Well-oiled campaigns and unexpected twists

With the first nine days of the election campaign over, the two major parties have taken different trajectories so far in laying out their proposals for the electorate.

The PL has focussed on person-centric proposals with little to no emphasis on the macro-economic situation. So far, it has been all about what individuals are set to gain financially and what added leave they will benefit from—maternal, paternal, parental and elite sportsperson. There has been little by way of new infrastructural projects for the future or economic initiatives other than a continuation of what has already been started in the outgoing legislature. The same goes for the energy and transport sectors, where the plans that have been outlined are those put forward by the government a few weeks and months ago.

For the PL it is pretty much a no-change scenario in terms of wealth and job creation with emphasis instead on wealth re-distribution. Obviously, this may change as the campaign rolls on and more initiatives and proposals are announced but as yet, the PL has offered little if at all about the healthcare system, civil liberties, education, planning and the environment, security, defence and foreign policy. We’ll probably see references to these sectors being made in the electoral manifesto that will be published later this month.

On the flipside, the PN has largely focussed on the big issues like healthcare, electricity bills and the economy, more specifically the maritime sector. It has laid out plans for infrastructural projects that would see a decentralised acute healthcare system, targeting one of the government’s pressure points. The PN has also put forward a rather simple way of lowering electricity bills, while proposing a significant investment in solar panels on public buildings and car parks. The party has also targeted the maritime sector with its pledge to create an offshore bunkering facility at Hurd’s Bank that would service the busy central Mediterranean shipping lane.

The PN has so far, shied away from person-centric proposals apart from specific measures such as free cancer medication, a smart watch grant and higher stipends for healthcare students. The emphasis thus far has been on proposing change in key sectors, while re-calibrating other aspects of the economy to create added value. In the coming days, we expect the PN to outline what this will mean for the individual.

Just like the PL, we have heard nothing or little from the PN on civil liberties, education, planning and the environment, transport, security, defence and foreign policy.

Both parties have carefully structured campaigns—the PL appears to have brought out its most enticing proposals in the first week, even setting the agenda for ordinary people to talk about how they will be financially better off, while the PN appears to be escalating its campaign gradually. But these well-oiled strategies should also cater for the unexpected.

The backlash against Omar Rababah’s Labour candidature simply because of his Syrian and Muslim heritage was widespread and cut across the political divide.

It was one of those unexpected twists in a campaign where we would have expected greater gravitas from Robert Abela and Alex Borg in denouncing the racism directed at Rababah. When asked about the matter, Abela condemned the attacks but felt the need to justify how Rababah was born in Malta, had three children who were baptised and other unnecessary personal details. He could have stuck to a simple, ‘Omar has socialist principles and I am proud to have him as a candidate’.

On his part, Borg reiterated that the PN condemns racism but did not address the particular case. He could have been more forceful in his words. The Rababah episode is not an issue that concerns only the PL but one that concerns the country.

Denying Rababah the right to stand for elections simply because he is Muslim is not only anti-constitutional but an act of racism because it seeks to deny him and people like him representation. This leader condemns the racist vitriol directed towards Rababah and expresses solidarity with him and his family.

The two main parties would do well to have flexibility in their respective well-scripted campaigns to respond to the unexpected events that crop up and which may throw a spanner in the works. After all, whoever aspires to become prime minister will not have a script to follow once in office. Indeed, they will have to be the prime minister of each and every citizen, including people like Rababah.