One hundred days ago the Labour Party did not limp across the finishing line; rather, it was a landslide victory. The PLsecured itsfirst big milestone in recent political history. Today we can focus on the achievements,if any,and the missteps of the PL during its first hundred days in office.This came up during a get together with some old friends of mine last Saturday.What I write here is a brief andcandid description of the conversation that went on.
It is an accepted fact by most - fairly or not-that the performance of a government is graded during the first hundred days and considered a reflection for the rest of the legislature. Let me list and prioritise the most striking issues which we discussed.
The first striking change we have noticed is the fading promised novelty. The PL has moved from the promise of ‘new politics’to a ‘business as usual’ approach.The first hundred days of the Labour Government has left many, including loyalPL sympathisers, with a rather bad taste and disillusioned.The electorate was promised both higher ethical and governance standards but, to the disbelief of many,the PL has gone the opposite way.
During the first hundred days the PL kept the promised road map on various important sectors under wraps. Here are a few examples:
- Nothing was divulged about the plan to wrestle the deficit to the ground and then transform it into a surplus. This objective,on its own,would count as one huge challenge.
- TheMinistry for Education and Employment gave conflicting versions on different occasions about the PL’sway forward in education. Not much has been either promised or said about employment.
- The Ministry for Health had to resort to a former PN Minister for advice and counsel to reach the targets which the PL has set for itself.
- The Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity wants a full upheaval of the entire system of welfare and benefits and thus has resorted to commissioning reports and awaiting feedback.
Every one of these grand projects taken on its own would be enough to keep a government busy. But to do all these at once - along with big shake-ups in policing, criminal justice and internal affairs by the Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security - is either a mark of supreme confidence or outright thoughtlessness.
It is astonishing that one Ministerafter another is appointing trusted PL comrades on commissions and boards and engaging consultants to conduct reports on a wide range of issues. It is becoming starkly apparent that the PL had no prepared road map to lead Malta forward. The PL’s road mapwas only make-belief.A set of well-prepared and rehearsed answers and sound bites were repeated over and over again to satisfy the largest possible number of voters during the electoral campaign.
Meritocracy, transparency and accountability are core values to a healthy society and thus voters cannot but agree more with whoever promotes such enriching principles. Regretfully, the Labour Party is now, without a blink of an eye,giving a totally different meaning and applying these core values and the sweet talkduring the electoral campaign is now fastfading and changing into an unpleasant and stinging sensation.
To add injury to insult lately the PL has commissioned a Chinese company to prepare a report on the possibility of a bridge between Malta and Gozo. China Communications Construction Company is a state-owned company. This company, which is blacklisted by the World Bank, will finance this feasibility study with, we are told, no strings attached. Another hard one to swallow!
Regretfully the Labour Party’spolitical philosophy has turned one hundred and eighty degrees since taking office on various issues which, during the electoral campaign, were vociferously spearheaded by a strategy group from the fourth floor in Hamrun. Undoubtedly, many in this strategy group are now receiving their ‘just’ rewards, including ambassadorships. Other handpicked labour front-liners have already received their dividend for publicly supporting the Labour Party during the past years. Others, the like of former front-liners from the PN camp who have for their own personal gain publicly switched their allegiance to the PL, have also received copious appointments. Now, especially with the benefit of hindsight, we can judge the reasons for these PN defectors. As the saying goes money talks, b******t walks.
Will the story of these first three months match the eventual story of this government? The test that matters is the 260 weeks to come. There is so much that cango wrong and so much is at risk. Will the electoral gamble pay off? That is the question.
Like many others I do not consider that a pass mark to the PL is justified for its performance for the first hundred days in office. You may have a different opinion. Whatever opinion you may hold let us keep our fingers crossed for the benefit of Malta and its people.
GejtuVella
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