The Song of the Party was the anthem of the East German Communist Party. Its lyrics went: "The party, the party, she is always right. And comrades, so it will remain. As raised to life by Lenin's spirit, as welded by Stalin, the party, the party, the party."

Those words are absurd, outdated, laughable. How could anybody sing them?

Yet for decades in East Germany everybody sang that song, some because they truly believed its words, many others simply as reluctant collaborators. Those people knew the party slogans were false.  They saw with their own eyes the mess the country was in. They endured the deprivation and repression the party created.  Yet they couldn't bring themselves to denounce the party.  They knew the leader wasn't amazing or infallible, as the party insisted, but they didn't tear down his portraits.

They definitely knew the party wasn't always right but they didn't stop singing its song. They just played along, for years, fearful and wary of expressing their views or of protesting the party's serious injustices.

The party damaged the country and its people irreparably. So why did it last so long? How come, at one stage, everybody thought the party would rule forever?

Malta has its own Song of the Party. For over a decade it seemed everybody was singing that anthem. For some time it seemed the party was flourishing, that everybody was a supporter, and those massive majorities kept coming. It seemed at one point that RIPN wasn't just a snide remark but a real possibility.

Well we all know what happened to the East German communist party and its ruthless leader Erich Honecker. Nobody imagined that the Iron Curtain and the brutal Communist regime would collapse so swiftly.  But that's exactly what happened. 

The whole Communist nightmare raises two key questions.  How did the party manage to retain control over the population for so long?  And why did it all come crashing down so spectacularly?

In 1945 after Nazi Germany was defeated, Soviet officials swiftly gained control of the radio.  The first Soviet broadcast from Berlin went out less than two weeks after the Nazi radio's final broadcast announcing Hitler's death.  The Communists knew radio was the medium of the masses.

Labour has done the same with the national broadcaster, PBS.  It hijacked the national TV and radio stations and simply transformed them into the mouthpiece of the party. Party loyalists have been put in key positions including editorial positions.  Labour also spent huge amounts of taxpayers' money trying to dominate social media.

Another tool the Soviets deployed very early was the secret police. The notorious Stasi had a strange extralegal status to harass, intimidate and punish adversaries and critics of the party. Labour has its own army of trolls whose role is to intimidate and harass Labour's critics.  Labour's ONE uses propagandists like Karl Stagno Navarra to target even private individuals considered critical of Labour. 

ONE regularly demonises, ridicules and attacks not only opposition figures but even members of the judiciary.  The Prime Minister himself regularly incites his supporters by publicly condemning magistrates. He accused Magistrate Gabriella Vella of "political terrorism". He publicly harassed Magistrate Marseanne Farrugia over the Sofia inquiry.

The communist party didn't use mass violence, only selected violence targeting specific individuals considered capable of leading or organising any kind of resistance.  Labour does exactly the same.  It picks on a handful of people and relentlessly persecutes them - Jason Azzopardi, Mark Camilleri, Roberta Metsola, Robert Aquilina, Manuel Delia, Bernard Grech. When necessary, Labour unleashes its tough guys like Neville Gafa onto its critics.

The communists weren't just interested in controlling the police, the media and the economy. They wanted to control all elements of society - including music, film, theatre, sports.  Only those who pledged allegiance to the party were allowed to participate in those activities. Those who didn't were excluded and lost their livelihood - few dissented.

Labour's done the same. It's supported only artists loyal to the party.  Ira Losco was paid thousands of euro for uploading pro-Labour messages.  Joseph Calleja benefits handsomely from government funding for his lucrative concerts as long as he toes the party line. Band clubs are forever indebted to Labour for purchase of their premises using taxpayers' money. Fireworks enthusiasts have had their hobby boosted by Labour's support.

Albert Marshall received massive funding for a mediocre film production nobody wants to see.  Johann Grech controls tens of millions of euro from which party loyalists benefit. Meanwhile he squanders hundreds of thousands on vanity projects to boost his own image. Simultaneously he helps the party with its election propaganda. Sigmund Mifsud, a Labour Party candidate, was made national orchestra CEO before being charged with tampering of evidence. Owen Bonnici put his own girlfriend on the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra board.

Even those with completely apolitical jobs find it impossible not to collaborate with Labour.

For a while the public sphere had been so thoroughly cleansed of dissent that it seemed no opposition existed.  Even the press was lining up to accept Labour's handouts.  They too were forced to accept government money for adverts and sponsored articles. Conversations barely deviated from Labour's official line. Labour thought it could create a totalitarian society.

Despite Labour's best efforts many feel an inner sense of disquiet. Those who quietly acquiesced and even those who actively collaborated were left haunted by the sense that they were leading double lives by conforming to a mendacious political reality.  They realised they had been deprived of their very dignity by a party coercing them to comply.  By forcing people to voice their support, Labour made them ashamed, resentful and now rebellious. That is Labour's fatal flaw.

Now the people are finding out that the truth no longer resonates with the propaganda which rose above the facts on clouds of nonsense.  Labour hoped the people would be unable to distinguish between truth and propagandistic fiction. It's now clear to all that Labour just spouts meaningless slogans which make no sense. Nobody's singing the song of the party now.