The 'association by guilt' trump card

The subtle art of guilt by association has been perfected by politicians and championed by the Nationalist Party on the last day of this campaign. 

The ‘Panini political album’ was a brazen and witty idea, probably construed by the backroom boys who have taken upon themselves to be the PN’s war room cabinet. They are mayor Karol Aquilina, marketing agent Chris Scicluna and party activist Angelito Sciberras. 

The Panini album stunt was an attempt to portray to what extent the Muscat slogan Malta Tagħna lkoll had become a bad joke. It could have been a great idea, had it not been presented and collated in such an amateurish manner. 

The Panini album also listed down people who work in the secretariats of ministers and pointed out that they were ‘Labourites.’

If ever there was a desperate example at ridiculing the ‘Malta tagħna llkol’ slogan, this is it.

Do the boys at Pieta think the secretariats of ministers should be manned by former Nationalists, instead of Labourites? Surely, if there is a posting which requires the appropriate candidate to be party lackeys, then this is the place.

Worse still, the Panini album also suggests that some of those who occupy these secretariats are reportedly chosen because of their Labour family tree or lineage. Wow!

The best example was the one of Nestor Laiviera – by all accounts a serious guy who takes his work very, very seriously. He may be a ‘Labourite’, but he’s far from politically blinkered.

The sticker album points out that Laiviera – who joined Finance Minister Edward Scicluna’s secretariat – is a grandson of a former Labour minister. However, it is likely that Nestor Laiviera never had the chance to even talk to his grandfather, since he passed away in 1984, before Nestor Laiviera was even born.

To interpret this post as a case of nepotism is simply far-fetched.

The other laughable reference was the inclusion of Cher Engerer, a respectable psychologist. Her “sin” was having Cyrus Engerer as a cousin.  Before 2013, she was on a government board – not appointed by this government, but by the former.

I believe that she was appointed because of her competence, not her familial links. At the time, Cyrus was a “naughty boy” still active within the PN.

The list goes on: Alfred Vella – a respectable scientist and university lecturer – is marked, and so is Carmen Sammut, who is the chairperson of the Majjistral National Park, and who receives zilch for the work she carries out.

She replaced Ian Castaldi Paris: a Nationalist Mayor and a PN activist. But I suppose having Ian Castaldi Paris captain this post is okay; but when the person in question happens to have Labour sympathies it is evil and wrong.

And let’s be fair: both Ian and Carmen were and are ideal candidates for this particular role.

Did Labour lose credibility on its ‘Malta tagħna lkoll’ slogan? Yes, it did. But not enough to shake most of the switchers’ resolve to wake up and embrace PN leader Simon Busuttil.

Busuttil remains unable to charm away the distaste some people have towards the PN. Simon, I believe, still cannot understand nor appreciate why people did not vote for the PN. He has been led to believe – or rather, he wants to believe – that his party has been deprived of something it deserves by rights. It is not the case.

So Busuttil is probably asking himself what he can do to climb this steep slope and get to the top.

Well, if I were him, I would not only seek to reform the party, but also – and more importantly – the inner core of the PN. 

With people like Karol Aquilina, Angelito Sciberras and Chris Scicluna, the approach to tackling Muscat will remain lacking.

To start with, his first concern should be to fear and respect the enemy. Every time I meet a Nationalist party official, I have to listen to a choreographed diatribe of, “How jaqq Joseph Muscat is!” As if he were the incarnation of Satan himself.

This, in my opinion, should be Busuttil’s first point of action: treating Muscat as a bona fide political adversary, and not encouraging the tendency to view Labourites as a different species.

His next step should be to surround himself with fresh faces who at least give the impression of a new and rejuvenated party.

I could mention a few names, but if I did I know that it would not help their cause, so I think I will give this one a miss.

The third and most important thing is that it is not enough to say Labour is bad and not worthy to govern. The PN must stand for something.

The PN has basically taken a cue from Alfred Sant’s pre-1996 campaign and based its whole strategy by outlining the mistakes of the administration, while never declaring where it stands on various issues. Faced with controversial issues such as civil unions and spring hunting, it simply stopped thinking. Where is stood was vague and ambiguous.

If the Nationalist Party really believed that people who voted for Labour did so because they believed in their slogan, they really must be told that it was all about them. Perhaps the PN has not quite realised that the main reason that people voted for Labour was simply because the ruling party was perceived as too bloody arrogant.

There is a thinking process familiar with psychologists that describe the psyche of those who take a decision and are reluctant to reverse that decision. That example best describes to describe the switcher who voted in March 2013. 

No one in the right frame of mind can reasonably alter their vote just like that, more so when the folks begging for your vote are more or less the same guys you wanted to punish.

Come Sunday, I'm dying to see what both leaders will have to say about the result.

Saviour Balzan's opinion was published in the print edition of MaltaToday on Sunday of 25 May, 2014