carmel Cacopardo asked them both what they would do about illegal boathouses. And neither of them gave a straight answer. They had the opportunity to discuss a specific issue, but they didn’t.”