14th March 2008
The 
The people have spoken.
But what exactly have they said?
When the difference between the two main parties is as wafer thin as it was and when the winner does not get beyond the 50 per cent mark, in the local context, it is easy to confuse the people’s message. Yet it is utterly important for the people’s message to be understood and heeded.
Objective analysts, like I pretend to be, have particular responsibility; to decipher the message and, in my small way, contribute to help the politicians understand the people’s message in its entirety and not only in the bits and pieces that suit their wishes.
In summary, the people have said that what they really wanted was Labour in government and Gonzi as Prime Minister. As this was an impossible mix, one could not co-exist with the other, the people went for the next best thing. They resented Alfred Sant as Prime Minister more than they resented the PN in government, so basically without giving the PN an overall majority they gave them the minimum possible relative majority.
The message to the PN is clear. The people put the PN in government courtesy of Alfred Sant. Consequently, they should ensure that they govern for all the people and that Labourites must not be made to feel like strangers in their own country. In appointing executives to key roles the Prime Minister has a very big responsibility not to discriminate against people of Labour creed and must be guided strictly by meritocracy. This particularly applies to management of national institutions like the Presidency of the Republic, Mepa, Central Bank and MCESD among others.
I am writing this before Gonzi appointed his cabinet, which will be history by the time this is published. But if Gonzi wants to send a tangible message that he really means to be the government for all people, he should seriously consider picking a leaf from Sarkozy’s book and invite valid MPs from the opposition to join his cabinet. Karmenu Vella could be a Tourism Minister better than anybody in the PN ranks. Carmelo Abela could be as good as any in the PN for Education Minister now that Louis Galea is out.
Certainly tourism and education could do with a dose of cross party support. It is quite probable that neither Vella nor Abela would accept the invitation and prefer to continue with their role in opposition, but the message would have been delivered and appreciated.
The opposition must also heed the people’s message. Twice in a row Labour has forced people’s hand to vote it of out of power, against the people’s own best judgement. Unless Labour wants to threaten its own extinction by being perceived as a party for the local government and national opposition, it must not challenge the people’s will anymore. Its first test well be the choice of the leader and after that it will be the adaptation of its policies.
While the leader is chosen by the party delegates, the approval that matters most depends on the larger electorate. Labour must no longer abuse the loyalty of the party delegates by pushing candidates for leadership with a minimalist approach to change. The only criterion that should guide Labour in choosing its new leader, indeed its new leadership, is the likeability of the chosen persons to as large a majority of the population as possible. Only this can translate itself into Labour’s next victory.
With very, very minor exceptions, few people within the current Labour set-up can pass this test, and it is imperative that the leadership decision is well considered and not rushed to exclude those candidates, the undersigned included, who showed their loyalty to the party by leaving rather than by staying on to participate in the betrayal of Labour’s own interest.
Labour must understand that in this day of scientific marketing and the force of branding, objective cannot be met by trying to sell cola in lemonade bottles; that the wrapping is as important as the content. In permitting Sant to use the power of incumbency to get himself re-elected as leader following the disastrous performance in the 2003 referendum and general elections, Labour condemned itself to having the near impossible task of selling its post-EU accession policy by the same people who used to define EU membership in god forbid (alla hares qatt) terms, basically selling cola in lemonade bottles. While its policies were correct, the people who sought the mandate to implement them lacked the necessary credibility.
So, after choosing the right leadership Labour must proceed to define and refine its policies. No more Pjan ghal Bidu Gdid please! We cannot have a new beginning every time there is a change of government. People want continuity of policies and they want better execution. With so many changes going on in their daily life they do not want to elect a new government who proclaims a new beginning, giving the impression that they are ready to throw everything overboard and start afresh.
In my future writings I will dedicate space to define what policies Labour should adopt to do honour to its basic doctrine of social democracy, while giving the country the best chance to compete effectively and create wealth.
When the difference between the two main parties is as wafer thin as it was and when the winner does not get beyond the 50 per cent mark, in the local context, it is easy to confuse the people’s message. Yet it is utterly important for the people’s message to be understood and heeded.
Objective analysts, like I pretend to be, have particular responsibility; to decipher the message and, in my small way, contribute to help the politicians understand the people’s message in its entirety and not only in the bits and pieces that suit their wishes.
In summary, the people have said that what they really wanted was Labour in government and Gonzi as Prime Minister. As this was an impossible mix, one could not co-exist with the other, the people went for the next best thing. They resented Alfred Sant as Prime Minister more than they resented the PN in government, so basically without giving the PN an overall majority they gave them the minimum possible relative majority.
The message to the PN is clear. The people put the PN in government courtesy of Alfred Sant. Consequently, they should ensure that they govern for all the people and that Labourites must not be made to feel like strangers in their own country. In appointing executives to key roles the Prime Minister has a very big responsibility not to discriminate against people of Labour creed and must be guided strictly by meritocracy. This particularly applies to management of national institutions like the Presidency of the Republic, Mepa, Central Bank and MCESD among others.
I am writing this before Gonzi appointed his cabinet, which will be history by the time this is published. But if Gonzi wants to send a tangible message that he really means to be the government for all people, he should seriously consider picking a leaf from Sarkozy’s book and invite valid MPs from the opposition to join his cabinet. Karmenu Vella could be a Tourism Minister better than anybody in the PN ranks. Carmelo Abela could be as good as any in the PN for Education Minister now that Louis Galea is out.
Certainly tourism and education could do with a dose of cross party support. It is quite probable that neither Vella nor Abela would accept the invitation and prefer to continue with their role in opposition, but the message would have been delivered and appreciated.
The opposition must also heed the people’s message. Twice in a row Labour has forced people’s hand to vote it of out of power, against the people’s own best judgement. Unless Labour wants to threaten its own extinction by being perceived as a party for the local government and national opposition, it must not challenge the people’s will anymore. Its first test well be the choice of the leader and after that it will be the adaptation of its policies.
While the leader is chosen by the party delegates, the approval that matters most depends on the larger electorate. Labour must no longer abuse the loyalty of the party delegates by pushing candidates for leadership with a minimalist approach to change. The only criterion that should guide Labour in choosing its new leader, indeed its new leadership, is the likeability of the chosen persons to as large a majority of the population as possible. Only this can translate itself into Labour’s next victory.
With very, very minor exceptions, few people within the current Labour set-up can pass this test, and it is imperative that the leadership decision is well considered and not rushed to exclude those candidates, the undersigned included, who showed their loyalty to the party by leaving rather than by staying on to participate in the betrayal of Labour’s own interest.
Labour must understand that in this day of scientific marketing and the force of branding, objective cannot be met by trying to sell cola in lemonade bottles; that the wrapping is as important as the content. In permitting Sant to use the power of incumbency to get himself re-elected as leader following the disastrous performance in the 2003 referendum and general elections, Labour condemned itself to having the near impossible task of selling its post-EU accession policy by the same people who used to define EU membership in god forbid (alla hares qatt) terms, basically selling cola in lemonade bottles. While its policies were correct, the people who sought the mandate to implement them lacked the necessary credibility.
So, after choosing the right leadership Labour must proceed to define and refine its policies. No more Pjan ghal Bidu Gdid please! We cannot have a new beginning every time there is a change of government. People want continuity of policies and they want better execution. With so many changes going on in their daily life they do not want to elect a new government who proclaims a new beginning, giving the impression that they are ready to throw everything overboard and start afresh.
In my future writings I will dedicate space to define what policies Labour should adopt to do honour to its basic doctrine of social democracy, while giving the country the best chance to compete effectively and create wealth.
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