Some two weeks have gone by now since the elections for the top posts of the General Workers Union were held. The most important post

contested was that of secretary-general. This election was won by Tony Zarb, who polled 80 per cent or so of the votes, after battling out the contest in the party newspapers.

However, 20 per cent, despite all the pressure, voted for a moderate line of thinking. “Moderate” does not mean weak. It means you adapt to today’s life, to the changing world of work, the new challenges that lie ahead. It means, more importantly, moving away from the old-fashioned way of thinking and the old way of doing things. It is quite obvious that the GWU will now remain tied to its past and to its same leaders.

This stand was rubber-stamped by the speeches that were seemingly previously prepared, obviously anticipating the outcome of the election, albeit they probably anticipated a bigger margin.

The rubber stamp was given, however, by opposition leader Alfred Sant, who confirmed the privileged status that the GWU has within the leftist movement and with the Labour Party.

Here two points emerge. The party has once again pronounced itself leftist, and the moderate centre-left image that has been marketed for such a long time has crumbled in one sentence.

The second point is that workers who are members of the GWU, and the GWU itself, are privileged, thus creating a clear discrimination between workers. This, ironically enough, is coming from the so-called bastion of the workers.

These two points should surely worry the floating voter.

This voter, who maybe is undecided about which party he should vote for next time around, now has the confirmation that any future Labour government is going back to its roots. Bye, bye new Labour. Here is the old Labour, with its leftist attitude, which has rekindled the “marriage” between the party and the GWU.

And is this what you want, Mr floating voter? To go back to the past?

To those who happen to be members of other unions, one would ask the question: do you feel comfortable being considered a member of a second-class union? Do you want to go back to the past?

I am convinced that the majority of Maltese people, both faithful party supporters and those who change party from one election to the other, do not want to be led into the past. The ugly scenes, the difficult times of living under quotas, the lack of freedom of expression are things of the past. We are now accustomed to a better way of living.

We have been accustomed to a Nationalist government that has changed leadership smoothly, that has gradually and steadily guided us forward. Some decisions have been difficult, but all have been forward-looking. Imagine yourself driving the wrong way down a one-way street. That would be equal to voting in the Labour Party at the next election.

Robert Arrigo is a Nationalist MP