Simon Busuttil’s recent appointment as General Secretary of the EPP Parliamentary Group was poetic when contrasted with Joseph Muscat’s fall from grace. He made his final speech as an MP in Parliament on Tuesday – and the underdog triumphed in the end. As in any classic story, when it seems that the good guys are all out of luck and that things are at their darkest, there is a ray of hope – and, through an unlikely series of events, the plucky heroes somehow win against overwhelming odds. What are the lessons we should learn from the past couple of years?
To start off with, I will be clear that my respect for Simon Busuttil’s fight does not mean I agreed with him on everything. I remember that one of the things that pushed me firmly towards third party politics was the fact that, in the referendum, he supported spring hunting. When the coalition agreement between the PN and the PD was signed, I was seated around the table in Parliament and I remember being worried about where the coalition might take the young Orange party. By the end of the campaign, however, a fantastic working relationship had been established. It makes the dissolution of those bonds all the more unfortunate in the winds of political change.
Simon Busuttil’s great mistake came not before the election, but after it. His resignation plunged a shocked Opposition into chaos from which it is still recovering. One understands why he did it, of course, because in a country where political responsibility is still a novelty, he wished to shoulder it himself. However, had he remained, the Opposition would have continued gaining ground and the coalition would have survived. Partit Demokratiku was instead turned into a scapegoat, especially because, along with many elements within the Nationalist Party, it opposed the new leadership within the Opposition. Partit Demokratiku’s great disappointment was that some of our allies in the Nationalist Party, who shared our values and the vision of Forza Nazzjonali, would eventually turn against us and accept our role as a scapegoat for the sake of party unity. At least, that is my impression.
Although Partit Demokratiku had been elected to act as the watchdog in Parliament, any criticism of the Nationalist Party under its new leadership was likewise seen as a betrayal. While the Nationalist Party stopped talking about corruption to focus on bread-and-butter issues, Partit Demokratiku and Simon Busuttil were left to fight alone along with a few others. Simon Busuttil remained true to our shared sacrifices, however, and when the Farrugias spoke in Parliament, he remained with them, even while other MPs walked away.
When Adrian Delia tried to kick Simon Busuttil out of the Nationalist Party, we came to his defence. For those who say Partit Demokratiku betrayed anybody, the truth is that it continued to fight corruption, flying the banner of Forza Nazzjonali and remaining loyal to its principles without fail. It was Partit Demokratiku that was used and betrayed.
If we are to say that Simon Busuttil was right on some things, then perhaps we should also accept he was right to dream of an end to tribalism as well, and to reach out to other political players and ideas. Is democracy not an art of dialogue as well as charisma?
As one chapter comes to an end, another begins. Partit Demokratiku and those who believed in Forza Nazzjonali still have a long battle to finish in its fight against corruption and tribalism. When one door closes, another opens; the Resistance was scattered but, like most plucky rebels in any story, the good guys usually win in the end. The experience of the past few years has taught us that no political party should hold absolute power in a winner-takes-all scenario.
Therefore, the final goal of any who truly hold good governance at heart must be checks and balances. It is for this reason that Repubblika also believes in a multi-party democracy and electoral reform and has said as much in its manifesto. The dream will live on, with a coalition government remaining the ultimate objective of third party politics and those who believe in the highest standards of governance. Such a government would truly be representative and free from the influence of corrupt businessmen, as it would not be a case of one party in power trying to please everybody and making too many compromises to stay there.
Simon Busuttil fought a morally righteous battle as the leader of Forza Nazzjonali against those who were objectively wrong. The day Labour achieved re-election was the day that the murder plot against Daphne Caruana Galizia was reactivated. He was proved right in the end, and this is the ultimate proof that the moral high ground and truth cannot be bought with either money or votes.