‘I’m shocked but I would still vote Labour’
Desmond Zammit Marmara, a former PL councillor, said like many others he feels “shocked” about the murder investigation’s links to party officials.
As a loyal party member who writes regularly about the PL, Mr Zammit Marmara told Times of Malta he felt a responsibility towards his readers and started to doubt whether he had been wrong about the party all along.
“To be honest, I never thought that the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia could have been linked to anything political. I thought it was the Mafia or it was related to business with no links to politics. Then you wake up one day and find out you were totally wrong about it.”
Initially, he had even defended the people involved because he always believed the Nationalists and their allies were inflating the claims, he explained.
Still, despite his great disappointment in the leadership, he has not lost faith in the party and would still vote Labour, hoping the new prime minister would “make a clean sweep”.
Looking back at the last seven years, Mr Zammit Marmara said the party managed to deliver most of its electoral programme, especially with regards to social legislation.
“The party has to be cleaned up. It won’t be easy because there will be a lot of work to do. They also need to make a clean cut with the past, especially big business.”
He explained the party should remain pro-business, but putting business before the interests of the people goes against its ideology.
‘I would abstain from voting’
Office administrator Christina Sammut was raised in a family that traditionally voted Labour but it was Joseph Muscat who really drew her into politics.
“In Joseph I saw change, I saw someone who had vision and someone I could trust. You could tell he was someone who understood the people and knew what he was doing.
“And throughout the last seven years he was in office, he made good on his promises,” Ms Sammut said. “He changed Malta’s economy, and boosted employment and infrastructure.”
These last few weeks of political turmoil, however, have left Ms Sammut sad, confused and betrayed.
“I’d like to believe that Joseph Muscat is not involved in all of this and maybe it’s just Keith Schembri, but the picture right now is not so clear.”
The political implications in the assassination have left her with many unanswered questions, and she is at a loss as to what and who to believe anymore.
While Ms Sammut believes Dr Muscat is a very strong leader, she insisted he should have stepped down right away as a prime minister “to try to calm things down” rather than wait till January.
And although Ms Sammut does believe the Labour government still has a lot to contribute, she is adamant that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination needs to be fully resolved before the country can move on.
Asked whether she would vote for Labour if an election were called tomorrow, she replied: “With a heavy heart right now, I would abstain from voting.”
However, in no way does she regret voting for PL in 2013 and 2017.
“They have done a lot of good for our country and I continue to hope for the best – not just for the party, but for our country.”
‘I am ashamed that it has come to this’
During the 2013 elections, Samuel Muscat was 20 years old and eligible to vote in the general elections for the first time.
He decided to vote Labour because it promised to end corruption and pledged to safeguard the environment.
“The PN had been in government for 25 years back then and there were a lot of corruption scandals coming out. I thought Labour could change things, I believed they could do better.”
Now Mr Muscat, a chemist, is among those joining protesters in Valletta to demand the immediate resignation of the prime minister.
“I’m ashamed things have come to this. The prime minister is clearly implicated in all this and he can’t remain in his position compromising the investigation.
“The whole situation is shady. Businessmen have taken over the country and are above the law,” said Mr Muscat, adding that the environment makes him feel unsafe.
“It is no secret that corruption is rife in Malta. I feel like I can’t voice my opinion without compromising my job.”
He feels deeply let down by PL, which has gone back on its promise to prevent environmental degradation.
“By allowing businessmen to rule, they have compromised our health by removing green spaces and nature.”
Asked whether he would vote for the PL if an election were held tomorrow, he replied “definitely not”.
“Our future depends on us protesting against what’s going on and demanding justice.”
‘The disappointment has now turned into anger, betrayal’
Illum editor Albert Gauci Cunningham comes from a PN background and many around him did not take it lightly when he decided to vote Labour for the first time in the MEP elections in 2009 and subsequently publicly endorse the party ahead of the 2013 general election.
Joseph Muscat was a fresh face back then, he told Times of Malta, and with the PN government in office for over two decades and starting to slip up, the time was ripe for change.
“The PN had become arrogant and was making mistakes. Muscat spoke the language of the people and he was promising change. He had a can-do attitude and was ready to advance civil liberties.”
And throughout the first few years of Dr Muscat’s tenure, Mr Gauci Cunningham believes he made great progress, especially when it came to family policy and civil liberties.
It was only once the Panama Papers scandal broke that serious questions started to be raised.
Once Ms Caruana Galizia was assassinated, these questions turned to alarm bells and, after the 17 Black scandal, Mr Gauci Cunningham started to feel completely disillusioned.
“This government did a lot of good but they allowed greed to take over. At first, I was disappointed. But the disappointment has now turned to anger and betrayal.”
While he would not vote for PL if an election were held tomorrow, Mr Gauci Cunnigham does not believe the last few weeks of turmoil spells the fall of the party.
“The PL has taken a serious bashing, but the party is bigger than this, and the Opposition is still too weak.”