If Labour came flying out of the blocks at the start of the electoral campaign – they were actually in danger of making a false start with their midnight launch – then the Nationalists have been warming up the engine surprisingly slowly. But eight weeks is a very long time.
That has not been the only difference in approach. The focus of the parties has contrasted sharply too. Labour have taken a leaf out of the PN’s 2008 book of electoral strategy and seem to be making Joseph Muscat the predominant focus of attention. He signs the billboards, appears in their adverts and has become MuscatPL in all but name.
When one clicks on the online versions of their promos, it is Dr Muscat’s website – not Labour’s – that viewers are directed towards. And to date there has been no mention of the Labour Party, nor of the torch which has to date symbolised it. This is all no doubt meant to appeal to the floating voter that they hope will win them the election. But this may come at a cost of dismaying those who have been there all along. Anġlu Farrugia seems firmly planted in this latter camp.
The Nationalists, on the other hand, have dumped the word Gonzi from their paraphernalia and are back to being a group again – albeit a group that is very prominently promoting the new deputy leader, Simon Busuttil.
One must wonder if they would have gone for a different approach had Dr Busuttil been leader instead of heir apparent. But whatever the case, there is no doubt – and this is borne out in our survey today – that he is highly capable of attracting voters.
Labour has gone for a generic slogan that it might find hard to communicate, while the Nationalists have opted for the tried and tested formula of highlighting areas where they have delivered: jobs, education and health.
Though undoubtedly important, and the basis for our standard of living, the issues the PN are promoting seem to be being taken for granted by the electorate. This is a blessing in some ways because it means people in Malta – unlike other countries ravaged by economic crisis – are not having to worry about the basic foundations of a sound nation since they already have it.
They have therefore turned their attention to other things and, as our survey shows, cost of living comes top of the concern list. Water and electricity rates are an integral part of this. It is doubtless with this in mind that Labour is trying to construct its campaign on the production of energy, an area where this Government has stuttered after the controversy that surrounded the Delimara power station extension and its continued reliance on heavy fuel oil instead of gas.
Labour is ambitiously proposing to build a gas-fired power plant within two years which it says will in turn reduce electricity bills by an average of 25 per cent. The Nationalists have rubbished this idea, and Tonio Fenech has been particularly effective in the past week at raising certain doubts.
The Finance Minister has said Labour’s plant would cost almost double the €370 million that has been mooted, and that it would take five years to build. He has also raised significant points over the location of the gas storage tanks.
Boldly, Dr Muscat has said he would step down if the PL’s energy plans fail. But before getting to that stage, he and his party must be able to persuade the public that what they are proposing is workable. This may be a more difficult task than Labour envisaged when it kicked off the campaign.