The Labour Party’s impressive victory in last week’s European Parliament elections has given Joseph Muscat the confidence to believe that he will be Prime Minister for at least two terms.
Labour received 53.4 per cent of the popular vote, only marginally less than the 54.8 per cent it won in both the 2009 poll and last year’s general election.
Labour under Dr Muscat has managed to make inroads in sectors of society which previously would not have considered voting for it.
It has managed to put together a coalition of traditional Labour voters, moderates and liberals, which explains the party’s excellent performance in the last three national polls. With a good campaigner and strategist for leader, Labour has proved to be a well-oiled and efficient political machine
On the other hand, even the rather childish over-celebrating in the counting hall when it became known that the Nationalist Party had narrowly clinched the sixth seat could not hide the fact that this was a terrible result for the PN.
Its 40 per cent share of the popular vote was even lower than its result in 2009 and also lower than the 43.3 per cent it received in last year’s general election – although turnout at European Parliament elections is a factor.
For a party that won a majority of votes in six of the seven general elections before 2013, which saved Malta’s democracy in 1987 and then brought about so much political and economic change, culminating in the country’s membership of the EU, this poor performance is obviously a bitter pill to swallow.
The relatively good state of the Maltese economy, the government’s energy in its first year, the reduction of electricity bills and the VAT refund for car owners shortly before the election was always going to make it difficult for the Nationalists to take votes away from Labour.
But there is one very worrying trend which should concern any law-abiding citizen who sincerely believes in meritocracy: the elevation of clientelism to a new level.
Ever since it stormed into power, Labour has sought to create jobs in places where they were not needed, simply to appease voters demanding to be rewarded for choosing PL. It has bent over backwards to appease sectors of society like hunters and contractors.
There are very worrying signals in areas like the planning authority, even law enforcement in general. There are signals being given that the minister is increasingly becoming the ‘go to’ guy.
In a nutshell, this government appears to be undoing a lot of good the Nationalists managed to do in their long term in office. And in a southern Mediterranean country which needs strong enforcement to come in line, this is a worrying phenomenon.
Equally worrying is the fact that the only Opposition party is in disarray. The PN must take note of the transformation of Maltese society, end its siege mentality and end the divisions between the party’s conservative and liberal wings.
The government’s claim, on the other hand, that the Nationalists lost so badly because it has been ‘negative’ ever since Labour was elected to office, is unfair. In Parliament, the PN has voted in favour of the majority of Bills proposed by the government, it has come up with a number of Private Members Bills and supported the presidential nomination of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.
Just because voters stuck with Labour in this election does not mean this criticism was unjustified; it means that overall the electorate saw no reason to switch sides.
But the Prime Minister should also take note of a significant section of the electorate that is seriously concerned about his government’s clientelistic attitude. Whether he will or not is, of course, another matter.