Four years ago today, the electorate was called to exercise its democratic right to vote for who it considered to be the best choice to govern our islands for the following five years. Notwithstanding Lawrence Gonzi’s prophetic warning not to trust Joseph Muscat, the electorate gave a resounding victory to Dr Muscat and his Labour Party.
Recently I explained why I feel Joseph Muscat is living a lie. He deceives the people when stressing that he and his party deserve re-election in the forthcoming elections in view of his Government’s performance. The population is neither feeling nor living the benefits he boasts about. On the contrary, the Maltese have for the last years been experiencing fake promises and lies and an ever increasing number of people detest the decision taken four years ago.
Muscat’s bluff
During the electoral campaign leading to the March 2013 elections, Muscat – through his honeyed words and promises – bluffed his way to Castille by leading people to believe him. He did so with the first time voters who, because of his administration’s doings, are being made to lose their trust in politicians, the housewives facing the ever increasing cost of living, those employed on a minimum wage or in precarious employment and those whom he promised that the company employing them would not be privatised.
The sick/bed-ridden senior citizens who were promised the delivery of medicines to their homes, the pensioners and others who cannot make both ends meet and the ever-increasing numbers at risk of poverty also feel deceived. Muscat also bluffed his way through with those who were feeling disenchanted with the previous Nationalist administration and who now declare they were better off four years ago when they thought they were in a bad situation.
Muscat had declared that “the people have a clear choice between, on one side, politics of the past with promises that cannot be fulfilled and, on the other side, politics of the future with concrete and realistic proposals, a choice between a divisive past and a future that unites, a choice between a past built on tribes and a future built on meritocracy”. Instead, we have insults, cliques and Muscatocracy replacing meritocracy.
He promised that Labour “shall remove power from the political class as it is our children’s right to decide their future and not the politicians. We shall ensure meritocracy, transparency and accountability so no one would need to beg a politician to get what one deserves. We shall be one family, Labourites and Nationalists together, and, under a Labour government, the coming five years will be years of unity”. Labour substituted these promises with lack of transparency, divisive words and lack of accountability.
Muscat promised clean politics, a fight against corruption, full democracy and transparency declaring “a belief in politics and politicians of responsibility and accountability where politicians are answerable for their actions and ensuring their actions are transparent”. Praiseworthy promises, however, in reality replaced by an alarming number of scandals with a stink of alleged corruption and politicians who are not accountable.
From fake promises to reality
After the promises and slogans that Joseph Muscat repeated throughout the electoral campaign which are now resulting to be fake, the majority of the electorate believed him and gave him a mandate enabling him, according to his promises, to lead the best Government our country ever had so Malta can become the best in Europe.
Going back, in 1998 Muscat wrote that Labour was a different party to that of the eighties. According to him, Labour would not use again the style, tactics and people which made Labour of the eighties the most morally, physically and ideologically corrupt party our country ever had.
After four years of Labour, I am morally convinced that Muscat’s Labour is competing very well with Labour of the 80s due to the numerous allegations of scandals and corruption with the most shocking being the year old Panama Papers scandal which is embarrassing Malta. The real Muscat started showing his true self when he achieved his aim becoming Prime Minister. And, what have the Maltese been facing since four years ago?
From the battle cry of Malta belongs to all of us (‘Malta taghna lkoll’), Malta has been turned into one belonging only to Labour. Notwithstanding the promise of meritocracy and “what one knows is more important than who one knows”, appointments are given without considering the competency or merit of those appointed. The “movement of unity” promised by Muscat has become a clique benefitting from anything and everything whilst the others are kept yawning. Meritocracy has changed to Muscatocracy.
Muscat and his Party’s electoral manifesto defined a just society as one where everybody will be given the opportunity to advance. The opposite is taking place. For Labour, a just society only applies to, amongst other friends of friends, the Minister’s wife who received €13,000 monthly (more than some earn on a yearly basis), the ‘friendly’ consultants appointed and paid handsomely, those who from the Labour billboards ended up Company board members, the friends and relatives of Ministers who have been given jobs. Recently the President of Malta appealed for a just society and asked that the country’s wealth be distributed evenly throughout.
The promise guaranteeing more accountability and transparency has changed to less transparency and less accountability. Classic cases of lack of transparency are, amongst others, the agreements with Henley and Partners, Shanghai Electric and Electrogas. Lack of transparency also exists in the leasing of the Towers in Paola by the General Workers’ Union to Transport Malta and the leasing of part of the General Workers’ Union building in Valletta to ARMS Limited, apart from agreements which, when tabled in Parliament, contained blank pages and blacked out clauses.
The people will not forget the cases of the Australia Hall, Cafe Premier, the Old Mint Street / Gaffarena saga and the alleged corruption at the Foundation for Tomorrows Schools. This lack of transparency takes place notwithstanding what Muscat said during a pre-election Mass Meeting that “the thirst that this Nation has for transparency belongs to all of us”. A very far cry from what is taking place under Labour.
The residents of the south of Malta, particularly those of Marsaxlokk and Birzebbugia, remember the fear instilled in them by Muscat regarding the power station which, according to him, was a cancer factory due to the use of Heavy Fuel Oil. Four years later, the power station still works on Heavy Fuel Oil and the new power station promised for two years after the election is two years overdue. We shall also not forget Muscat’s unkept public declaration of resigning if the agreed timeframe was not reached.
A vision for change
The above are a few examples of Muscat’s bad track record. We have been fooled once by Labour; let us not be fooled again. Whilst Labour was in Opposition for 25 years, no one noticed what it was up to. The PN was kept on its toes from within whilst also gallantly refuting Labour accusations of ‘friends of friends’, ‘institutionalised corruption’ and other buzz words in its respect.
It is the PN with all its faults that always had a vision for our Country. It has been the PN that always sought a goal and achieved it. It brought an industrial revival, huge investments in our infrastructure and job creation in new areas that were created because foreign investment was flowing in.
During the nine years preceeding the Labour government, it was the professional way of Lawrence Gonzi that steered our country during the worst economic crisis that hit the world like a tsunami. This is great leadership. The PN always had formidable leaders; that includes the present one, Simon Busuttil. This is what should make us proud and hopeful about the future.
Thankfully these five years (four of which have now passed) are exposing Labour for what it is, for what it always was and for what it will always be. Labour cannot be trusted again. Muscat was given a chance four years ago and made a mess of his promises. The voters who matter are noticing all this. We have learnt a lot over the last four years. Our country will, sooner or later, be calling us. Let us all do our duty for the love of Malta.