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In Malta politics is dead: there is a government with no opposition.
This is obviously what Gonzi and the Nationalists want. They are savouring the moment to the full and this was highly reflected in the poor constitutional debate, or rather, eulogy of the EU Constitution that preceded its sham ratification. During that debate Gonzi knew that he was in control and ridiculed the opposition (Opposition? What opposition when four or five of its members were present and when its leader once again opted to leave the House when the vote was taken). He did so when he invited Gonzi to agree with the reservations to its yes to the EU Constitution.
There is no doubt that Gonzi sees in Alfred Sant a big ally, especially after the stand taken by Sant and his administration to go ahead and sing the same tune as the government. Who would have ever thought that Labour, at this moment in time, would betray its voters by accepting what in 2003 was unacceptable? The administration knows that this decision will cost dearly and it is still a mystery as to why there was this sudden change of heart from Labour.
I can already anticipate what the slogans of the Nationalist party in the next general
elections will be: George Vella’s speeches before and after the general election of 2003 regarding the European Union, Alfred Sant’s promises if he is elected Leader, what his contestants said about him, Alfred Sant’s stand on the purchase of Dar Malta in Brussels and how in the latest extraordinary general conference the same Alfred Sant augured that he will be the one to inaugurate it, how he was not able to control the finances of the party, etc, etc.
In other words the Nationalist Party is going to have a field day.
Some people tell me that I say this out of sheer rejection of the person, but those who say that are swayed by the party machine which plays on the emotions of the delegates, extracting from them all the sympathy for and endorsement of their actions and inaction. But believe me, that is not the case and I say it because I firmly believe that as long as Alfred Sant is at the helm, Labour has no chance of being in power. I am for the party and not for my status in the party. Alfred Sant is not the Malta Labour Party and unless this is instilled in the Labourites there is little hope for change.
It is so sad that so many Labour MPs and members of the administration know this, but do not have the courage to do anything about it: the love of the parliamentary seat and other loves take precedence. Because nowadays, when you hear any of the delegates at the conference speaking, you first have to investigate what income he is generating from his activities in the party, if any, before you can conclude whether he is genuine in his intentions.
It is even sadder because I do not know how Labour is going to get the money to fight other general elections. The party is over Lm3 million liri in debt (and incidentally, in 1992 the party had no debts, so this has all accumulated in the last 13 years). The party station has about Lm1.5 million debts and there is no indication how these debts shall be repaid. On the contrary, I lately heard that the Bank of Valletta has agreed to lend another Lm100,000 to the party so that Super One can pay them to the Commissioner of VAT. And the unfortunate thing is that nobody is brought to justice. Not only that, but we expected the employees of One Productions to make the sacrifices and the culprits got away with murder.
This is Russian roulette: the more they borrow the more they stand the risk of losing the headquarters because who is to guarantee that there will be no commercial bank that will one day wake up and decide to enforce its claim by taking over the building of the Centru Nazzjonali Laburista in Hamrun? If only they knew the great risks they are taking. Apart from this, who is going to believe the party when it says that it will spend our money wisely when it was not able to do so with its (or rather the poor workers’) money?
Can you envisage the situation between the two parties in the next electoral campaign? On one hand you will have the party in government, who in 2007 will have all the monies of the EU budget in hand and who will make Malta look greener once again, and on the other hand you will have a party in opposition with little means to combat the excessive campaign of the Nationalists. This is common sense and if Labour is not envisaging this than it is happy in the opposition and does not want to be in power.
Once upon a time the party had its own travel agency, but even that was unable to hold on to and it is still a mystery as to why that agency was closed. Once upon a time the party had an electronic magazine by the name of Maltastar.com, but even that was stopped. Once upon a time the party had its daily paper, it had the weekly satirical paper… anyway, once upon a time we had a party!
I do not know why Labour finds it hard to understand the reason behind the leakage of confidential information to the press. The reason is simple: the administration is not happy with the way business is conducted in Hamrun. A case in point is the report on the electoral defeat of 2003. That report said nothing new; it said what we have been telling the party for years. I remember when I wrote an opinion on Maltastar.com entitled ‘New Year Resolutions’ after the electoral defeat of 1998 about what needs to be done, and the reaction I got from the then secretary-general was that I was a traitor of the party. Come to think of it, I do not seem to get on well with any secretary-general of the Malta Labour Party: the previous one called me a traitor and this one a reject.
What is needed are not reports but action. What is the point of commissioning reports when you do not do anything about them? You can fool people sometimes but you cannot fool them all the time. You all remember the electoral manifestos of the candidates for the party’s leadership and for the deputy leaders. They promised us great changes and many believed them. It is no secret that the role of the deputy leaders was to be a catalyst for change and secure a Labour victory in the next general elections. But what happened? Their promises went up in smoke and they jumped on the bandwagon. They did not bring to book those who have misappropriated the party’s funds but worked only to secure their position in the party.
As long as these musical chairs continue and all the energy continues to be focused on votes of confidence and not on the Nationalist party, then obviously Labour cannot see the light of Castille in the next general election. My heart aches when I hear Labourites who tell me that while Alfred Sant is at the helm they will not vote Labour and my heart aches even more that I see myself amongst these people. My heart aches when party delegates, and lately I also heard it from a couple of Labour MPs, saying that they will not vote Labour because they tell me that these are the sacrifices we have to make in order so see this transformation in the party.
So if Labour cannot convince its voters how does it expect to convince the floating voters? The next general conference in January is again going to see a new contest for the party administration. Mention is being made of Wenzu Mintoff contesting Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi for party president. Tactics to obscure the latter had already started when the information that he did not vote during the extraordinary general conference was splashed to the media. Of course, no mention was made that he was abiding by the party statute! I am sure that Stefan is going to have a hard time winning this contest with Wenzu having all the support of the media machine.
There is no doubt that democracy is at stake and the sooner the European Union realises that Malta cannot continue to run the country with a one-party system the better. It is true that it is thanks to the EU that the threshold was introduced in the discussions on political reform, but it is also true that this threshold will lead to a coalition government. In effect that is why the proposal is to set the threshold as high as possible so that the possibility of a coalition government will be as remote as possible.
Instead of keeping the Vigilance and Discipline Board busy, Labour would do a better job if it kept the Nationalist party busy! Or has it given up already?
Vince Farrugia of the GRTU vomited with all the venom he had in his system on me and my ancestors and descendants after last week’s article on the Park and Ride Scheme in Valletta. As we finished our eclectic conversation on a good note, I promised that I would make it clear in that article that I never implied or stated that he has any business interests in the Valletta Waterfront. I hope you sleep well tonight Vince, and any inconvenience is regretted.
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