After the Labour Party's landslide victory at the European Parliament election, it is worthwhile to reflect on the PL's future after this massive achievement by party leader Joseph Muscat. This victory should be the beginning of the road towards a new Labour government but the road will still be long and hard.
I do not wish to be a spoilsport and pour cold water on the enthusiasm prevailing within the Labour ranks but I love the PL too much not to remind everyone that a general election is a different kettle of fish from a European Parliament election. Make no mistake about it, several Nationalist supporters who voted Labour at the European Parliament election will vote Nationalist at the next general election, irrespective of the PN government's performance and irrespective of the Labour Opposition's performance. In Malta, people are rather conservative in the way they vote.
The decisive factor at the next general election will be the votes of youths who will be voting for the first time in a general election. This is where Dr Muscat and Labour are so strong because youths are now at the centre of all PL political activities and the formulation of its policies. The image of a youthful leader at the head of a moderate and progressive political movement is also highly appealing to the younger generations.
Lawrence Gonzi and the Nationalists will still have the power of incumbency at their disposal and, make no mistake about it, they will fully exploit it as they did before the 2008 general election. That will bring the PN many votes as it did last time. Will it be enough to turn the tables upon Labour? It remains to be seen.
On its part, the PL has to attract the biggest possible number of people within its ranks. To do this it must not steer too much to the left of the political spectrum but must, instead, move towards the centre. Labour must learn from its past mistakes and draw strength from its past successful political strategies. Dr Muscat's PL must use Paul Boffa's diplomatic approach to solving problems, Dom Mintoff's firm negotiating skills, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici's humility in its dealings with ordinary citizens and Alfred Sant's abhorrence of all violent political solutions.
Having mentioned the last point, I cannot but refer to what happened at Żejtun. Labour cannot be held responsible for the actions of individual private persons. Surely, Dr Muscat has amply demonstrated that he will always seek legal and peaceful means to solve the country's problems. However, all Labourites must still be very careful because even a slight incident can be very costly in terms of votes because the PN media are experts at blowing out of proportion even the slightest insignificant incident.
Dr Gonzi and the Nationalists are losing a substantial number of votes because of their arrogance towards the Maltese people.
However, rest assured that they will do their utmost to recover lost ground. It is crucial that the result of the European Parliament election will not create a sense of over-confidence within the PL as happened after 2004 and which proved fatal to Labour's interests in 2008.
We have to weigh the facts soberly and without emotion and over-enthusiasm. The Nationalist government is very unpopular with many people but this does not translate into many PN supporters voting Labour at the next general election. On the other hand, it is clear that Dr Muscat, because he is a leader of exceptional calibre, has managed to bring back within the Labour fold a substantial number of Labourites who had abandoned the PL and some of whom had even voted Nationalist at the last general election.
Furthermore, Labour, at last, is now united. This is a very important factor because many voters were disillusioned with the internal strife that prevailed within Labour in the days of Dr Sant who, without fault in this matter, paid a heavy price for the stupidity and short-sightedness of others. Dr Muscat does not have such a problem and this should attract potential voters to give the PL their confidence.
I remember being told by a youth who was voting for the first time at the last general election: "Vote Labour? You cannot even agree among yourselves and you expect me to entrust you with the government of the country?" Such was the magnitude of the damage sustained by the PL because of internal strife, which projected a very negative image of itself to first-time voters.
To conclude, Dr Muscat is a winner and a very capable leader. The PL, under his leadership, is going from strength to strength. Will it be enough to win the next general election? We'll see.