The People have Spoken

The Malta Independent on Sunday



Once the people have spoken may be it is time to shut up. However, life goes on and we must all learn from events, accept new realities as they emerge, and move forward hopefully becoming wiser and better.

In the circumstances and to keep a measure of consistency I quote from past contributions I had penned which had considered the possibility of the scenario which has now unfolded into a reality.

In an interview with the Times on 9th September 2001 I had said

`If we vote in an election and we decide either way... that is our decision. If the people elect the Nationalists, it means that Malta will become an EU member and there is no way of turning back. That`s democracy. It will be the final decision. We might not like the power station at Delimara but it`s there and nobody would dare take it down. If the people decide that Malta should join the EU and Malta joins, then we have to make the most of it. It is irreversible.`

Writing on Nov 22, 2002 in my Friday column in the Malta Independent I wrote:

`It is obvious that should Labour finish the next general election contest on the losing side its EU policy will have to change to making the most of membership rather than to continue resisting it.`

Clearly when something gets done it cannot be easily undone. And realism calls for Labour to get over its shock very quickly and re-compose itself as a strong and democratically active opposition whilst respecting the execution of the people`s majority choice.` Certainly there must not be a repeat of the VAT saga where it took 4 years for Labour to acknowledge the realism that good or bad VAT had to stay as this country cannot be subjected to regular shocks of changes to its major fiscal instruments.`

`The people have spoken also for the PN. They now have a responsibility to deliver all they promised ` But it is also time to reflect on the irony of the present situation. I have yet to meet serious honest people, of whatever political beliefs, who argue that the PN have won the election on their own merits. There is a widely subscribed view that the people did not vote for PN but voted for whoever could get them into the EU.

The irony of this situation is that it was Labour Party itself that contributed most to PN`s victory.` The more pungent and effective we were in our criticism of the PN`s` handling of our domestic affairs, the stronger the argument for EU membership became.

So in the process of making effective criticism on the many aspects of domestic matters, from the economy to social policy, from corruption to law & order, from the state of our roads to environmental monsters, the perception grew that these problems were beyond the solution of any local politician, from the left or from the right.` The inevitability of EU membership become firmly ingrained in the mind of that sector of the electorate that decides on which side the scale should tip.

The irony is that the major opponents to EU membership were through their solid opposition the major contributors to its success and to perpetuation of the PN`s overstay in power.

`Above all the government must ensure that the culture of favours and jobs for the boys must end and Labourites are no longer made to feel as children of a lesser god.` It is easy to be critical after the event and I do not mean to be so. But it is appropriate to analyse and learn. Maltese people are tired of the way politics is done locally.` They knew the country was doing badly and they could not believe that a simple change of government would bring about the necessary discipline.` I dare suggest that Labour`s offering of a temporary cash flow palliative was misinterpreted as a sign of weak leadership that would render unworkable the Partnership option. Clearly this option depended on strong leadership and very active and able negotiations to succeed and deliver within acceptable time frames.

The people have spoken also for the PN. They now have a responsibility to deliver all they promised.` We must now witness the promised influx of foreign direct investment. We must see much better value for our tax money. We must have better roads and all year round gardens on our roundabouts.

We must be satisfied that our public finance deficit is truly under control and no longer fudged through creative accounting. We must really give the economy a break from excessive taxation and must wind down the bureaucracy that is stifling private initiative.

We must make MEPA accountable to public opinion and have its decisions perceived as fair, transparent and consistent.

Above all the government must ensure that the culture of favours and jobs for the boys must end and Labourites are no longer made to feel as children of a lesser god.` Government appointments must be made on the basis of strict merit not party affiliation.

Easy as it is for government to be carried away into thinking it has a permanent hold on power, extra effort must be made to govern in the interest of the whole nation, in the knowledge that this victory is owed to Labourites just as much as it is owed to Nationalists.

The first task of the Labour Party is to protect the interest of its own 47%plus followers ensuring that the government treats them with the respect and dignity they deserve and that their party affiliation is a right which should not deprive them of any other right given to them in a real democracy. This and not turning the clock back is where Labour needs to devote its energies.