This column first appeared in Malta Today

If the first few weeks of the campaign were characterised by Robert Abela and Alex Borg throwing cash at the plebs from their respective balconies like it was confetti, this third week has shifted into a different gear.

18 years later, and we have learned nothing

The week started with the first official debate between the leaders of all the parties, including the three smaller parties, namely ADPD, Momentum and Aħwa Maltin, organised by the Malta University Debating Union.  Unfortunately, not much has changed since the infamous rowdy 2008 University debate between Alfred Sant and Lawrence Gonzi. 

18 years and another generation later, polarised students are still being used by the main parties to chant and jeer, rather than thinking for themselves, which is a crying shame.  Both PL and the PN had rustled up their most fervent young supporters who broke into “Viva l-Labour” and “Ole, Ole, Ole Nazzjonalisti” like their parents and grandparents before them, right on cue at regular intervals. Instead of holding these politicians who want their vote to account, they were more interested in beating the tribal drums and turning the debate into a mass meeting.

For me, Arnold Cassola (Momentum) was the best speaker by far, as his decades of political experience and ability to make his points succinctly shone through. He cut to the chase and zeroed in on the crux of each issue rather than repeating the usual rhetoric from the podium.  Unfortunately, the unseemly behaviour in the audience by one of Momentum’s candidates Pierre Schembri Wismayer, who lost his temper and gave the finger to the students, put a dent on that party’s image. He apologised for his behaviour but still, the damage, however minor, was done.  Momentum is still gaining momentum, however, and its proposal to reduce traffic is the first time I’ve read something which is immediately do-able, and doesn’t require digging up the whole island.

The most touching moment came from Sandra Gauci (ADPD) who paid tribute to her father and his humble background, perhaps to remind the Labour Party that its core voting base are working class people, not businessmen. While she may not be as polished as the other speakers, there is no doubt that she speaks from the heart and is a strong voice for the environment and good governance. 

The other star of the debate was the very patient moderator Chloe Cauchi who vainly tried to keep the crowd in order. Next time I suggest that the students should be told that all partisan chanting would be banned and anyone uttering as much as a Viva or an Ole would be thrown out .

The elephant in the room

It has not gone unnoticed that this time round, the election won’t be lost or won over any diametrically opposing views between the two main parties. Whereas in the past we had such hot button issues as Pro-EU vs Anti-EU and pro-Divorce vs Anti-Divorce, this time round both parties seem reluctant to bring up the elephant in the room, even though it dominates the national conversation: the over-reliance on a foreign workforce.  

In fact, the one time Alex Borg mentioned it, proposing a National Authority that will be responsible for controlling the country’s population levels, determine what the labour market needs and whether the national infrastructure can cope, he was accused of being a fascist by former PM Joseph Muscat.  Despite his belief that everyone still loves him, what I noticed under Muscat’s Facebook post were the number of comments which directly blamed him for introducing this economic model in the first place. 

On other issues, Borg and Abela seem eager to be on the same page.  When they both denounced the idea of another mosque during the university debate, it was the only time the audience erupted in wild applause for them equally.  This show of approval came from a young demographic, let alone if the audience were older. It was a clear move to pander and respond to public sentiment which is growing increasingly hostile towards Muslims.   

Another topic on which both have agreed is to hold a referendum on euthanasia. A referendum, of course, absolves any government from being ‘blamed’ for introducing highly controversial legislation, but it is a questionable decision to put such a very delicate issue to a public vote. We are speaking here of personal bodily autonomy and the right of a person to choose to avoid pain and suffering rather than to prolong their life. On the other hand, there are the ethical considerations of the right to life and the concerns of possible abuse.  Just as a matter of interest, it seems only New Zealand has introduced assisted dying through a referendum – everywhere else where it has been legalised it was done through a Bill in Parliament or court rulings.

Unfortunately, if the divorce referendum is anything to go by, I predict there will be a lot of hysteria and very little rational debate. 

Let’s not start with the muckraking

This campaign seemed to be progressing in quite a ‘gentlemanly’ way and at first we did not have much mud-slinging or name-calling, but this week, election fever seems to have taken hold. 

When Conrad Borg Manche’ (previously a Labour candidate, and then an Independent) announced that he was switching to the PN, it opened up a can of worms, many of which are very personal family issues which I will not get into.  All I will say is that, historically in Maltese elections, those who are attacked in such a personal way usually end up winning sympathy votes, so all this muckraking might ultimately backfire.

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Alfred Sant, Rosianne Cutajar and even Konrad Mizzi (just to name a few) were all elected time and again, no matter how much mud was thrown at them. It’s something in our psyche perhaps which propels Maltese people to deliberately vote for politicians who are targeted, in order not to give the other side the satisfaction of ruining them.  I suppose we can describe it as ‘spiteful voting’. 

Which way will the wind blow? 

Purely from an observational point of view, it seems to me that Abela is worried that voters will abstain, otherwise why mention it during the mass rally in Mosta? Deputy PM Ian Borg also made a point of saying that this is no time for protest votes. For a party which is so far ahead in the polls and which is trying to project such a confident image, they keep sending mixed signals. 

In the meantime, I wonder whether this election will signal the resurgence of the PN.  I have noticed a renewed verve within the party which was sorely missing for the last few years. Neither Adrian Delia nor Bernard Grech were able to fire up the core vote (and more significantly the youth vote) as much as Alex Borg is doing. There have been a few mishaps, most notably the chatbot fail which generated inaccurate images in answer to readers’ questions (which reinforces my belief that relying too much on AI and ChatGPT is no match for real human beings).  The party’s fiscal calculations when it came to their tax and housing proposals were also criticised for being flawed. However, these gaffes do not seem to have dampened the enthusiasm I am seeing among PN supporters who had lost all hope following so many leadership battles and internal strife.   

Alex Borg is studiously avoiding a negative campaign by not harping on Labour’s long list of scandals. With all these direct orders which keep being granted right under our nose, so very shamelessly, it is like voters have given up, feeling there is nothing they can do against the onslaught of this mountain of sludge and being reminded of them will simply contribute to more corruption fatigue.  For others, as long as it doesn’t affect them personally, and as long as they are making money in the process, corruption does not seem to be an election issue.      

The Single Transferable Vote  

I remember only learning how the single transferable vote actually works in practice during a University lecture. Since then it has been clear that it is in the interest of the two main parties to keep people “ignorant” on how their vote can best be used to elect the best people from every party including the smaller parties (while still choosing the party of your choice).  The STV is also the best way to ensure a third much needed voice to represent us in Parliament.

So it was a welcome, long overdue, surprise to see a new website vot.mt which is an easy to understand explainer in both Maltese and English.  If you want to make an informed opinion before you vote, I suggest you check it out.