Cheap tricks and party ploys

There is no doubt that after more than three years of this Labour government, Maltese and Gozitans have realised that the pre-election promises and posturing were just wool pulled over voters’ eyes in order to achieve that much craved-for power. Yes, Joseph Muscat’s Labour managed to grasp power, but the corresponding responsibility, which should have been the reciprocation for the trust they wangled out of the people, never materialised, and it never will. 

The public is disappointed and disillusioned with the daily stories of irregularities, blatant partisan appointments and outright corruption.  And yet, this Labour continues with its wool strategy, responding to the disenchantment of the people by resorting to cheap parlour tricks, trying to deviate attention from where the underhand is happening, by attraction to meaningless hand movements and gesturing.

Panicked by revelations of his government’s umpteenth scandal (the corrupt issuance of medical visas) in a long list which has seen this administration being rocked to (and from) its rotten core, Joseph Muscat’s Labour has resorted again to lying through its teeth in yet another attempt to somehow divert attention.

It is the typical response straight out of Joseph Muscat’s tired playbook. His thinking is that with enough smoke being blown, people would somehow forget that those closest to him have opened secret financial operations across the globe; or forget that his administration has handed over pristine environmental land to commercial speculators; or forget that his pre-electoral promises to his chosen few must now be fulfilled at the expense of the many; or forget that his administration is floundering under the abuse being allowed to flourish.

The latest attempt to muddy the waters is to try to undermine Simon Busuttil’s efforts to expose the systematic corruption plaguing this country. 

Labour’s faithful apologists repeat falsehoods frequently – evidently hopeful that people will sooner or later believe it. However, even in Labour’s post-truth world, there are some facts that remain sacred.

There is absolutely no doubt that there are many in the Labour camp who are unhappy when faced with the prospect of Simon Busuttil as Malta’s next Prime Minister. 

They know that with Simon Busuttil in Castille, they will be faced with a leader who will not back down, who cannot be silenced and who will put his neck on the line for a country free of corruption. There are those who are terrified at the prospect of their frenzy of abuse coming to an end – and make no mistake, those with everything to lose will stop at little. But Labour’s efforts to belittle the anti-corruption wave that Simon Busuttil heads, will backfire.

That they somehow try to project their alarm onto the Nationalist Party ranks exposes the state of panic that the Labour puppet-masters are in. No amount of blogs, written on state-funded time, or ridiculously false rumours planted on Super One will change that. 

It is perhaps worth reminding everybody that it is Joseph Muscat who has been faced with a record turnover in the ‘best cabinet in history’, a record number of resignations of public officials, not to mention a record number of police commissioners, in such a relatively short period of time. 

The electorate will soon be presented with a choice, which choice is getting clearer by the day. On the one side we have Joseph Muscat’s Labour, with its circles within circles wheeling and dealing to their hearts’ content, to the detriment of everybody else. On the other hand, we have a Nationalist Party, led by a no-nonsense leader who has made his determination for honest politics and justice into Malta’s battle-cry. 

Those who were hoodwinked into believing Joseph Muscat’s pre-electoral promises are seeing this difference, and this is worrying Mile End no end. It is therefore no wonder that they have gone to all this trouble to place doubts where there are none, to muddy the waters to continue bottom-feeding, and to try to project imaginary cracks onto the PN’s solid and united front. No amount of sleight of hand will deviate attention from the conviction that has become entrenched among the Maltese that this is a government built, and building, on corruption. 

The March 2013 election result gave Joseph Muscat a chance to prove himself as being more than just a cheap salesman. During the subsequent period he has been, and still is, subject to the scrutiny of the people on the basis of his and his party’s performance while wielding power. During this time, we have seen his wool becoming more and more transparent by the day, quite a far cry from the promised transparency in government. His tricks have become an insult to our intelligence.

Joseph Muscat and his Labour have been tried, and they have been tested. It will soon be time for Maltese and Gozitans to tell them, in no uncertain terms, that they have been found sorely wanting.

Roberta Metsola is a Nationalist Party MEP and shadow minister for European and foreign affairs

@RobertaMetsola