د . إAEDSRر . س

Beware Talking Heads Promoting ‘Elitist Narratives’, Joseph Muscat Warns Labour Party On Ten-Year Anniversary

Article Featured Image

With the Labour Party shaken by one of its worst polls since getting elected to government, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has given some advice to the party he used to lead.

Labour’s challenge today is to continue re-inventing itself as a broad church,” Muscat said. “Talking heads promoting an elitist narrative that does not resonate with people from all walks of life should not be its architects. It should stick to what time has proven it does best: taking timely decisions.”

PL recently marked a decade in government but celebrations were muted, with the party hit by a damning court ruling on the Vitals-Steward hospital deal and a MaltaToday survey showing the gap between them and PN has shrunk.

Sharing his thoughts on the PL’s anniversary, Muscat said the party swept to power when the country had been gripped by a state of inertia, with the PN having lost its “magic touch” and a culture of fear taking over the civil service.

“Our way of governing was not just about the decisions we took but also how they were taken,” he said. “The default top down system was dismantled and replaced with a more decentralised one.”

“Stakeholders were given genuine responsibility and I expected them to carry it. We took office in a grey, depressing public service and a policy climate in which fear of taking the wrong decision bred widespread inaction in every sector.”

“At my first meeting with the Heads of the Public Service, I pledged to stand by them when they made mistakes as long as their decisions were well-intentioned.”

“This can-do attitude took the country by storm, energised people across society with a new found trust and purpose. People embraced social change because they saw a place for themselves in it. Electorally, we kept carrying the day because people felt that their tomorrow was going to be better than today.”

“This is precisely what those still aimlessly looking for answers in the past still don’t fathom and cannot grasp.”

Without naming names or cases, Muscat said the government “trusted certain people more than we should have” but blames this on “naivety” stemming from widespread enthusiasm for a better future.

“A number of great ideas were badly implemented while others were simply not good ones. But in the grand scheme of things, for all our faults, life for the up-and-coming middle class and those most in need became much, much better than in the previous decade of Nationalist rule. That’s what more and more people thought and felt in the last three elections,” he said.

Do you agree with Joseph Muscat’s assessment?

READ NEXT: Three-Star Michelin British Chef Simon Rogan Takes Helm At ION Harbour In Valletta

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

You may also love

View All