In his article in this newspaper last Wednesday, Malta Labour Party deputy leader for party affairs Michael Falzon made some interesting points that are worth pondering on as the party prepares itself for the coming general election.
It is an election that is extremely important for the MLP, and for its leadership in particular. Having spent 20 years in opposition, except for a brief and tumultuous 22 months in government in the mid-1990s, the MLP is looking at the next electoral test with the conviction that its time has come, but also with apprehension as to what would happen if it were to lose again.
The MLP is coming from four victories at local government level. Its victory at the European Parliament election in 2004 means Labour has won five elections in a row. Since losing the referendum which decided Malta’s European Union membership and the subsequent election – in March and April 2003 – Labour has won all its electoral tests. What the party is now looking forward to is the big game.
Because, as has been said over and over again, the successes at local level would all have been in vain for Labour should they lose the coming election. And although Labour is rightly euphoric for having achieved so much in the past immediate years, it must also be aware that the disappointment would be bigger now if it were to be defeated – for the fifth time in six national elections since 1987 – by the Nationalists.
This is why Dr Falzon has made it a point to say, in his article, that “notwithstanding the ongoing victories over the last four local council elections, Labour cannot and will not be complacent. If we feel assured of a victory, this reduces the rhythm and expectations for the eventual election.” The party has to stay alert, he added.
Dr Falzon is making it clear here that over-enthusiasm could make the party lose sight of what should be their main goal. Overly enthusiastic perceptions could lead to an over-confidence that could spell disaster for the MLP when the national election is called.
Dr Falzon – and the MLP – know that they cannot rely on the results of local elections to gauge what the people think in political terms, though such results can be taken to be a good indicator. But there is awareness that one third of the electorate did not vote in the last three local elections. So, yes, Labour still have to be “alert”, because the outcome of a general election does not always
correspond to the results obtained in previous local elections. It has happened in the past and it could happen again.
A second point, perhaps more important than the first, mentioned by Dr Falzon is about the need for the party to remain united. “Whatever we do, whatever we plan for the next general election and for the years after, we definitely have to be one front, one united front – a family, one united family…”
His insistence on this matter can be interpreted to mean that Dr Falzon is calling for a stronger effort, within the party, to pull the same rope, something which he perhaps is not seeing at this moment in time. The Labour government collapsed in 1998 because it was divided. Is Dr Falzon seeing something that is not visible to outsiders?
Funnily enough, Dr Falzon’s call for unity is similar to the one made by former Nationalist minister John Dalli, who last Sunday week called upon the PN to make a strong effort to reunify its supporters.
Such calls for a common front may mean nothing, but the people who make them often would be referring to matters that only a few outside the inner circle would understand.