Labour leader Alfred Sant is correct on some aspects with regard to the invitation he received to take part in tomorrow’s edition of Xarabank. But, on the other hand, he has made an error of judgment in refusing the invitation.
It is true, as Dr Sant has said, that a programme like Xarabank is not the ideal place where politics should be discussed, particularly on the eve of an election. The programme’s format does not allow the speakers to develop their arguments, on any subject, not only politics.
The continuous interruptions by the presenter himself and the audience, coupled by the number of times the programme is stopped for advertising purposes, are not conducive to a serious discussion.
On these grounds, Dr Sant is right to raise doubts as to the validity of the discussion that takes place during Xarabank.
Yet Dr Sant is wrong to refuse the invitation to take part in tomorrow’s edition. Because, irrespective of the way the programme is conducted, his absence does not look good. A leader of a political party, especially one that is vying to take over the government, should take each and every opportunity to put forward his message.
As it is now, if Dr Sant does not change his mind, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will have the opportunity to explain the government’s side of things while the MLP will have no air-time. And here we are talking about Malta’s most popular television programme, which following the hype that has been created over the matter will probably attract more viewers than usual tomorrow.
The MLP also stretched matters a bit too far in the demands they made over the past weeks before ultimately turning down the invitation.
Live programmes are what they are, and it is impossible to predict all the shots that will be used. Such requests indicate that the MLP was finding every possible excuse not to take part in the programme.
After all, Dr Sant himself has taken part in several editions of Xarabank, and questions must be asked as to why the MLP has taken such a stand now, particularly considering that over the past weeks there have been a number of occasions when Dr Sant and other Labour spokesmen have refused to take part on TV shows.
Of course, it is nowhere near the outright boycott the MLP had sustained against Where’s Everybody some years back, as the Nationalist media is trying to imply. Yet it must be said that such refusals, especially if made on a regular basis, throw bad light on the people and organisations involved.
It seems, to many, that Dr Sant is avoiding journalists. Since the budget for 2008 was presented, on at least two occasions Dr Sant held press
conferences but took no questions from the press.
But to say that Dr Sant is afraid of facing the Prime Minister in a head-to-head debate is however wrong.
For one thing, Dr Sant is at his best in such circumstances, as he seemingly finds it more comfortable in such debates than he does when he is speaking to crowds. The recent mishap at Birzebbuga on the eve of Independence Day is a perfect example of this.
Secondly, in his letter to the Prime Minister explaining his refusal to attend the Xarabank programme, Dr Sant himself suggested that one-on-one debates should be held on a regular basis. Dr Sant is therefore not shying away from confrontations with Dr Gonzi; he just wants such debates to be held in a “serious context”, to use his words, and without journalists fielding questions.
Well, debates such as the ones being proposed by the Labour leader are an interesting proposition, and the two sides should discuss their organisation. It would be good, for example, to have such debates on both Net TV and One TV, apart from PBS.
In the meantime, Dr Sant should however not refuse participation in whatever programmes he is invited for. He is still in time to reverse his decision and attend tomorrow’s Xarabank programme. If not, he will be the one to lose.