Reviewing the first year of Muscat’s Labour administration in office, nearly two years ago, I concluded an article in this paper, thus: “The style over substance dichotomy will finally devour the politician who indulges in such an ephemeral game.”

Without in any way implying ‘I told you so’, I must say that this quote flashed into my mind when on the last day of the year, I listened to what Joseph Muscat had to say in his Christmas-cum-end-of-the-year message to the nation.

But before entering into the merits of Muscat’s message, I would like to give a short overview about how these television messages developed throughout the years as related to me by a former senior journalist.

With the advent of our own Maltese television service, the island’s leaders used to give their messages to the people of Malta on Christmas Eve. They were quite short messages, apolitical and appropriate. Messages were given by Queen Elizabeth – being the Queen of Malta until 1974, the Governor General, the Prime Minister and the Archbishop.

This way of doing things was interrupted when Mintoff took over the reins of government in 1971. His message stopped being relayed along with the other dignitaries on Christmas Eve, but on the last day of the year. The journalist who spoke to me says he doesn’t remember these occasions with particular nostalgia as Mintoff used to deliver very long messages, full of partisan politics, announcing new measures (frequently evoking belt-tightening), and this whole exercise would imply that newsmen covering it would end the year and start the new one at their place of work.

Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici continued with that tradition when he took over from Mintoff in 1984.

With Eddie Fenech Adami succeeding Mifsud Bonnici in 1987, everything returned to normality and his Christmas message would be a short one, highlighting the most important occurrences (not only political) and finally wishing the Maltese the season’s greetings. Basically this is what happened for the next 25 years.

Yes, because even in December 1996 and December 1997, when the incumbent at Castille was Alfred Sant, he played the same game with relatively short messages (both less than 10 minutes). In his 1996 message, Sant gave a short brief review of the year (very apolitical) and then gave his greetings.

The following year, notwithstanding that his government was experiencinga very harrowing situation at the handsof Mintoff, he refrained from beingpolitical and emphasised many a social aspect while speaking about the valuesof the Maltese people regarding family and friendship.

Needless to say that Nationalist incumbents after Sant continued this tradition of leaving out useless political and partisan digs in their messages.

But, bang, on came the new lad, the one who promised a new style of doing politics, with no ‘political’ flags where the only thing that matters will be the coming-together of a whole nation and... surprise, surprise, he instantly reverts to the Mintoff-Mifsud Bonnici era, with his message relayed on the last hours of the year, including barefaced political propaganda and innuendoes which in his calculations were likely to denigrate the Opposition.

Superficiality and artificiality are the hallmarks of the Muscat administration

Throughout my professional career, I had quite an experience working in the media, particularly television, and I reckon I can judge what are the effects of what people in the trade refer to as subliminal advertising – that brand of advertising which uses images and sounds to influence consumers without they actually being aware of it.

I beg to differ with those who went to town over Muscat’s end-of-the-year broadcast as if it has been his very first. As a matter of fact, if one were to revisit Labour’s electoral campaign, only three years ago, one can very early come to the conclusion that it was built on theatrics using images and catchphrases ad nauseam which could ‘wash’ people’s minds.

You would remember those short features on television depicting an argument in a typical Maltese family (played by actors) which was straying towards Labour, the famous Malta Tagħna Lkoll, and the other one coined by Muscat himself, fabbrika tal-kanċer, when referring to the BWSC power plant.

The same finger prints of the same people responsible for Labour’s electoral campaign were all there to see in Muscat’s end-of-the-year controversial message. Their mindset seems to have remained grounded to what they probably argue was a winning formula. But the real hitch, unfortunately for them, is that the Maltese electorate is now three years wiser after having seen how this government is translating all its promises into facts.

Judging by what people had to say and write, both in the traditional media, but also and more, on the social media, it seems that what impressed most was Muscat’s sleek video fakery about those ‘first-time buyers’ who, it later transpired, had never benefitted from the tax exemption the Prime Minister boasted about and, so, it was a blatant lie to imply that this had given the relative family a big boost.

For me this is not very different, for example, from what happened in the case of the Sadeem so-called ‘American university’ which in the very last-minute in that famous night-long parliamentary session, we were told by the Education Minister that after all it was not going to be a university but a ‘higher education institution’.

After faking for long months that all this hullabaloo about a fully-fledged ‘American university’ – with Muscat declaring that he was determined to end Malta University’s monopoly – this turns out to be an institution the like of which we have in an abundant number.

Coming, roughly, right in the central part of this legislature, this broadcast might be providential. The way this administration treats everyone as if no one can detect what is true and what is not, what is genuine and what is fake, might also help bring its downfall. More people are now in a better position to compare and contrast what they were promised three years ago with what the Socialists are delivering.

Since Muscat chose to go for a political performance in his end-of-the-year message, he should have tackled some of the issues which are topmost on people’s minds and which also happen to be in the country’s political agenda.

These might have included: the granting of yet another position of trust to a former acting police commissioner who was removed from office for acting in a “grossly unprofessional manner”; the high fuel prices the Maltese are being subjected to pay notwithstanding the fact that crude oil hit a 12-year low; the ever-increasing poor situation of our environment, a situation made worse by government’s methods used in Mepa’s demerger; people’s misery stemming from a hopeless reform of the public transport; and the monti hawkers’ saga... just to mention some subjects which would have really interested the whole population.

People are now fully aware that superficiality and artificiality are the hallmarks of the Muscat administration. Another confirmation of a government with a ‘style over substance’ orientation. But is this what Malta needs and expects?

Kristy Debono is Nationalist Party spokeswoman for financial services, IT and gaming.

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