As we approach the end of 2016, it is more than obvious that the Labour Party, led by Joseph Muscat, has strengthened its electoral position and can aspire to another resounding victory at the 2018 election. This can be attributed to two major factors: the brilliance of Muscat as a national leader, coupled with the achievements of the Labour government he leads, and the poor quality of the Opposition led by Simon Busuttil.

I am one of those who militate in the Labour Party and who always had doubts about whether the policy of being centre-right in economic policy and centre-left in social policy would eventually work in the Maltese context. I am glad to say that it has worked brilliantly to the benefit of all.

Being an ideological purist, I was very worried about the “pro-business” approach as this seemed to fly in the face of all Labour’s traditions as a working class political party.

However, Muscat has succeeded in the roadmap he charted on attaining power. Through making the private sector the motor which drives the economy forward and working hand-in-hand with the business community, the Labour government has created a strong and growing economy, practically eliminated unemployment and increased the national wealth. After achieving this, the government can now start distributing parts of the cake of national wealth it has managed to create.

The Budget presented recently is the latest concrete manifestation of socialist ideology as illustrated by several social measures from which the most vulnerable social categories have benefitted. It is no exaggeration to say that all Maltese citizens are today enjoying a much better quality of life than that under the previous Nationalist government led by Lawrence Gonzi.

This does not mean that everything is perfect. There are still important issues that have to be tackled. Foremost among these are good governance, the traffic problem and the debate about raising the minimum wage. These issues deserve the government’s full and immediate attention. Still, I believe that the vast majority of the Maltese population are quite content with what the government has achieved.

Joseph Muscat has shown admirable leadership qualities in the way he handled the Panama Papers

Muscat has shown admirable leadership qualities in the way he handled the Panama Papers controversy as well as the defection of Marlene Farrugia. When the ship is holed after hitting such rocks, it takes a very skilful captain to safely bring it into harbour without foundering.

He now has to turn his full attention to the pending issues mentioned above which have become highly problematic and need to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Labour’s present strong position is also the result of what is probably the poorest Opposition in Maltese political history.  The Opposition leader is a master of contradictions. He has criticised Muscat for not lowering energy tariffs when everybody knows that the previous Gonzi administration had reduced several families to the brink of poverty through high energy tariffs which Busuttil himself supported and never protested against.

Busuttil also regularly contradicts himself on the important issue of good governance. His actions do not match his words. While loudly and bombastically proclaiming how a future Nationalist government will be a prime example of good governance, he saw nothing wrong in reinstating a Nationalist mayor involved in a drink-driving case.

Likewise, despite all the talk about good governance, the Nationalist Party approved the candidature of Salvu Mallia who at a PN political activity described Prime Minister as “the worst thing for Malta since the plague of 1813”, a disgraceful utterance that would probably have been considered out of order and to be condemned even had it been uttered in the days of confrontational politics in the 1970s and 1980s.

How can Busuttil be taken seriously on the issue of good governance when the PN approves candidates in its name who spout such venom about the party’s adversaries?

To further consolidate its already very strong electoral position, Labour has to be wary of certain pitfalls. In a previous article, I had stressed that we have to be very careful because of the loss of values in Maltese politics, a negative development, responsibility for which can be put at the door of all Maltese political parties.

Labour also has to be careful not to measure progress by a simplistic materialist yardstick. It would also be wise to keep at arm’s length certain factions whose ideas are too radical and who try to impose their agenda on the majority who disagree with them.

If this is done, I can only see an excellent future for this country under another Labour administration led by Muscat. Indeed, as the Prime Minister likes to say, “the best is yet to come”.

Desmond Zammit Marmarà is a Balzan Labour councillor.