It is said that “governments are fortunate for the people they administer don’t think”. Modern politics, despite dealing with a rational globalised world, seems to test relatively frequently the balance between those who think and those who don’t as is the situation with Joseph Muscat in Malta.

Being a champion in fooling a nation with empty promises of an infallible roadmap and a government set to deliver on behalf of meritocracy, transparency and accountability, Muscat can nowadays be considered as a case study in political history.

Muscat is the archetype of dishonest politics as his Cabinet’s poor track record accounts for. History may prove its worth in a few months’ time when his dominion over the ‘non-thinkers’ comes crushing down on him, whose futile image has been tarnished by one scandal too many, a new track record for any government since 1964, superseding even Mintoff’s regime back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

During Lawrence Gonzi’s administration, people had become alienated from the true meaning of politics thanks to an aggressive self-centred Labour opposition, shaping political desires of economic achievement, environmental sustainability and job creation into personal desires.

It can be argued that Muscat himself played a very important role in the demise of the Gonzi administration, by furiously objecting to every decision presented before the House. He deceptively protested against overly expensive fuel prices in 2011 (when prices were just as in January 2017 when international oil prices are half those of  six years ago), suggesting that families were riddled excessively in times of crisis. Does that sound familiar?

This country has never talked about poverty as much as we do during this so-called socialist legislature. Muscat’s insensitive government has not been bothered by poverty at all, or for all it matters the low- income families, the rise of property prices and indirect taxes on families unlike when he was leader of the opposition.

Now, all he seems to care about is saving his back and that of his ministers Konrad Mizzi, Evarist Bartolo and his top man in Castille. Long gone is the commitment towards the environment as well as his pledge of transparency to be replaced by stability in arrogance, pathetic and irresponsible governance.

This country has never talked about poverty as much as we do during this so-called socialist legislature

Muscat rose to prominence as his party viciously attacked Gonzi’s €500 increment, only for his incompetent government to cost more than a staggering €32 million than that of his predecessor. Shameful? Probably not, if seen from the unselfish perspective of the Tagħna Lkoll corrupt regime.

If Muscat mistakenly thinks that people are ignorant, he is misjudging the same people who have given him this ill-fated mandate.

Muscat is falling apart, his energy guruhas been embroiled in a scandal of the likes of which Malta has never experienced, his deputy leader is embroiled in an alleged brothel-oriented scandal, some of his Cabinet members are ‘disabled-badge holders’ while others are turning a blind eye at their canvasser’s block of apartments. He himself is purportedly the leader of the [corrupt] pack, allowing people’s money to be dished out in millions to the Gaffarenas, the Café Premiers et al. Absolute incompetence, surely not, sheer arrogance is the order of the day.

If Gonzi lost votes in tens of thousands, Muscat is losing out just the same. History does repeat itself, yet Muscat sees no wrong in leading the most corrupt government in history, in leading a government that has lost touch with social realities, lost ground on the environmental front and failed miserably to sustain his well-polished promises of the famous power station, meritocracy, transparency and accountability, while Gozo is slowly slipping away.

Buzz words no longer work as Muscat has nothing to show, bar some important legislation with regards to LGBTIQ, which may not go unnoticed but are far from being impressive to convince of an otherwise successful government.

When push comes to shove, people may opt for change. In 2013, people voted for change as the Nationalist Party was deemed as corrupt, by the standards of the word itself pre-2013. In 2017, ‘corruption’ is as synonymous a word as much as we had aspired ‘socialist’ would be to the Labour Party.

Given that the country has been institutionally hijacked, Simon Busuttil’s PN is certainly convincing against all odds. Whatever people make out of the PN, they are getting more than ever a convincing reason why Labour must go, no matter what, no matter how. The sooner they go, the better.

People voted for change when change was desired, people will vote for change when change can provide what we all expect of a government: good governance with a vision laid ahead as opposed to a brothel-minded corrupt Labour.

Justin Schembri is a Nationalist Party candidate on the 8th electoral district.

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