Way back in January 2009, in my very first piece for this page, I had written that the effects of the “earthquake of change” that was announced by Joseph Muscat upon his election as Labour Party leader in June 2008 would be felt well beyond his party. It would, I argued, have a national political impact, Nationalist Party included.

The very idea of ‘natural’ constituents will be increasingly politically ineffective

I observed: “The magnitude of the earthquake he has unleashed within the Labour Party has been underestimated in many quarters. It has been underestimated by Gonzi himself…. It has been underestimated by almost all of his Cabinet. It has been underestimated by almost all of the Nationalist Party’s general staff and the Nationalist parliamentary group. Almost all.”

A handful of readers registered their disagreement. Among the posts on the online edition, you will find this sarcastic comment: “Mario Vella has quite a vivid imagination and would surely have rivalled the Grimm brothers, H. C. Andersen and the rest had he lived in their time. Muscat’s earthquake must have registered a very low intensity under the Richter scale, seeing that hardly anybody in Malta is aware of its happening.”

Here is another example: “… if the proof of the pudding is in the eating, my conclusion is that what we are experiencing are tiny, insignificant tremors.”

As far as sarcasm and wit are concerned, the following one is the best: “The beauty of this piece makes it an undisputed contender for a place in the all-time annals of newspaper contributions. It is to be considered as an unapproachable concise treatise defining the elusive metaphor ‘clutching at straws’. Hats down ladies and gentleman! Hats down!”

Reader Antoine Vella, clutching at the clutching-at-straws metaphor could not resist posting this gem: “Mario Vella is not even clutching at straws for there are no straws to clutch, only wishful thinking and dreams.” Evidently, I was not clutching at straws and, evidently, Muscat’s “earthquake of change” did not consist of “tiny, insignificant tremors”. Yes, if the proof of the pudding is indeed in the eating, as one reader (un)wisely reminded us (see above), the March 9 elections were the proof of the pudding.

The 55 per cent achieved by Muscat’s PL were, you will agree, strong enough proof that the “earthquake of change” he announced five years ago did impact on the whole of Maltese politics, including the PN. The aftershocks, I would now add, continue to be felt and will influence the process of change within the PN now in Opposition. For it is clear that unless the PN identifies a leader with the political will and the energy required to unleash an “earthquake of change” within his party, we will not have an Opposition worthy of the name.

And we do need an Opposition worthy of the name. Without one, the renewal process triggered by Muscat five years ago – a process whose roots can be traced back to Labour’s defeat in 1987 – will be incomplete. We need an Opposition capable of taking up the challenges emerging from the March 9 elections. Its supporters deserve nothing less. The country deserves nothing less.

The “earthquake of change” has opened up new sources of political energy and not only in the PL side nor only in the broader movement that Muscat has cultivated around it. It has shown Nationalist supporters that there is more to politics than what has been dished out to them so far. Muscat’s “earthquake of change” is now a national “earthquake”, one that has changed irreversibly the national perception of what is politically possible.

Once the joy and the pain of March 9 will have mellowed, thinking people on ‘both sides’ will begin to appreciate – even more clearly than they already have done so far – what power the “earthquake” has given them.

Hopefully, they will begin to use this newly-found power.

Those of PN persuasion will realise that, in the post-March 9 Malta, no politician can take his constituents for granted. Even more importantly, they will understand that no political party can take ‘its share’ of the electorate for granted.

This means that the Maltese electorate will be more demanding than it has ever been so far. Every politician and every political party, in Government and in Opposition, will have to prove itself constantly. Every party will be increasingly unable to appeal to its ‘natural’ constituents for the simple reason that the very idea of ‘natural’ constituents will be increasingly politically ineffective. That is no mean challenge.

The next first opportunity for loyal Nationalists – and there are thousands of good people that fit that qualify as ‘loyal Nationalists’ – to benefit from the effects of the earthquake is imminent. Soon they will be called upon to choose a new leader. True, it is as yet unclear if ‘they’ will be the 900 odd national councillors or the much greater number of members of the PN. Whichever, this is the first occasion they have to show they have understood the signs of the times.

Mario Vella blogs at http://watersbroken.wordpress.com .

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.