Simon Busuttil could be forgiven for allowing himself a sense of vindication this week. He has just been selected for a powerful position within EU structures, as general secretary of the largest political party in the European Parliament, the EPP, among whose members is European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. This comes soon after his long-time political rival Joseph Muscat was flatly rejected for a top EU post and in the same week that Muscat left the premiership amid the ignominy of being told to resign by the European Parliament itself.
The temptation to compare and contrast the two men, as one reaches a peak in his political career and the other crashes out, can also be forgiven. Perhaps most striking is that while Busuttil has made fighting corruption the central plank of his political career, the other has just been voted ‘man of the year in organised crime and corruption’ by an international media organisation that reports on these matters.
Going further back, Busuttil was the face of local efforts to persuade the Maltese that joining the EU was a good thing and he was part of the team that secured an excellent deal with the bloc; while Muscat fought tooth and nail to keep Malta out, only to perform a U-turn for electoral exigencies.
Both were elected MEPs after winning massive support from voters of their own parties. Both later returned to Malta to take up leadership positions within their respective parties, Busuttil as deputy leader and Muscat as leader. In that role, the latter turned out to be an election-winning machine, defeating the former by a landslide at the 2017 general election.
Muscat’s brand of politics – his highly polished public persona, his winner-takes-all approach to power, his no-holds-barred focus on growing the economy, his blatant use of nepotism and cronyism to advance his ambitions, and his seemingly limitless tolerance of corrupt practices – has certainly proven to be a vote-winner.
Busuttil, by contrast, flopped at the polls when it came to the general election, a victim of putting principles before political pragmatism and laying what many perceived at the time (no longer) as too much emphasis on good governance and the strengthening of democracy. For a great many among the electorate, he was too detached from the everyday business of making a living and improving living standards.
Perhaps Busuttil’s mindset was just too European, his values not meaningful enough for local voters just yet. He was a politician ahead of his time, having cut his teeth in EU fora where compromise and consensus are needed to forge a way forward. Here, politics is still a zero-sum game.
Busuttil is now returning to his political roots, somewhere he feels more comfortable operating and where he undoubtedly has the credentials and ability to succeed. It is a just reward for the sacrifice he had made in abandoning a stellar MEP career to take up the thankless job of reviving the PN’s fortunes.
The move is good for him and good for the country. His presence at the heart of European politics should contribute to efforts to reboot Malta’s reputation in Europe. In his position of greater influence he will also, no doubt, be keeping a close eye on his home government’s performance in raising standards of governance.
Robert Abela, someone is watching you.