A government rife with a litany of serious corruption accusations and held responsible for a journalist’s murder and the country’s greylisting would have been booted out in most democracies. But in Malta, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the ruling Labour government is poised to win a third term in office.
And our survey today showing a 47,000 gap in votes is devastating news for a Nationalist Party desperately seeking to regroup and make inroads. There are a number of reasons why PL keeps trumping at the polls.
Clearly, despite the pandemic, the economy is still rendering, with low unemployment and jobs still being generated. The Labour government has also recently rediscovered some of its social soul, boosting pensions and other benefits to help those who really need help most.
It has also managed the pandemic well, with a well-organised vaccine dissemination programme which has kept the virus under control, despite the odd blips. That came with a series of generous handouts which managed to keep several businesses afloat.
It is clear that the electorate is happy with a government that seeks to put wealth in their pockets, even if it comes at the cost of corruption, the environment and our international reputation.
The electorate is happy with a government that seeks to put wealth in their pockets, even if it comes at the cost of corruption, the environment and our international reputation
Labour has also traditionally relied on the blind loyalty of its supporters, with almost a devout, no-questions-asked trust in their leader. Suffice it to see the difference in the way the Labour supporters still religiously rally behind the shamed Joseph Muscat, while the Nationalist Party rallied to boot out its leader, just three years into his term.
Successive governments have also used the power of incumbency to retain office, and with an election looming, employers’ organisations recently expressed disgust at the way the government continues to engage workers from the private sector, despite the obvious cost to the taxpayer. At some point soon, the government will need to stop the fiscal haemorrhage.
While Bernard Grech and his team appear to be shaking up internal structures, they are clearly struggling to untangle themselves from cobwebs that have long had a grip on the party.
The introduction of young, liberal faces appeared to mark a fresh start for the beleaguered party. But instead of reinventing itself, the PN appears to be devolved into a sort of political schizophrenia, torn between its liberal and conservative wings. It is not enough to have a party leadership claiming it is welcoming liberal thinkers and yet let the hardcore, ultra-conservative faction dictate the agenda.
Its mixed and confused messaging over cannabis and reproductive rights were cases in point, and both debacles have severely weakened Grech’s credibility as a leader. They have also fuelled the impression that many MPs are more focused on retaining their own seats rather than making their party electable.
The PN cannot just bank on an economic collapse or yet another scandal to unseat the Labour Party. It is not credible for the PN to talk about greed while still cosying up to developers, or claim to champion the environment while refusing to pledge to reverse harmful planning laws or say anything about hunting infringements.
Grech is fast running out of time. He must walk the talk, decide on a clear agenda and take strong action against those who fail to fall in line. The electorate has always shunned a party rife with infighting, no matter how long it persists with drawing up reports nobody will read.
An election is just a few months away and Grech now has little to lose by putting his neck on the line at party level. Because as things stand, the PN is on track to face a mass beheading at the hands of the electorate.