For those Labourites who, like me, went through the heartbreak of three consecutive general election defeats for the Labour Party, it seemed that in March 2008 the PL had reached the nadir of its long and glorious history. What remains so painful a memory is the fact that Labour's performance throughout those years was quite creditable. It had a leader who, to this day, remains one of Malta's most respected politicians and, also, one can never forget the highly-questionable manner in which the Nationalist Party achieved its electoral victories, managing to steer just within the bounds of legality and making a mockery of democracy in the process.
I am glad to note, however, that from the ashes of defeat a new and rejuvenated Labour Party has arisen. Many new faces have been attracted to the PL, several of them youths.
Disgusted with the way the Nationalist government of Lawrence Gonzi treats Maltese citizens, many are flocking to the Labour fold in the sure knowledge that things will be different under a new Labour government led by Joseph Muscat. Dr Muscat has brought new hope to many Maltese who want a new government they can be proud of and which they can identify with, a government which gives weight to the concept of "the sovereignty of the people" and values it.
Today, nobody can deny that most Maltese are fed up with Dr Gonzi's inept leadership. Cracks are openly starting to appear even within the Nationalist government itself. The majority agree that the form of government we have today in Malta is closer to an oligarchy than a democracy. Real power is exercised by a very restricted number of people while all the rest are almost totally excluded from all important decision-making. No, call it what you wish, but you certainly cannot say that this is democracy.
The fundamental difference between the PL and the PN is that, while the former's policies are grounded in the aspirations of the Maltese people, the latter's policies are simply those of government by prescription. So arrogant have the Nationalists become after three consecutive general election victories that they think they can dictate to everyone and run the country as if they always know what is best and need no advice from anybody.
Labour, on the other hand, is now a national movement of progressives and moderates. Labour listens to the aches and pains of ordinary people and decides and acts accordingly.
What will be decisive in 2010 for the future of our country is whether the PL will be capable of defeating the filtering of information fed to the public by the PN network, which controls the dissemination of public information. Make no mistake about it, the PN wins elections because its propaganda network is second to none. Besides having its own highly-efficient party media, it has also infiltrated all spheres of the media in Malta and has hand-picked individuals who mould public opinion in its interests. In the past, those of us who spoke about the PN's Machiavellian network, which controls the public dissemination of information, were openly derided. Today, nobody laughs at us because everybody knows that this is true.
When the PN is attacked about the economy, a renowned economist "by chance" publicly comments on how the economy is picking up. When the government's environmental record is criticised, another lackey is found to publicly praise the PN government on some initiative or other. These statements by "experts" are then, of course, given great prominence by state broadcasting and by the PN media.
This is where 2010 will be decisive for the PL. To win a general election you have to construct the information apparatus to get your message through to the people. It is not enough that you have the better package to offer, you have to convince the buyers that this is indeed so. The PN usually has little to sell to potential voters but, through clever media manipulation, it often manages to convince them that the opposite is the case.
The PL is united, has a leader acknowledged by all to be highly efficient and close to the people and has the better policies for a new start in this country. The year 2010 must start the process of making sure that Labour gets its message through to the people in an effective manner, in a way that will guarantee victory at the next general election.
It is the political party that is perceived by the people to have the best policies that usually wins a general election. What is perceived to be the truth is not always so. This is where control of the dissemination of information is decisive.