The present, as was the past, Nationalist Party electoral campaign is based on a number of permanent elements because it, after all, remains a conservative party with an old-fashioned symbol that is at least 50 years old. And this in spite of some social democratic noises it tries to make to prove it is capable of change.
The cry for a right to represent Europeanism in Malta is a shriek in the desert.
It brings to mind the reality that the Maltese preferred to send to the European Parliament no fewer than four Labour MEPs out of a total of six. There must be a reason for this.
It is common knowledge that this is a source of frustration to the PN as is the case of the majority of votes Labour won in local elections proving the Labour Party’s closeness to the people at grassroots level.
On a national level, it would appear that, in the electoral campaign, both the PN and its leader are less energetic this time round than they were in the last election. Scandals related to commissions and Swiss bank accounts are not helping much.
There is one PN line that never ceases to make people smile. It keeps accusing the PL in Opposition of failing to implement any projects. As if our political system allows the Opposition to implement projects.
If the PN is in Opposition, does it intend to initiate and manage projects such as the new Parliament building, more roofless theatres, the White Rocks sports complex etc.? I wonder and, yet, during this electoral campaign GonziPN and clique keep repeating that Labour in Opposition is not doing much.
The PL seems to be winning more points. This especially because its argumentation is more cheerful and peaceful. In contrast, the PN prefers the noisy personal attacks and scaremongering.
When the PL sends lawyers to participate in a debate, these are often accused of practising legalism. Of course, this is just a PN defence mechanism attempting to play down the arguments of some of the best legal minds in Malta.
Let us now come to scaremongering, another campaign factor that has been used by the PN since the time of Terinu. This was a PN-paid individual who falsely accused Gerald Strickland of actively participating in Masonic events.
The PN remains the party notorious for Terinati and, in the weeks and months preceding any election, a new Terinata or two appear.
In the past, there was the hysterical attack on the PL for having liberal ideas. Anyone associating with Labour was definitely condemned to suffer eternal damnation in hell.
Nobody brought any proof of this and it eventually died down, dismissed as another Terinata.
In another election, Labour leader Alfred Sant was accused of stopping the PN leader’s son from joining the University. In court, this was proved to be a blatant lie but the harm had been done just before the election.
I hate to think that the PN prefers to pay court fines because of blatant lies (or Terinati) rather than suffering an electoral defeat.
A comical argument with tinges of racism was recently used by the new PN deputy leader who, since winning the deputy leadership race against Tonio Fenech, has, so far, failed to prove that he is anywhere up to the job and the responsibility it carries. Yet, the PN Executive thought they had discovered a wonder boy who, it runs out, happens to be quite a dull debater.
Let us take the ridiculous accusation by SimonPN that some of the new people who abandoned the PN and joined the PL still have Nationalist faces (are they supposed to have cosmetic surgery?). I do not know one single Nationalist person who did not find this assertion totally ludicrous. But Busuttil remained adamant and repeated this funny, very divisive statement without having realised the political damage it has done to him personally and his party.
This brings me to another reality that is frustrating the PN’s electoral campaign. I am not talking about the positive surveys showing the PL well ahead of the PN in popularity.
To me and to the PL, this means absolutely nothing at all. Surveys have some importance but insufficient reliability and if the PL electoral campaign machine does not work harder the PN may very well prove the surveys wrong.
At the same time, it is evident that never before has Malta seen so many former Nationalists openly declaring they are fed up with the way the PN has divided the population into Nationalist and Labour faces.
Busuttil should apologise for this incredible gaffe and simply state that he made a silly mistake, which he does not intend to repeat.
Above all, if you think that the PN’s pre-electoral scaremongering and Terinati have been exhausted, I am sure you are wrong.
Carmelo Abela is a Labour MP.