Round about this time some two years ago, the Labour Party was gearing itself for a massive victory in the March 2013 election. The Party was determined to leave no stone unturned in its quest to return to power after so many years in Opposition.
As was predicted by many punters, Labour crushed the opposition at the polls and quickly moved on to establish absolute control with a swift administrative and political ‘cleansing’.
Expectations were high for a promised ‘managerial’ approach ensconced in transparency, meritocracy and unabashed liberalism. After all, these were the precise pledges that propelled Labour’s return to government.
For a long while after Joseph Muscat’s success at the polls it appeared evident that people were willing to give him a chance and yet another one after that as his political legacy unfolded before our very own eyes.
As one pact after another fell through, as promises made with such pomp were unceremoniously jettisoned, people started waking up to the realisation that Labour’s extended honeymoon had come to an abrupt end.
It is evidently clear that the Maltese and Gozitan voters expect that what was promised is delivered and no amount of window dressing will deviate attention from the real worrying issues. And worried we should be because while the Prime Minister smiles for the cameras and gushes reassurances, the list of unkept promises keeps getting longer, giving rise to feelings of insecurity and incredulity. But, then again, the Prime Minister is in the sunshine business and would like us to be positive and believe that all is well in Muscat’s land of milk and honey.
Expectations and immediacy are also the order of the day on the Nationalist Party side.
Punch-drunk from a legislature marked with internal strife, which led to a historic defeat at the polls, the PN in Opposition has wisely used its time so far to target marked internal changes.
With those changes quietly and elegantly accomplished, the party is now determined to claw back tangible credibility through honesty and a reinvigorated approach to on-the-ground local politics.
A general convention has just been held by the PN for the first time, attracting a number of sectoral interests such as professionals, business people, academics and many, many more who felt comfortable sharing with the party their expectations for a better Malta.
All the proposals made will now be energetically digested by the recently-set up policy fora of the party and policies will then be formulated because, whether from government or Opposition benches, the PN has truly always worked to promote the best possible opportunities for each and every individual in this country.
This is what has always been expected of the party and no one can deny its success rate of deliverables in this regard.
PN leader Simon Busuttil closed the three-day general convention with a much anticipated speech. All eyes were on the leader and all ears hearing his words because many predicted that his speech at this particular juncture would be setting the pace for PN to move away from the heavy burden of a recent, crushing electoral defeat and eagerly look forward to being in government in three years’ time. Truth be told he did not disappoint and proved his critics all wrong.
One wonders whether Joseph Muscat still believes he can get away with hoodwinking the electorate
Busuttil came across as a maturing strong leader, a veritable prime minister-in-waiting. His casual and down-to-earth approach when addressing the audience present is genuinely endearing and his credibility is strengthened by heartfelt statements of how, in this one short life that we are given to live, we should all pledge to work for the common good, to ensure a better quality of life for all of us. For, after all, this is what politics is all about.
While the unnerved propaganda machine of the Labour Party constantly churns out stories of what the Nationalists did, did not do or should have done when in power, the running of the country is put on the back burner as the government attempts to deliver on pre-electoral promises which most certainly do not respect the common good.
A respected member of Parliament on the government side has been quoted as saying that when people voted Labour they voted for change and not a mere change in name. This is certainly not the anticipated change that people voted for. Labour so far has been unable to live up to its expectations and the Prime Minister is now stuck between a rock and a very hard place.
With time fast running out and with no tangible deliverables in sight, one wonders whether Muscat still believes he can get away with hoodwinking the electorate by further investing in the sunshine business.
info@carolinegalea.com
Caroline Galea sits on the executive committee of the Nationalist Party.