With barely three weeks to go before voters go to the polls on March 26, the decision facing them is a choice between a stable future and good governance, according to one political analyst.

“Before they vote, people will need to ask themselves which party can guarantee good governance as well as provide a stable future for the country,” Desmond Zammit Marmara, a Labour stalwart who has recently been highly critical of the government’s record on governance, said.

“And that is where they will have a dilemma, I believe. Because PN seems to be better at governing with integrity, but Labour seems like a more secure guarantee for a stable future.”

When it comes to the economy, the dean of the Faculty of Social Wellbeing, Andrew Azzopardi, said the announcement that Malta could potentially get off the grey list by June was a feather in both parties’ caps.

“Kudos to the government, that seems to be doing its job, but also to the PN, who pushed so thoroughly for it,” he said.

“Bernard Grech was ridiculed by some of his opponents when he said he could take Malta off the list in a relatively short period of time, but the government itself has now confirmed that is possible.”

Azzopardi said he does not believe the FATF announcement will swing thousands of votes to either side, but it will, nonetheless, revive confidence in the government.

Where are the parties facing difficulties?

“Labour has no problem with its core vote, of course, but it might be struggling to retain the 2013 and 2017 converts,” Azzopardi said.

“It seems to me like the party is working extra hard to rekindle enthusiasm in them,” he said.

For Zammit Marmara, Labour’s better track record is problematic for the PN. While he leans towards Labour’s proposals, that is where Bernard Grech, despite his own good proposals, will struggle, he said.

Both analysts feel the parties are not convincing on their environmental promises.

This, they say, is because Labour has allowed developers to go overboard with rampant construction enabled by local plans designed under a PN administration in 2006.

Zammit Marmara said despite promising more open spaces, both leaders seem to be bowing down to greedy developers’ lust for more construction and neither of them is promising to control development or to clamp down on the business class that has taken over politics in Malta.

“I think the issue of the environment is even more serious than corruption, because we can and are slowly getting rid of corrupt politicians, but we will never get rid of buildings that have ruined our landscape,” Zammit Marmara argued.

“There’s no use in creating man-made open spaces in our towns when we’re losing our natural beauty elsewhere.”

Zammit Marmara pointed out that daily news has become peppered with stories of the PA greenlighting monstrous developments, all the while destroying the country’s built heritage, yet no party is committing to properly enforcing environment laws.

Andrew Azzopardi believes there is a silver lining, though, because the environment will likely remain the priority for most people, and today’s promises will come back to haunt the governing party if it fails to deliver on them.

‘No homework’ won’t work

Azzopardi believes Robert Abela was too quick to dismiss homework last week, saying you cannot just fire away a promise on something so fundamental without real consultation with teachers, parents, students and unions.

“Homework could be very beneficial for children.

“It could help them do further research and grow in critical thinking. Homework only seems like a monster because it is sometimes badly designed and often coupled with stressful after-school private lessons and endless pressure for exams,” he argued.

“And does the Prime Minister also mean we will do away with University assignments?

“I do understand the ‘supermarket syndrome’ the general election brings about, but politicians must control their urge to promise everything to everyone, because it’s not sensible.”

The construction crisis is even worse than corruption, because we can get rid of a corrupt politician but not a building- Desmond Zammit Marmara

‘Feels like Christmas’

Zammit Marmara also noted how political parties are showering voters with promises ‘like it’s Christmas’.

However, Azzopardi said despite the many promises, he is yet to hear a word about some of the country’s most crucial and pressing issues.

“No party is providing tangible solutions for solitude, poverty, migration and the lack of sense of community that many people feel,” he noted.

“Our economic model has reduced the value of human life to just money, estate and status, and the parties seem to be dismissing that.”

No personality cult this time

Azzopardi said neither leader seems to exude an aura like Dom Mintoff, Eddie Fenech Adami or Joseph Muscat did, saying they fail to generate enough excitement, especially in young voters.

“I don’t see a personality cult this time, so it will be very interesting to discover how 16- and 17-year-olds voted, because so far they are quite an unknown quantity,” he said.

“Contrary to what we usually think, they do know what’s going on. They want healthy relationships, places to have fun, more freedom and opportunities. It is not they who are alienated from the world; it is we who are oblivious to their world.

“And I still believe 16- and 17-year-olds should have had the chance to run for the election.”

Hate speech

Zammit Marmara sees it as a positive that the election campaign is largely wrestling with ideas and not politicians’ personal lives.

“The leaders are not attacking each other but they are not articulating condemnation for their supporters’ hate comments,” he said.

“A significant amount of social media hate speech comes from both parties’ core supporters, yet we never hear their leaders appealing for respect and civility.

“The governing party must be committed to protecting reporters and political commentators from hate speech.”

Reporters’ questions

Azzopardi said the prime minister cannot continue to refuse to answer journalists’ questions and he should come clean on the questionable Christian Borg deal.

“Politicians are obliged to speak to journalists,” he said.

“It’s not fair to keep them waiting for hours, only to slide out from a back door at the end of an event.

“That’s not respectful, including to the ONE reporters.”

Meanwhile, Zammit Marmara believes the opposition leader is not in total control of his party, and that it is very clear the PN is still divided.

Azzopardi said he was “starting to believe that Joseph Muscat’s political career is not over” because his actions indicated he might be reviving his support.