A resilient opposition and a comatose government

Article from Malta Independent.

The idea of a nine-day PL AGM might have initially sounded overwhelming both to the party delegates as well as to political analysts and watchers beyond the confines of the CNL.

But in actual fact it turned out to be a positive experience, a learning curve, and something enriching indeed for all those who chose to participate in the various workshops and seminars.

In my opinion the highlights of the nine-day conference were no doubt the PL Leader’s keynote speech on Sunday and the innovative Q & A session that Joseph Muscat held at the CNL for PL delegates.

On Sunday Joseph made it clear what he meant when he opted to take up the challenge and unleash the transformation process that will turn the PL into a movement of progressives for a better country.

The gist of it all is that the movement being built will not replace the party but send a clear signal to one and all that the party had to change to become the foundation of a bigger movement that was bigger than the party itself.

Aptly preceded by Bon Jovi’s rocking music and timely lyrics, Joseph delivered an inspirational and visionary speech that laid out the ingredients of the futuristic road ahead, without even bothering to mention ‘the other side’ or Lawrence Gonzi once.

The main message was that the people who joined the movement might not agree on everything but they knew that this was where the future lay.

His strong emphasis on green issues and environmental matters provided stirring stuff indeed!

During the Q & A within the span of an hour and a half he managed to tackle most key issues with a sense of reassurance and level headedness that showed how trivial the government side is when they are quick to dismiss Joseph Muscat as a superficial politician.

The net result of this counter productive strategy is that the PN has invariably ended up reacting to every PL move, rather than being proactive, with the PL constantly setting the agenda much to government’s dismay.

Even worse for government was the fact that it happens to be in such a comatose situation that not only does it have to calibrate every move it makes out of fear of rocking its own boat and adding to its own inherent in built instability, but it is also having to put up a mock brave face in the light of the embarrassing statements made publicly in recent days by a number of frustrated back benchers, who include former Cabinet Ministers.

At the same time that the Nationalist media was busy trying to rubbish the PL, one of the most laid back Nationalist backbenchers, Philip Mifsud embarrassed government by stating that the PL of today is far different from that of yesteryear and that it is playing its cards far more intelligently.

No wonder that reports that the PN have been miffed at his comments have not been denied.

Only a few days later we had an even more damning statement in the media – this time by former PN Minister Jesmond Mugliett who stated that MEPA took Marsa residents for a 10-year ride, that it only started bothering about the problem of the noxious fumes in the Hexagon House area when government bought the premises from HSBC Bank – a problem HSBC staffers had been long putting up with as I can personally testify – as well as the serious accusation that according to Mugliett ‘people’s concerns were real and cannot be ignored.’

The most telling part of Mugliett’s public outburst was that from the experience of how MEPA handled the Marsa fumes problem, the authority had a credibility problem. Within the same breadth he stated that he has serious doubts on the issue of emissions’ monitoring at power stations, since in his opinion MEPA’s monitoring has become one big joke.

Mugliett asked the same question many people that have approached me in recent weeks have long been asking me:

• What happens if emissions go beyond EU levels?

• What teeth will MEPA have to enforce its own conditions?

We have got to the stage where a former cabinet member has even told his own administration that people cannot trust the whole system.

Punchier and more hard hitting than that you cannot get!

On the Labour front time will tell that a new movement cannot be born overnight. But from the statements made by Joseph Muscat and the majority of delegates who took the floor one can also tell that this will not prove to be an insurmountable mountain, although the odd voices in the desert who continue to remain out of sync might give the impression of trying to stall the process. Even though they will eventually fall in line.

But with Maltese politics moving fast in the direction of British and American politics it is the leader who sets the tone and the agenda, and those who have not yet turned on to this new agenda will soon realise that there is no point in living further in a state of denial.

In my address to the conference last Thursday I made it clear that the new openness in the PL is being welcomed even by institutions, organisations and NGOs that harbour activists and members of different political views.

We will surely not win these people over by adopting the attitude of prophets of doom as if we literally were on the eve of the apocalypse.

But I am convinced that with the vision, commitment, sincerity and strong sense of purpose that Joseph Muscat has been showing, Labour will not only win the battle of ideas but it will also increase its outreach amongst the ‘winners’ of Maltese society rather than merely coming across as the party of the social ‘losers.’ All this without renouncing its traditional and praiseworthy role of standing up for the down trodden and those experiencing poverty and hard times.

I know that there is still much that needs to be done particularly in the creativity and technological sectors, but I feel confident that the PL is well placed – as shown by the recently set up Business Forum – to reach out successfully to people with a strong spirit of enterprise, initiative, and innovation.

In the environmental sector the PL must convince one and all that its commitment on the Opposition benches will translate itself into reality if entrusted to govern.

We need to come across as many think that we are already doing as the only hope and only political force in Parliament that is truly committed to the environment.

A lot will depend on how we convey our messages, the style we shall adopt to do so, and the language – verbal and body – that we will use.

We need to shed any inhibitions as of now and realise that in going down the route of progressive ideas and moderation we will have emerged from a cozy cocoon that tended to turn the PL in past years into an inward looking conservative movement, resistant to change.

Through our words, actions, style, values and behaviour I am sure that we can make it.

The scent of renewal and progress can be felt strongly within party ranks.

There is also a stronger sense of unity than in past years where some elements were far too busy sniping at one another.

Without succumbing to complacency, Joseph Muscat has managed to combine a sense of urgency with a more relaxing environment that has soothed away many of the stresses that he has inherited.

The PL is not just a movement of imagined possibilities. Through Joseph Muscat’s positive thinking and forward looking attitude – as compared to that of lesser mortals – we are managing to show the country that we have what it takes to offer the vision to change the country for the better.

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