This article first appeared in Malta Today

“Abela dismisses election uncertainty claims”

“Labour Congress does not mean snap election”

“No urgency in calling snap election”

From the above headlines, it seems the man doth protest too much.

And yet for a country which is not going to the polls early, everywhere we look it seems we are in the grips of a election campaign which is gradually gaining momentum. Not only has the political temperature been turned up, but the parties have already started grasping at the silliest of straws.

I saw a video being circulated of PN leader Alex Borg receiving Holy Communion and apparently (because I am no religious expert) he should not have taken the host out of the priest’s hands himself. If that is what we are assessing our politicians on in this day and age, then we are seriously in trouble.

I’ve also seen a billboard with the words “B’Alex Borg u l-PN, sussidji “short-lived” (“with Alex Borg and the PN, subsidies will be short-lived”) which just left me bewildered. Whoever came up with this needs a crash course in catchy billboard slogans, because this cumbersome mishmash of Maltese and English is not one of them. In order to figure out what they were on about, I had to search out what Alex Borg actually said and, granted, he did speak about the unfeasibility of continuing to dole out energy subsidies. However with that billboard, the Labour Party is assuming that everyone is au courant with every word politicians utter. News flash: except for the fiercest diehards, most of us are simply too busy for that. It also does not really encapsulate what he said in a way that drives the point home for those who catch a glimpse of the billboard while driving.

There have also been a few snide remarks on comment boards about Alex’s Borg relationship with Sarah Bajada who has a child of her own. Really? In this day and age when half of Malta is separated and so many are living in blended families, is anybody out there in a position to be so smug and judgemental? It’s not only mean-spirited and cruel but completely unnecessary because politician’s personal lives have nothing to do with national issues (unless, of course, someone is being an absolute hypocrite, acting holier than thou in public and behaving in completely the opposite way in private). In the case of Alex Borg’s relationship, I think it is very laudable that he is raising Sarah’s son as his own without any qualms; perhaps those who are being so nasty don’t have it in them to do the same.

Although still in its early stages, the election campaign (for an election which is not happening) has not been very inspiring or mature so far.

I saw a headline by Net News, “Clyde Caruana spiċċa sejjaħ lill-ġurnalisti biex jitkellem dwar it-tqanziħ u l-murliti” (Clyde Caruana calls press conference to speak about constipation and haemorrhoids). This was accompanied by an edited sound bite where he did in fact use these phrases, but if the Nationalist party is going to base its arguments on such childish tactics, we can hardly expect Joe Public to engage in more intelligent discourse.

The leaders also have to step up their game in their speeches. During a political rally, Alex Borg said that the uncertainty being created by rumours of an early election is creating economic uncertainty. He said a businessman told him that because of this uncertainty, he is not selling any air conditioners at the moment but only carrying out repairs.

To paraphrase a popular song, Malta may have 99 problems, but the economy is not one of them. In fact, I would say the biggest challenge for the PN is that people are pretty comfortable and they are not feeling the pinch which other countries have been feeling (so far) due to the afore-mentioned energy subsidies. Restaurants are always packed no matter how much prices have gone up while both incoming and outgoing tourism is still doing well (although the pending fuel shortage due to the war in Iran is posing a potential threat to travel plans).

So on what fronts can the PN fight its electoral battle? Well according to the latest survey the biggest concern across the board for all voters from both political parties is…traffic. However, no matter how many fancy projects are promised or announced (the latest being a light rail line) it will never work because no one wants to tackle the primary concern: how to stop people from using their private car. Of all the many solutions for a mass transport system (which will probably never materialise in our lifetime) neither party wants to take that particular bull by the horns.

I was without a car all last week and I will admit that my solution was to take cabs because I could not afford to miss my appointments. Everywhere I looked there were others like me on street corners with mobile in hand, waiting for their cab. Not for the first time, the same thought came to me which bears repeating: why can’t the apps for Bolt, Uber and eCabs include a ride-sharing option like Cool rides used to have? Even if only two passengers share a ride, it would cut the number of cabs down by half at least. Shuttle mini-vans between towns and villages is another option which I have been suggesting over and over again and which won’t require digging up the whole island.

There can be either measures which are more prohibitive and will force people to car pool, such as only allowing people to use their car on odd/even days (and yes it works in other countries, so no need to throw a fit). But you can bet your bottom dollar, that neither Alex Borg nor Robert Abela will ever come forward with such a solution because God forbid it might lose them a few votes. There is another reason that neither party wants to touch the all mighty car; as long as public transport is unreliable and inconvenient, most people will end up buying a car, which means more taxes for the government from VAT, to registration, license plates and fuel. Car dealerships and insurance companies also benefit which keeps the economic wheel turning.

As for that other sore point, the “too many foreigners” lament – again neither party will touch that with a barge pole because they know the economy will suffer. All the new hoops they are putting in place for TCNs to obtain work permits, the skills card and passing a culture test, are just a way to make more money off people who are desperate for work.

While it is still early days in the campaign (for the election which is not happening), we need the two main parties to leave pettiness behind and bring other serious issues to the forefront, such as the destruction of our natural environment and over-development. They need our vote and they are accountable to us, so it’s time we start demanding more from them.