It is not normal for the Malta Labour Party to organise a mass activity on the eve of Independence Day, a national holiday that is associated closely with the Nationalist Party, which was in government when Malta obtained its independence from British rule in 1964. Independence Day was in fact one of the holidays that were removed from the calendar during the Labour rule of the 1970s and 1980s, only to be reinstated as such when the Nationalists were re-elected in 1987.

It was however not a surprise that, with the election only a few months away, the MLP took the opportunity to bring its supporters together for a political activity aimed as a show of strength and also as a build-up towards yet another fund-raising activity organised by the party. Of course, Labour steered clear from even mentioning Independence Day. But that is another story.

The abnormality of Labour’s mass event in Birzebbuga on the eve of Independence Day led many people to think that the party leadership would have taken the chance to come up with something different, something aimed at attracting new voters, those who stayed at home watching television and could compare and contrast what was being said by Labour leader Alfred Sant and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on the Granaries in Floriana some time later.

Those who thought so were quite disappointed, because Dr Sant chose to literally address only the party diehards, saying little that would have struck a chord with the thousands of floating voters who were listening to him in the comfort of their home, those who will ultimately shift the balance one way or the other when it will be time to vote.

Dr Sant’s 20-minute speech was aimed at those who have already decided to vote Labour, and therefore the MLP leader lost a golden opportunity to make headway amid that group of people who are still unsure what to do with their vote.

He chose to repeat what he has been saying over and over again for the past weeks – that the government is tired, incompetent and has been hit by scandals that have rocked its foundations. He then went on to say that the country needs a breath of fresh air, a new government led by the MLP, which has plans to take the country back on its feet.

It would have been good to know what some of these plans are, however. The MLP has recently published a whole set of documents it has drawn up over the past years, and last Thursday’s occasion was appropriate for Dr Sant to delve deeper into what the MLP is planning for Malta if it were to win the election. But there was nothing of that.

The MLP, as an opposition party, has a duty to criticise the government to keep it on its toes, and in this Labour is living up to the expectations because no chance is lost to put the government in bad light.

But a party in opposition needs to do much more. It must show that it is an alternative government, and it must say what it intends to do to convince the people that it will be a better one.

There was a time, for example, when Dr Sant used to say that a Labour government would solve this and that problem within six months of taking office. This is not happening anymore. Why has Dr Sant stopped saying what the party will do if it is returned to government?

Dr Sant does well to keep pointing out the government’s deficiencies, but he will earn more points if he were to give a better indication of what the party’s plans for Malta’s future are.