I am sure that by now you have all had enough statistics on the results of the local council elections. I will spare you any analysis that includes statistics. Statistics are useful to analyse results, but although statistics do give us trends, they do not always give enough insights as to why things have happened.
The results of last weekend are a clear indication of how much the Maltese in general are fed up with the incompetence of this government. They are seeing that what had been promised is not being delivered. More importantly, they are suffering from a situation of ever-increasing job losses, an increase in part-time employment, and the fact that a larger group of Maltese are living on the edge of poverty. Worse still, this administration is clearly unable to provide solutions to these problems.
Some might here question Labour’s persistence on its ability to give Malta a better administration. They argue that the situation is irreconcilable, unsolvable and that if the Nationalists could not sort it out, then no one can. They also tend to argue that the situation is so bad, that no good can come out of a Labour administration. Some might go as far as to argue: “better the devil you know”.
On the contrary, Labour is on a continuous march forward. We are on a mission to ensure that those who find themselves at the bottom of whatever we call a decent life find enough support to live in dignity. It could be unemployment. It could be sickness. It could be a family splitting up, or because the mother is single. It could be economic. And it could be age. It could be the way people are hired and fired. Whatever it may be, we will be there to provide solutions.
We have, over the last years, worked continuously on strategies and policies that bring politics closer to the people. Was it not Labour that said it would have preferred that local councils should be the affair of the locals alone? In addition, we supported the notion that local politics should be free from party politics to allow the people of the locality the freedom to manage their own affairs and to reduce party political involvement generally. The Nationalists thought otherwise.
Despite our involvement in locality politics, Labour has still taken the initiative to make the local councils far closer to the people. The way Labour councils do their work is different. Our main aim is to bring local politics and policies closer to the people, and the action taken is for the good of the locality and its residents, first and foremost. There is no question about the success of these policies, and the results of these last years clearly show the appreciation of re-election for all Labour local councils majorities.
On the national level, Labour is no different. We have prepared ourselves for the next general election and for eventual government. The process of the setting up, discussing and approval of our policy and vision documents, are living proof of the involvement we give to everyone that seeks it. The party is open wide to ideas on how to improve the lives of one and all. Most importantly, we are bent on devising a strategy of how to rid Malta of the present way of doing things: the “anything goes” attitude of this government and its harmful consequences.
Yes, we march on, to give new hope and courage that the mess we live in is, in fact, surmountable. We seek a way forward to offer a better life for one and all. We shall move on to enhance what we have established, as hallmarks of a welfare system. We seek to give hope to the unemployed and, most importantly, hope to our younger generations that no effort will be spared to give them a better education and opportunities and to assure them of a sustainable high standard of life.
Our march does not stop when the party gets elected. We have set a thorough agenda for the next Labour government and we are sure that everyone will participate in this project to have a better Malta. A better life, with a better government, not merely an alternative one – a Labour government.
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Dr Michael Falzon is the MLP deputy leader for party affairs