Joseph Muscat’s speech at the mass meeting held in Mqabba last Sunday was fierce and passionate, to say the least. The man who always keeps his cool - even when confronted with by a barrage of questions from journalists - delivered a strong speech in a high-pitched voice with aggressive hand gestures.

But, beneath the surface, the facial expressions, the Prime Minister passed on some hidden messages. Here are the six things which we learned from Dr Muscat’s speech in Mqabba.

 

1. He wants to address the floaters

We are less than two weeks away from the general election and party leaders want to attract the floaters’ votes. The Malta Independent’s election iSurvey found that there are more respondents who say they are switching over from PL in the 2013 general election to PN now. The undecided are also on the increase. The latest survey shows those who are undecided stand at 21%.  As per previous elections, it is these undecided who will decide the 3 June outcome.

Rightly so, Joseph Muscat opened his speech by clearly stating that he wants to address the younger generation and, as he put it, “Those who are not affiliated to any particular political party, who are not into tribal partisan politics”. Clearly, he was speaking to those who were watching from the comfort of their homes. Those who attended the mass meeting were probably already dead set to vote Labour and did not need convincing.

 

2. Don’t boo, vote!

If you follow the media (my dear), you’ve probably come across the famous “don’t boo, vote” chant coined by Barack Obama during a pre-election campaign rally for Hillary Clinton. Obama improvised what will probably turn out to be one of the most remarkable catchphrases of the dearly missed US President.

It’s no secret that our Prime Minister likes Obama. But during this campaign, Dr Muscat turned it up a little notch. “Mhux tibbujaw,” he told the crowd in the mass meeting, “ivvutaw!” He said it on Sunday but he had already said it in other PL evening events during this campaign.

 

3. The one seat majority dilemma

Joseph Muscat started the legislature with a nine seat majority. It was basically impossible for Parliament to stop any of the government’s proposals because the Opposition faced a gargantuan task to beat this majority. Votes of no confidence were, despite marathon debates, fruitless.

During his speech, Dr Muscat let slip that he considers a one or two-seat majority as unstable. “The PN risks leading with a small majority, where the leader would have to debate every little decision,” he said. But one should ask, what is wrong with that? What’s wrong with debating? Isn’t a nine-seat majority dangerous? Apparently, for Muscat, numbers in Parliament are more important than debates within the Cabinet.

 

4. Mizzi and Schembri kept for important projects

Joseph Muscat has not refrained from mentioning the Panama Papers issue during any of the political activities. He reiterated that, during this legislature, he made some mistakes. Most noticeable among these was his inaction with regards to the Panama Papers scandal in which Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri were involved.

He stated during last Sunday’s mass meeting that he needed to keep the two most trusted of friends because they had important projects to complete. Konrad Mizzi, although being dubbed the ‘no-portfolio minister’ after he was stripped of his energy and health portfolios, was still kept in charge of energy projects. He was in fact always present during events related to the energy sector. Does this mean that Muscat may intend to keep Mizzi out of the Cabinet in the next legislature?

 

5. Muscat is not in favour of abortion

The Sunday Times on the day carried a story quoting Godfrey Farrugia hinting that the Labour Party intends to introduce abortion. Muscat wanted to address this immediately and said that what “the conservative coalition” was saying was a lie. He did not mention Godfrey Farrugia by name but it was clear to what and who what he was referring.

 

6. Don’t vote for who disappointed you

At one point in his speech, Muscat told the thousands gathered in Mqabba to vote, even if some candidates disappointed. “If there are certain candidates who disappointed you, don’t abstain from voting. Go out and vote for another Labour Party candidate!” he shouted.

At this point, one can only speculate.