The electoral victory registered by Joseph Muscat and the Labour Party was expected and deserved. What was not expected (at least by myself) was that it would be so brilliant.
This time round the problem with the Opposition was that its strategy got totally captured by an element steeped in his (her in this case) classist negativism. Every message then depended on negativism to get through, which is a recipe for disaster at a time of strong economic growth... On top of which, this growth has had no precedent in the country’s modern history.
Back in government, the Labour Party needs to remain attentive not to let victory go to its collective head. The problems that were recognised as having dulled public management of state functions should not be swept under the carpet. They need to be addressed with a tight hand to ensure that no one who is placed in a public role can do whatever, and cover up whatever.
For the rest, the focus now has to be on the concentrated delivery of the reforms that remain to be accomplished, inclusive of a greater transparency; the promotion of further economic growth while guarding against overheating; and the extension of the social progress achieved during the last four years.
I am convinced this will happen.
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Awkward appointment
On election day and its eve, the committee which brings together MEPs and US Congressmen met at the Hotel Excelsior. There is an established practice by which the committee is also convened in the country which is running the EU presidency. The Malta appointment had been planned months ago and could not be cancelled. The pity was that our visitors for the meeting could hardly understand anything about the Maltese reality, distracted as we all were by the election race.
I was impressed though by the effort which US politicians present mounted to counter criticisms that President Trump intends to dismantle NATO or push the US away from Europe. Do not just consider the President’s rhetoric, they insisted; it’s a way of explaining things, so they said, which does tend towards the extremes. Focus instead on the decisions which Trump is taking to address terrorism as well as global military imbalances.
In a quick input, I emphasized that if the debacle in Libya is to be contained, there needs to be convergence between the US, Russia and the EU about what their respective legitimate interests in the area are, as well as convergence about the military doctrine that should be deployed in the defence of those interests.
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Ruled out
Possibly, the defeat suffered by Juventus in its European Champions League final with Real Madrid was neither expected, at least with the outcome in goals that was recorded, nor deserved. As I see it, and I make no claim to being an expert in foootball having over the decades, only followed the sport on and off, Juventus simply folded up during the second half of the game. Why this happened, I have no idea.
On paper, the team they presented for the match was the best one of recent years. What happened at the Cardiff stadium, suggests otherwise. And there was not even the consolation that Bayern Munich could cling to following their defeat by the same Spanish team – the justified complaint that two of the goals they lost by came from offside positions.