I must admit that I was really disappointed with my friend, Nigel Vella’s article in this newspaper (‘They’re proud to be elitist’, December 11) in which he tried to sustain an argument that the Nationalist Party is elitist.

Now let me start by saying that I regard Vella as a very intelligent, honest, hardworking and affable person, having worked closely with him when he was the head of communications of the Labour Party and I was the secretary of Fondazzjoni IDEAT, the Labour Party’s think tank.

So, I am negatively surprised that even he should come up with the nonsensical idea that it is the PN which is elitist and not the PL.

Indeed, the facts speak for themselves! Today, we have a Labour government which is the apotheosis of elitism. Does the present Labour government put the interests of ordinary people first on its agenda? The opposite is the case. Today, the Labour government puts the interests of certain powerful businessmen, especially a number of property developers, before those of the rest of the population.

The result is a shameful betrayal of the ordinary citizen to appease the high and mighty who, through their financial power and backing, can influence the result of a general election. This is because to win at all costs is the political philosophy of the Labour Party in government even if it means subjecting a substantial part of the population to daily hardships and stress.

As a matter of fact, whenever the interests of certain powerful businessmen have clashed with those of ordinary citizens, in the majority of cases it has been these businessmen who have come out on top. One can mention the noise from loud music emanating from some commercial establishments in Valletta; the sunbed and umbrella invasion of Comino by certain commercial interests; the degradation of public spaces cluttered by chairs and tables of a number of restaurants and bars; the sanctioning by the Planning Authority of many illegalities by politically influential property developers etc.

If this is not elitism at its worst, then what is?

Then, of course, one cannot omit mentioning the behaviour of several Labour ministers. Their actions clearly show that they regard themselves as the elite, accountable to nobody, certainly not to the ordinary citizen and taxpayer.

One can mention such despicable behaviour as refusing to inform the public about the amount of public funds spent on events organised by a particular ministry or on a contract awarded to a particular individual or entity, citing sensitive commercial information as an excuse.

The Labour Party knows that it is at serious risk of losing the next general election- Desmond Zammit Marmarà

Furthermore, under the present Labour government, there exists a chasm between what the Labour elite earns through lucrative public appointments and what the rest of the population earn through their everyday jobs.

The principle of meritocracy is a thing of the past and pigging out is the order of the day under this government.

Every week, we are informed by the media of Labour-leaning individuals being given lucrative public posts often coming with six-figure salaries and several perks attached to them. But, at the same time, we have homeless people, people living in garages and many who can hardly make ends meet and find it increasingly difficult to raise a family. No wonder that Malta has the lowest fertility rate in the European Union.

Those who, like me, spent decades of their life actively supporting the Labour Party, especially in its darkest days when many tended to perceive it as unelectable, today feel betrayed by the elitism which is prevalent in the upper Labour ranks. Labour is no longer the political party of the ordinary worker, of the ordinary citizen. Today, it is a political party hijacked by an elitist oligarchy which cares only about its own interests.

Labour is trying to hide its elitism through its populist social measures but no social budget, no cheques sent to citizens can hide the fact that Robert Abela’s Labour Party has today turned that famous quote from Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg address on its head. Today, in Malta, “government of the people, by the people, for the people” has become “government of the elite, by the elite, for the elite”.

The Labour Party knows that it is at serious risk of losing the next general election, so it is in its interests to paint the Nationalist Party as black as possible. Knowing that most people are not such fools as to believe that the PN in government could be worse than Labour in such crucial areas of administration such as the rule of law, good governance, transparency, meritocracy, integrity, etc., its only hope is to resort to depicting the Nationalist Party as being elitist and itself (the PL) as being the one having the interests of the ordinary citizen at heart.

It’s simply a case of the pot calling the kettle black!

Desmond Zammit Marmarà is a former Labour Party local councillor and activist.