The MEP and local council elections should make the Labour Party start to see things differently but the Nationalist Party, in spite of bridging the gap considerably, still has a long way to go to make itself perceived as an alternative government, Graffitti activist Andre Callus said.

The elections have provided an opportunity for change because the Labour Party did not achieve another overwhelming majority, which previously made it feel quite secure. The way Labour was winning elections made it quite stubborn in what it wanted to do. "Now, maybe it will come back down to earth," he said in an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday.

"The term 'Labour Party' was used to indicate that the party is formed by, and looks after the interests of labour, that is, the workers. Labour is no longer a workers' party and they surely are no longer a socialist party. A party could defend workers' interests without necessarily identifying with socialism; in fact, Labour parties have sometimes held various ideological viewpoints. Nevertheless, the common denominator among the members of all these parties was their shared mission to defend workers' interests. Now, the Labour Party is surely not socialist but neither is it a party that sees its mission as that of defending the workers," Callus said.

On the other hand, he said: "I cannot see the Nationalist Party really offering an alternative that makes the people enthusiastic."

Callus was asked to elaborate on the PN's efforts during the recent election campaign to lobby and promise a better quality of life. Furthermore, he was asked if though "talking the talk", they also "walk it". "Not much, I have to say. First, I have to clarify that when we talk about quality of life, we're not talking just about the environment. The fact that workers should have a decent income and decent conditions of work, that also has to do a lot with the quality of life. You cannot have a good quality of life if you cannot make it till the end of the month because your wage is too low or if you cannot afford a place. I would say, in all of these aspects, the Nationalist Party doesn't actually walk the talk."

Callus challenged the PN, who despite their proposals for a better quality of life, has yet to see it lobby for an overall increase in minimum wage, for mandatory measures to improve working conditions or an overhaul of planning and environmental authorities, "which are completely dysfunctional right now", he added.

"When they talk about a different economic model or about the quality of life, if you try to dig deeper and try to see the policies, the tangible measures and the tangible change that they are proposing in order to change direction, you will find that there is not much. Actually, what they are saying is more or less what the Labour Party is doing."

"We have just had power cuts again because of an economic model that made the economic activity explode to such an extent that the power grid cannot sustain us. Of course, that is a complete failure of the Labour government, not just on the infrastructural level, but also on the economic level."

But what the PN is suggesting is not a valid alternative for Callus. "Last year, they proposed something that would make it even worse. They proposed liberalisation, which means the privatisation of energy. We know from the experience of other countries that it would make the problem much worse. So, while we could have more investment in the infrastructure, an economic model that could be more sustainable for Malta is more important. But instead of proposing that, it pushed to make the situation even worse by privatising energy and continue to perpetuate this economic model, so that the profit of private companies comes before everything else. This is just one example."

When asked about the strength of the PN in Opposition, Callus said: "For the Nationalist Party to be a strong opposition it must inspire people with an alternative vision of how things are now, how things could be better. I do not think that the Nationalist Party has managed to articulate that kind of vision, and that makes it weak. You cannot be an effective opposition from a place of weakness."

He said that as things stand, "the Nationalist Party is waiting for the contradictions, which are strong and becoming stronger, within the Labour Party to simply blow up for their gain. To an extent that could be successful, as we have seen in the European Parliament elections."

Elaborating on the issue of the PN's lack of vision and inability to inspire voters, Callus said: "Once they try to tangibly articulate an alternative vision, there will be groups that won't like it. These groups have varying interests both within the social context and within the PN itself, such as big business, leading them to prefer playing it safe. They do not want to articulate a vision that is clear in terms of policies and measures and to have something alternative to what we have. If they do, they will alienate some groups, such as business lobbies, who might have something to lose if that alternative vision that has substance is implemented."

He pointed out how this is a double-edged sword, however, because while taking such a stance, guards their interests, "they also risk not inspiring anyone and I think that's what is happening to the PN. People will find it hard to find substance and even to find the emotional, almost, attachment to something that you're putting forward".

Callus also pointed out how the internal issues of the PN are stubborn and difficult to solve. He said: "The PN is historically a Right-wing party that safeguarded the power of business. Right now, some of the biggest problems that our country is facing is because of the accumulation of the power of business. So even because of its history, the PN will find it very hard to articulate a vision with substance since it would necessarily mean attacking the power of business in Malta. And it doesn't want to do that."

"The Nationalist Party is also hindered by the fact that, during its time in power, it implemented many actions that the public disapproved of then and still would not accept now. I'm not only talking about the corruption cases, because I would say that probably when it comes to corruption, the recent Labour government is worse compared to the Nationalist Party," he said.

