The country needs strong opposition(s)

Democracy is not served well by supersized governments confronted by weak and entrenched oppositions

Some have attributed the PN’s result to its negative style of opposition.  This is partly correct.  Antics like the publication of a Panini sticker album denigrating Labour’s meritocracy pledge by unfairly lumping different appointees in one basket while omitting significant others have probably backfired. 

Not only did the album include communications officers in Ministers’ secretariats who by the nature of their job have to be politically trusted people but it also included people appointed by the previous administration.  

But I suspect that for those in government it is very convenient to regard any criticism as a display of negativity.  For example the opposition’s insistence on the publication of the agreements with ElectroGas and Henley, was perfectly justified.   The country needs a firm and strong opposition which leaves no stone unturned in its scrutiny of government performance, especially in parliament.    

In the past months the PN did show moments of political maturity. Its decision to support the nomination of Marie Louise Coleiro Preca was a historical one as it was the first time that a party from the opposition supported a nominee chosen by the government from its ranks.     

The risk facing the country after the reconfirmation of last year’s super majority, is that the government will come to think that it can dismiss any criticism from the opposition as a display of negativity. Such an attitude is dangerous and totalitarian. The next weeks are a crucial test for Muscat and his government to prove its democratic credentials by not using the trust bestowed on them by the people to silence legitimate criticism.

Rather than negativity the major problem facing the PN is that of entrenchment. It seems that instead of moving on by taking the lead on issues, the opposition still seems to think that it has some sort of divine claim to government. 

This mentality results in going overboard in its criticism. The PN was right on citizenship but alienated voters by exporting partisan tit for tat to the European parliament. 

While the government is often guilty of using the same excuses cited by the previous governments when faced by scrutiny, the opposition often gives the impression that it regards Labour as a usurper.  The Panini sticker album was a stark reminder of crass moral hypocrisy.  For while it is simply unacceptable for government to use the low standards of the previous government as an excuse for its actions, the opposition seems to completely ignore its own record in government in singling out Muscat’s blue eyed boys.

The other problem is one of baggage. Unfortunately Simon Busuttil has to come to terms with the fact that many voters still remember him as Gonzi’s side kick. When PN council members chose him as leader they were aware of this disadvantage. The latest negative result is a reminder that Busuttil never had a honeymoon period as he is regarded by a large part of the electorate as a survivor from the Gonzi years. 

Busuttil has not done enough in the past months to dispel this perception. His major test was the vote on civil unions. Busuttil failed this test, preferring party unity than coming out as a leader. His unwillingness to commit his party on the Spring hunting referendum, a cause supported by the majority of PN voters is another shortcoming. Basically the mistake of the PN was to assume that it could ‘win’ (in the sense of reducing the gap) by default.

This brings us to the third problem faced by the PN; that of ideas.  Surely the PN identifies with the European centre right and therefore one expects it to be more conservative and more pro business. This may not always have been the case especially in the 80s when the party moved towards the political centre and looked more to the left including the budding social movements and pressure groups. 

But even if it sticks to a centre right identity the PN  still has to figure out how to out maneuver a government which manages to outflank it from left, right and centre.  So far under Busuttil the PN has neither opened itself to civil society nor has it outflanked Labour on any social issue.  In fact it is Labour from government which has taken the initiative on themes like the decriminalization of drugs.

A second consecutive defeat offers the PN the unique opportunity of re-founding itself.  In my opinion Simon Busuttil is perceived by many voters to be more of a  part of the problem than part of the solution.  If he stays on as leader  the onus is on him to dispel this perception in the shortest time possible.  Although the result weakens his stature, it could force his hand in changing his party.  If not he risks condemning his party to a long time in the wilderness.  Waiting for the elusive moment when Muscat’s mask falls is the worst tactic possible. The mask has fallen a number of times during the past months and this has not lost Muscsat any votes.

The election has also left the other extra parliamentary opposition; Alternattiva Demokratika in a state of suspended animation.  For in the end of it all, a 3% per cent result in an MEP election where voters are free to vote according to conscience because the government of the country is not at stake, is a not so bad but not so good result.  Yes in Malta 7418 votes is a lot, the size of a town like Msida  but it is still far from a critical mass. 

Surely AD has had the problem of a leadership vacuum after the resignation of its former leader who had given the party a strong left wing and progressive identity on the eve of the last general election, which enabled the party to survive Labour’s tsunami.  Surely in past month, Cassola and Cacopardo rose to the occasion presenting what were in my opinion the most sensible arguments during the campaign. 

But AD failed to strike voters.  What the party seems to lack is that streak of rebellious, principled and playful innovation which makes the greens an alternative to a stuffy political establishment.  With the PN being in the mess it is and Labour becoming closer to big business and  lobbies like hunters, the greens may have a future but ultimately this depends on having new people on board.