Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1056422
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 NOVEMBER 2018 6 NEWS ANALYSIS JAMES DEBONO IN an hour-long speech Adri- an Delia gave clear signs that corruption and demographic concerns will top the party's main issues in the run-up for next May's MEP elections. Delia also hinted at policy up- dates on transport related to a mass transit transport propos- al and a taxation system with the self-employed in mind. The speech also indicates that to bolster unity, Delia will be increasing the charge on Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, thus taking a more confrontational line. 1. Delia is pitching for unity Before commencing the speech Delia physically reached out to former leader Simon Busuttil holding his hand to the applause of those present. During his speech he also singled out Simon Busuttil describing him as his "friend" when referring to Muscat's attempt to stall an inquiry on Schembri and Mizzi resulting from a report filed by his pre- decessor. This represents a consider- able shift from Delia's botched attempt to kick Busuttil out of the PN's parliamentary group in the wake of the publication of the Egrant inquiry's conclu- sions. It also suggests that Delia has realised that he cannot af- ford to face next May's elec- tion with divisions in his own ranks. But he is also aware that he can't expect the same kind of loyalty and adulation Mus- cat enjoys in the Labour Party. In his speech he also referred to "unity in diversity" and un- derlined the difference be- tween debate in his party and the lack of freedom of expres- sion in Labour. Delia may also seek to keep his party united by emphasis- ing the corruption issue and attacking Muscat directly. In fact Delia referred to Muscat (sometimes as Joe Muscat) 22 times. In doing so Delia is dispelling the perception that he is weak on corruption. But it remains doubtful whether Delia's pitch for unity will be reciprocated in an increasingly fragmented opposition, which now in- cludes civil society movements perceived as close to the Bu- suttil faction but completely out of the PN's control. Criticism has also been shown towards Delia for a 'selfie' with Muscat that was uploaded be- fore a football match in which the national team faced the Faroe Islands. Delia also made a single ref- erence to attempts by Owen Bonnici to muzzle civil society but his speech was devoid of any reference to Daphne Caru- ana Galizia's murder. 2. Corruption will remain a major issue for the PN Delia dedicated a significant portion of his speech to rip- ping Muscat's handling of the 17 Black scandal to shreds ask- ing; Who is the real PM; Keith Schembri or Joseph Muscat? Delia has risen to the occa- sion by limiting himself to the known facts, thus avoiding past mistakes of raising the stakes beyond the information, which is at hand. Yet Delia's sensible approach to the issue has not translated into any concrete parliamentary action. In this aspect the PN was overtaken by the Partit Demokratiku, which has presented its own motion of censure on Konrad Mizzi. Delia may also be showing signs of caution by never refer- ring to Jorgen Fenech (the pre- sumed owner of 17 Black) by name, something that may be- tray his reluctance to confront big business interests directly. Moreover, while the corrup- tion issue and Panamagate in particular may serve to gal- vanise enthusiasm among the restricted cohort of party vot- ers, it may give the false hope that Labour can be beaten on this issue when the past clearly shows that Muscat's popular- ity has not been dented by ac- cusations of corruption. That may explain why Delia has dedicated an equal portion of his time to his pet issue: his concern with unplanned popu- lation growth. Delia has avoided sounding xenophobic when speaking on population Delia's discourse on popula- tion growth has been devoid of any xenophobic references to foreigners posing a threat to Maltese identity. Delia made one generic refer- ence to Maltese identity while making several references to the need for more integration of foreigners living in Malta. Delia's concern with foreign- ers is now limited to the im- pact of unplanned migration on traffic, land use and quality of life. Still it remains unclear how Delia will tackle the issue with- out slowing down growth in sectors of the economy like construction and tourism, which fuel the need for foreign labour. Delia who accuses Muscat of focusing on economic growth statistics and ignoring human beings, may well be doing the same by focusing on demo- graphic statistics and ignoring the fact that his supporters may well see individual for- eigners rather than abstract terms like population as the problem. 3. On other issues Delia's vision remains hazy Policy-making remains a "work in progress" with a policy document approved on Sunday being considered more as an identity marker than an agenda setter for the country. The problem is that the party has still not managed to dominate the national agenda through concrete proposals on matters like fiscal, social and environmental policy. Delia simply skirted on a wide variety of issues like ag- ricultural, the gender pay gap, public transport, waste recy- cling and mental health with- out making concrete policy proposals. On recycling he even made reference to waste to energy solution, the same term used by the government to justify incineration. Delia is right to emphasise air pollution prob- lems, which he correctly asso- ciates with increased car use, but is yet to present a coherent policy aimed at reducing car use. Delia also gave two guaran- tees in his speech; one that a PN government would ensure that everyone should have a roof under which to live and the other one to refund con- sumers who were overcharged when paying electricity bills. The latter promise can be more tangible than the first and bears similarity to Mus- cat's pre 2013 promise to Adrian Delia and his five signs of PN General Council Delia has realised that he cannot afford to face next May's election with divisions in his own ranks. But he is also aware that he can't expect the same kind of loyalty and adulation Muscat enjoys in the Labour Party