Time to Move On

Maltastar



This is an honest to God faithful account of a true personal experience. A and B are very close friends of mine. They are also very close friends of each other. They are slightly younger than me and very successful in their respective professions. They come from strong Labour families and whilst they both moved up the social ladder and would be classified at the top end of the A/B category, they remain strongly Labourites in their heart. They always voted Labour before April 12th. What they did on April 12th I am not sure. What I am sure of is that in the referendum they both voted `iva`. For their own particular reasons they have taken to the idea of Malta becoming an EU member. They never really considered that Partnership was feasible within a reasonable time-scale and did not give weight to the contention that EU membership could mean the end of our sovereignty. `it is more surprising that we got 47% of the electorate behind us rather than that we lost the election` In the election campaign I had several discussions with them and I felt that I had gained their commitment to vote Labour given that we belatedly promised to hold a fresh referendum and kept the door open for eventual membership. Indeed they were surprised that Labour finally adopted a strategy that I had been privately advocating for several months and I thought our mission to get back Labourites who voted `iva` was on the right track. I spoke to each of them separately several times during the campaign and each time I gained their commitment to vote Labour on April 12th in spite of their having voted `iva` in the referendum.



Late on Friday election eve, B called me to warn me that A was still wavering and seemed to be having second thoughts about voting Labour and going against the May 2004 deadline for EU membership. I thanked B, got his re-assurance that he will vote Labour the next day and made a mental note to speak to A the first thing on Saturday. I tried to do so but did not manage immediately, but at 10 am A called me to say he was just about entering the polling booth and in spite of his misgivings about our EU policy, he swore on his dearest he was definitely going to vote Labour as he had done all his life. But he warned me that B was prevaricating and that B admitted to A that same morning that B intended to cancel the vote. I immediately phoned B to inform him that A re-assured me that he will be voting Labour. B seemed pleased but unimpressed. I then told B what A had told me about his intentions to cancel the vote and B admitted that in truth he meant to do that. After another persuasion exercise B assured me that he was just going there and then to vote Labour to ensure that he will leave no room for more doubts. What A and B actually did I really do not know. But what struck me in this experience is a very odd feeling. Whilst each one of them, genuine and staunch labourites right down to the smallest bone in their body, was finding it difficult to vote Labour and seemed prepared to repeat the referendum experience of voting against their party policy, they were very worried that the other guy would not be voting Labour. I am no psychologist but the way I read it is that in their heart of hearts they wanted Labour to win the election but did not want the personal responsibility of missing the EU membership appointment in May 2004. `The EU is no longer an issue, but a reality that needs to be accepted and worked within its parameters.` If we could not convince two people like these to vote Labour, is it any wonder that we did not persuade the majority of the floating voters to vote for us. Playing back this experience I tend to conclude that it is more surprising that we got 47% of the electorate behind us rather than that we lost the election.



By packaging the EU issue with a general election we were shooting ourselves in the foot. We were forcing pro-EU Labourites to vote against us. The only thing that could be worse for Labour was a referendum just before the election. And bang the PN snapped it on us. This permitted the PN to use public funds to gain advantage through the referendum as a springboard for the ensuing general elections. By participating in such a referendum we gave the PN a walk-over. Our strategy should have been that although we felt that Partnership was better than membership we should have accepted straight away that the decision belonged to the people in a specific referendum to be held separately and at a distance from the general election. We should have accepted to be bound by the referendum result as the will of the people was superior to party policy. Then, rather than urging the packaging of the EU decision in a single general election contest, we should have applied our arguments and energies for the referendum to be held after the election. The moment accession slipped from Jan 2004 to May 2004 crossing the legislature`s divide, the argument for such an arrangement grew irresistible and we should have sought to bring public opinion behind it and should have lobbied Brussels to endorse such a deal. Then A and B would have had no problem voting Labour in an election knowing that a referendum would be held thereafter permitting a vote for EU membership and would have bound a new Labour government to be there on May 1st 2004. So where do we go from here` I definitely say that we should go forward. The EU is no longer an issue, but a reality that needs to be accepted and worked within its parameters. This is why Labour needs to put emotions aside and face the future logically and calmly and take decisions which would accelerate the return of the likes of A and B to our fold.