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JAMES DEBONO observes that people might be growing up and are less eager to attend meetings and partisan political activities.
The Times described the PN’s May Day activity in Ta’ Qali’s Greek theatre as a “poorly attended one”. A photo in In-Nazzjon also revealed a couple of empty seats. The PN’s attempt to reinvent May Day as a ‘Europe Day’ failed to inspire the same crowds who used to enthusiastically wave the EU flag just a few months ago.
Judging from the attendance in the MLP’s traditional defilé in Valletta, few of them seem to have switched sides.
Idealistic Labour supporters in Senglea organised the first Labour day in the mid-thirties, then fronted by trade unionist John F Marks. Saint Paul’s Bay celebrated May Day for the first time after the war in 1947.
On that occasion the establishment was scandalised when workers attending this activity started singing the International. Back than the Church and the colonial authorities considered this song as too subversive.
Considering that May Day has a greater historical significance for the MLP, it was predictable that Labour would attract more people to the streets than the PN.
Although l-Orizzont proclaimed that thousands of workers were thronging the streets of Valletta, Labour supporters attending this activity described the attendance as one of the poorest ever.
In the absence of an overpowering rallying cry it seems that apart from the diehards, most people are refraining from attending partisan activities. The enthusiasm generated by the PN’s IVA manifestations and the MLP’s partnership campaign has faded as Malta started facing the stark realities of membership.
Attending mass meetings is no longer the political statement it used to be. Back in the 1980s many Nationalists attending meetings like the historic Zejtun meeting to defend their political rights.
So were Labour meetings in the 1960s eagerly attended, when church bells were used to interrupt Mintoff’s sermons.
Although Labour has fared well in three consecutive electoral appointments, many Labour supporters still find Alfred Sant uninspiring. Mintoff’s longwinded speeches, coloured by biblical references, double-entendres and even vulgar words, were a source of collective entertainment at a time when educational standards were low and the media was less omnipresent.
Sant’s business-like approach might appeal to more middle of the road voters who do not attend meetings but still fails to inspire the crowds.
Both Sant and Gonzi were aware that they were speaking to their core supporters in the May Day activities. Sant’s virulence against the Euro must have made inroads among those who are still perplexed by the MLP’s conversion on the European Union.
Yet he also provided some fodder to PN propagandists by insisting that although partnership was the best choice, his party has now accepted the realities of membership.
On the other hand Gonzi aimed at generating a sense of optimism among the faithful by calling on them not to be disheartened by prophets of doom.
Electoral fatigue after a referendum, a national election, a European election and two consecutive local elections could also be a reason why so many simply want to have a break from politics.
This could also be a sign of political maturity. Politics is slowly becoming less of a life or death issue. After all Europeanisation is also about living in a normal country where politics is not the people’s lifeblood. People are tired of political parties hijacking every occasion.
The PN has monopolised the commemoration of Europe Day to the exclusion of those civil society organisations who contributed to the referendum campaign.
For the past decades, political parties have eclipsed trade Unions in Malta in the very day celebrating workers solidarity.
In Italy, trade unions have found a way to inspire thousands of youths. They organise an extremely popular rock concert in Piazza San Giovanni in Rome. This has become an annual cultural event, which is far from politically innocent. Left wing rock bands and thousands of youths waving Che Guevara flags would intimidate any right winger attending this event but political parties have kept a distance and allowed young people to have some fun.
jdebono@newsworksltd.com
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