Yet again the Maltese electorate has delivered a judgement in the tradition of its collective wisdom.I had written about this already in an article published in 2014 which can be accessed through this link:
http://alfred-mifsud.blogspot.com.mt/2014/04/collective-wisdom.html
It is terribly naïve for quarters close to the PN to blame the electorate for its loss. Arguments that the majority of Maltese must be stupid to hand Joseph Muscat a re-instatement mandate with an even bigger majority, expose arrogance and disdain just at a time when humility and self-assessment are called for.
The electorate saw no reason to depart from its long held tradition to mandate same government for two consecutive terms and all the claims of corruption and bad governance marshalled by the members of the network of power of which the PN is simply the political cell, could not move the electorate one teeny weeny bit from its determination to judge Muscat on overall performance rather than on unproven suspicions of mal-practice which are still being investigated.
This reminds me of 1992 when PN gave Labour a bigger drumming at the polls than the first win of 1987. It was only after the second electoral defeat that Labour realised that unless it re-invents itself it will remain unelectable. Alfred Sant as new leader working on a blueprint I had penned in 1990 won the following 1996 election against all expectations.
The PN must now realise that to be considered as a true alternate government they must act like an alternate government and not simply obstruct all the way using questionable means which harm the country's international reputation.
We should all celebrate the electorate's further demonstration of its collective wisdom. It rewards Labour and PM Muscat with a well-deserved second mandate. It hopefully forces the PN to re-define its strategies, consider the best persons who can lead the necessary transformation to regain electoral credibility, and above all stop playing dirty games by internationalising our defects beyond all proportions.
Most of all PN must allow our regulatory institutions and law enforcement organs to work with the autonomy bestowed upon them by law and uphold the rule of law by desist orchestrating internal leaks which create huge obstructions in the proper functioning of such institutions.
It is never too late for a new beginning. Malta needs not only a strong government but an effective opposition which can keep the executive on its toes without damaging our international reputation. Even for the PN the election result of 2017 could be a covert victory just as the electoral losses of 1992 and 2008 where covert victories for Labour.
