If you want to do politics, you must know how to do it

Doing politics does not mean you have to be crooked or a scumbag but neither does it mean you must be unappealing, scruffy, ridiculous, repulsive and dull.

I do not write out of rancour or because of bittersweet memories. But I find the singular media outbursts by both ADPD and Momentum sad and frail. They portray an absurd ‘holier than thou’ attitude.

The statements may be full of significance and logic, but they have no gravitas because everyone knows that these groups or individuals simply issue a press release and stop there.

There is no argument about the need to have a third party with a more centre left agenda; one that is not shackled by the massive interests of the lobby groups that have taken over the big parties.

I speak now, because I remain a firm believer in the existence of third parties in a duopoly that has dominated Malta for 50 years.  

I believe I have the privilege to speak with some authority on this subject. Back in 1989 I was the co-founder of Alternattiva Demokratika. It was a political party with its own newspaper and radio station. It was a gruelling experience that left a scar on my mindset and propelled me into media and politics. It also gave me insight into the dominance and ruthlessness of the two-party system and the intricate power structures that blocked any chance of new political ventures. The venture stole a good nine years of my life and robbed me of my best years.

It was a 24x7 job with no thank you. It contributed to financial depravity on a personal level and led to constant skirmishes with the administration (a PN government at the time) of the day and a near complete media blackout including from established newspapers such as The Times, not to mention PBS. Apart from experiencing apartheid of all kinds.

When I quit Alternattiva it was in tatters; very much as it is today. After I left there were small electoral successes under the leadership of Arnold Cassola, Harry Vassallo and Michael Briguglio. But none managed to cross the finishing line. To me third party politics is like walking in the mud. But it can change if people implement the right solutions.

Today, we have two small parties—ADPD and Momentum. The latter led by Arnold Cassola, who is much more than a household name. ADPD has whittled down into a minute grouping with no leadership material and lacking in ‘momentum.’

Momentum is more organised and structured and better prepared. But apart from Cassola, there are few new faces, or well-known personalities. Apart from this, the Cassola tag has its positives and negatives.

Politics is about communication, and communicating is not only about content but also about presence. Presence comes because of charisma and persuasion. That is lacking when you see what the small parties have to offer.

The idea of splitting resources between ADPD and Momentum makes no sense anymore.  The quicker they join forces the better. And the faster they realise who should be their front runners the better too.

When this happens, the next step is the need to identify the right people to take this political project forward.

Democracy is not only a buzzword; it needs to be realised through concrete action. I do not see any of the two major parties agreeing to a change in the electoral system. 

Both the PL and PN know that changing the goalposts would open the doors to third parties and this would threaten their base.

So, a combined Momentum/ADPD need to look at the mathematics of the Maltese electoral system and focus on two districts and blast them with a campaign that will leave real results.

37 years ago, the Maltese Green Party was launched. The best performance always gave the party a 2% support base nationwide. To get elected, it will need to capture the first count votes of between 15% and 17% on a single electoral district. That is no mean feat. The demography and the mathematics point to two or three districts as potential hotbeds with a remote chance. Districts with the youngest voters, the more liberal voters and the chunkiest percentage of floating and independent voters.

Unless everyone has got a lot of time and money to spare and throw away, the best thing would be to sit down and agree on a game plan. There must be maturity and those with a big ego need to take a sleeping pill and stay away.

If ever this happens and a third party does succeed in electing a person to parliament, Malta’s parliamentary democracy will have raised the bar by a notch than what we have today. The way the two parties will approach their electorate will be very different. It will be healthier for the country.