Saturday’s vote was a clear indication Labour consolidated their position in power and the Nationalists failed to persuade people they learnt their lesson after last year’s electoral thrashing.
This was the overwhelming view expressed by political observers approached by Times of Malta to give their initial reaction in the wake of Labour’s second landslide victory in a little more than a year.
Former PN Cabinet minister Michael Falzon said the outcome was a clear indication that the people were not convinced that the PN had changed, in spite of all the efforts done, since the election of Simon Busuttil as leader.
The party has not been persuasive as there was no shift in its negative approach from a year ago
On the other hand, he pointed out that the Prime Minister seemed to be immune to any form of criticism. He added that despite all the criticism levelled at the Labour government, people did not seem to be genuinely moved or worried. “This brings to mind the nickname that former US President Ronald Reagan had earned, ‘Teflon President’, as nothing stuck to him like the non-stick frying pans,” Mr Falzon said.
Another former politician, albeit from the other end of the political spectrum, expressed similar views.
Former Labour Cabinet minister Lino Spiteri said the overhaul in the PN’s structures and leadership had evidently failed in the ultimate quest to make inroads vis-a-vis the electorate.
“The party has not been persuasive as there was no shift in its negative approach from a year ago. It will have to look in the mirror all over again,” Mr Spiteri said.
As for the PL, he said the margin of victory was beyond his expectations both in absolute and relative percentage terms.
“On the whole, there is an understanding of what the government is trying to do in spite of the mistakes that were duly acknowledged by the Labour leader,” he said. He welcomed Dr Muscat’s commitment to guard against complacency and arrogance.
Columnist Martin Scicluna was also surprised with Labour’s margin of victory. “I thought the PN would make inroads but, on the contrary, this is a huge vote of confidence by the people in the government, notwithstanding the mistakes committed so far,” he said.
Mr Scicluna remarked the vote showed the people had great faith in this administration and appreciated the initiatives it was taking.
As for the PN, he said that unless the party was ready to take a clear stand on a number of issues it would achieve nothing. “Their ‘non-vote’ on civil unions portrayed the image of a split party, which people do not like,” he noted. However, he said, it was far too early to put Dr Busuttil’s leadership in question as there were still four years to go before the general election.
Former Alternattiva Demo-kratika chairman Michael Briguglio said the result was an indication that the PL was building “a hegemony” and that its victory in the last general election was no fluke.
“Apart from consolidating its position and for which credit must be given to Dr Muscat, it seems the PL’s greatest asset is the divide within the PN between the liberal and the conservative factions.”
Dr Briguglio questioned the PN’s strategy to focus exclusively on local issues. He argued that from the moment it emerged in a number of opinion polls that the government was enjoying strong support in handling domestic issues, the chances of success by taking a head-on approach on this level were very slim.
“Had the PN adopted a more positive attitude and taken a European approach it could have fared better in this election,” he said.
Regarding AD, Dr Briguglio said the result was very disappointing as the Green party made no inroads on the 2009 election, to the point that it was at par with the far right. Expressing concern on the rise of Imperium Europa he said this could prompt the government to push more left-wing policies.