However, if you look at the past of the PN, they had their issues too. "I'm not saying this in any way to try to justify what Labour is doing. The PN now has the advantage that many years have passed, so along those lines there has been some improvement, I'm hoping," Callus said.

"Under the PN, we could also talk about the destruction of the environment, the inclusion of all that land into development zones, how the conditions and rights of workers were completely ignored. We could talk also about their impressively conservative approach to any form of rights. They were so arrogant and there was no real dialogue with anyone. So, politically, the PN is shackled to the past which makes its position even weaker," he said.

Regarding the Labour party, Callus said, that even in terms of discourse, "Labour has become business, it's completely forgotten the workers".

Callus was asked for his opinion on the "cushy jobs" comment made by the Prime Minister on 10 June. He said: "The irony of that idea is that there really are cushy jobs, and there has been a lot of abuse with employment within the public service sector but who did that? It wasn't the workers."

"The Labour Party has taken lock, stock and barrel the Nationalist Party's ideology - the ideology of the neoliberal pro-business mentality."

Callus places blame on the system not its players, however, which he described as "a power machine created by the two big political parties. It instils youth with a mindset that 'we are here to gain power' and that's the end of it. It's not about a political vision, ideas, wanting to change things for the better. There's nothing wrong with gaining power, it's when there's nothing else beyond that. If one gains power to implement a vision and drive a change, that's good. But I think what has happened, especially over the past few years, the two big political parties lost any form of political vision and right now, it has become power for the sake of power".

While Callus called for improvement and soul-searching by the two big parties, he said a new social movement regarding politics is in motion. He said: "It's something new that needs and is going to be born. There's a desire for it, be it a new political party or more than one new political party."

Callus was asked about this new movement, particularly following years of political apathy among youths. He said that "a heightened political engagement is present but it is moving away from the two big political parties, however". He elaborated in saying that he saw the people, not just the younger generations, lose hope in "partisan politics" but, as opposed to disengagement, that means they are hiring a different form of politics. "And I have seen the people becoming more active," he said.

Callus pointed out that voter abstention is not necessarily a sign of political apathy. "Many commentators, especially those close to the political parties, get this wrong. Abstention, in itself, can be a form of political engagement. Not going to vote because you want to show your anger, your dissatisfaction with the system that you have, that's also political action."

Addressing the lack of students at a pre-election debate, Callus said "the University of Malta has always been a very comfortable non-engaging space, due to historical and classist reasons, and it remains like that to this day. But of course, that doesn't mean that there aren't students who are not active and who don't want to be active. There are, and we have seen a surge, in the number of students who actually want to be active and want to do something".

"I think something of a social transformation took place in Malta with the people getting more used to organising themselves even outside the political parties. We have seen communities and groups forming and taking effective action, and I think that that had a major impact on society and on politics too. I think that this should keep growing because it really has the opportunity to make an impact."

As a result of this, he added: "The power of the two political parties can no longer be taken for granted. There is much less loyalty, much more willingness to challenge historical political affiliations, especially among younger persons."

When questioned as to what brought about this new social movement, Callus said he thinks "it was an increasing dissatisfaction with the system and how it's working. The people were used to getting organised within a party before, so if I want some form of change, usually it would be channelled through the two big political parties. But I think they were pushed out of this system and they realized the need of organising in a way that is not within the mainstream system".

Proof of this social movement was seen in the last elections, Callus said, and while the two parties still have a "very strong grip" on the electoral aspect, it can change "very quickly". "The moment a new party appears that can mobilise that desire for something different and organise it in an effective way to provide an alternative, then even on the electoral level I think we could see the power of the two big political parties getting hit really hard overnight."

With this social movement in action, as well as the recent success of independent candidates, Asked if he would consider running as an independent candidate now, he answered: "No, because activism is a form of politics at the end of the day. And I feel that what we do has an impact on politics on the social level which leads to an impact on the main political level. I also think activism was partly a catalyst for the social transformation that has taken place in Malta over the past years. So, there is a power in that. And I do not see why, if I am experienced and feel comfortable in activism, I should go to become an electoral candidate."

Right now there is a window of opportunity for the people to participate in creating something different, he said. Participation right now is very important. If many are not feeling happy or represented by their parties, now is the time to become active and to participate in the political process. It's not just about the vote, it's about being vocal, and uniting.

"We have to sow seeds that can make something different come out of this, something better. Usually that doesn't happen from one day to the next, it takes time to bear fruit but it will eventually," he said.

The second part of the interview will be carried tomorrow