Opinion: Labour Really Needed That Kick Up The Backside
No matter what has happened to PL over the past decade, it has always been able to rely on the most powerful element of politics – its huge popular support among the Maltese electorate.
But is that about to change?
Yesterday’s MaltaToday survey may not be an earthquake but it’s certainly a tremor and it couldn’t have been more well-timed and placed.
The electorate is an unpredictable beast and everyone must have had different reasons for responding the way they did, but surely the fact it was held right after the Vitals-Steward court case can’t be a coincidence.
It would mean many people didn’t listen to PL MP Edward Zammit Lewis’ recent appeal at a political rally to “leave sentences to courts and lawyers” and trust the government to get on with it.
It would indicate that they don’t trust the government to bring the country out of this mess that they created to begin with.
Assuming that this result will automatically signal the start of the PL’s downfall and the PN’s rise would be a mistake. PL has had worse surveys before – it actually scored 30.2% in a MaltaToday survey back in January 2016 (compared to 30.8% now) but it recovered strongly.
PL is an electoral juggernaut with an expansive network which helps it keep an ear on the ground, allowing it to quickly quell internal dissent and address people’s concerns.
Crucially, it has repeatedly proven itself to be a flexible party, ready to tweak or scrap policies and stances at a moment’s notice if they prove to be unpopular.
Meanwhile, PN has struggled to ignite volunteers, failed to come up with exciting policies or differentiate itself from PL on an economic level, and is burdened with serious financial problems to boot. It’s no longer simply blue vs red – it’s David vs Goliath.
Still, the survey goes to show how quickly things can change in politics.
PN has been given a major shot in the arm at the perfect moment.
PN MP Adrian Delia
This is largely thanks to Adrian Delia, who not only had the foresight to open this case as leader five years ago but who opted against reopening old wounds after winning it.
He could have easily portrayed himself as the ultimate underdog who had to battle currents from both PL and PN and whose removal as PN leader in 2020 was proven to be completely unjustified.
Instead, he chose to take a step back and let his victory be the party’s victory too.
Credit must also be given to PN leader Bernard Grech. He may not be the most charismatic of leaders, but the way the PN has kicked into gear without the usual internal snipings or scorched earth tactics is a testament to the mediatory work he has done behind the scenes.
What now for Labour? Although PL exponents have publicly played down the implications of the survey, you can rest assured that it won’t be taking the result lightly at all.
First of all, they must realise that many people actually care that such large-scale fraud was committed in such an important sector and aren’t going to brush it off for partisan reasons.
They must also realise that while the entire machinations behind the deal may be complex, the underlying explanation is extremely easy to break down and understand.
Public money was given for services that were never delivered and now people want it back. A punchy, effective, powerful and accurate message.
And if yesterday’s survey is to believed, then if the government ignores this message, it will be at its own electoral peril.
The question is how deep does this message from the electorate go? Is it just a flash in the pan? Will public anger be allayed when people see government acting tough with Steward? Or do they want to go the whole hog and won’t rest until high-ranking government officials are prosecuted?
PL isn’t going to just ignore the people and let the PN gain thousands of easy votes, but it’s unlikely to make a panic move either. Right now, it seems to be testing the waters – we saw this yesterday when Prime Minister Robert Abela pledged for the first time to chase Steward to return public funds it received for broken promises.
Their hope will be that they can withstand the siege without engaging in much political bloodshed – in an ideal scenario for them, people will eventually get tired, accept some kind of compromise on Steward, and move on.
PN’s job will be to make sure that does not happen and that this survey can serve as a springboard for the party to become the Opposition Malta so badly needs.
However it ends, PL now knows that it cannot do whatever it pleases with public funds without the wider electorate reacting. It can’t just rest on its own successes and remind people of the failures of decades-old PN governments – if it doesn’t get its own house in order and deliver justice to the people it could find itself in deep trouble.
Either way, the shrinking of the gap can only be good news for Maltese democracy, which requires more than one strong political force to function properly, something PL politicians have themselves stressed on numerous occasions.
PL may be the most powerful political force the country has ever seen since Independence, but nothing is ever permanent in a democracy and this survey is a stark reminder.
Cover photo: Left: Prime Minister Robert Abela, Right: People attending a recent PN protest outside Parliament (Photo: PN)
Do you think PL will recover from this survey showing?
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