Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1124848
OPINION 27 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JUNE 2019 A tale of two cities THE electoral euphoria has started to dissipate and it is now time for the political analysts to do their job. This one should go. He should stay. This and that. Those who engage with politics treat this as a bit of theatre. Most people just want to get on with their lives and move forward. At the end of the day people's main priorities are their well-being, that of their family and that of the coun- try. Over the past thirty years we've seen big wins and big defeats on both sides of the political spectrum. No party stays there forever if it does not deliver on the expecta- tions of the people. People's aspirations are relative, and they have changed a lot, even in the past five years. The Labour Party has to continue to be the party of change. The party that meets those aspirations. Standing idle, as the Prime Minister himself has said many times, means going backwards. The insularity of the country sometimes hides the reality of the world out there – one where the competition is huge and places which we looked down on in the past are catching up. It is in this context where I think elections are important and where their value lies, not on the partisan view- point of who has a bigger seat total than the other. In this contest, the vision of the Labour movement is still a strong one, while the Nation- alist Party still fails to meet people's aspirations. Most people's needs have changed. Most people's in- come has changed and most people's future aspirations for themselves and their children have become more ambitious. I remember not long ago the goal of a lot of families was that their child continues in education and gets the needed certification so that they can find a job. Nowadays we look for more. It's not enough to have a job, it has to be a good one with a good salary. There must be time for the family, so not an extremely stressful job. There must be time for R&R and they need green spaces to re- lax and enjoy time with their family. They tell us that they want better infrastructure, from roads to schools, and they want a better environ- ment. Everything is scaling up, and that is a good thing. Of course, these create new challenges and we must address them. Otherwise, voters will look elsewhere. It's as simple as that. Winston Churchill, who was perhaps one of the greatest politi- cians of all time, and whose leadership saved Britain dur- ing the Second World War, was voted out after the war by a massive 11.5% differ- ence. People's aspirations had changed, and he no longer remained relatable to the new world that was coming out of the ashes of a gruesome war. The feeling people have of the Nationalist Party is that it is not only not racing with the other cars, but is stuck in the garage for repairs. There is an element of dysfunction which is synony- mous with many centre-right parties across Europe. The liberal side pushing on one side, and the more conserva- tive right-wing side pushes on the other. Some parties in Europe have survived this, others continue to struggle. Unless a balance is found, one 'city' will con- tinue undermining the other to the grouping's own detri- ment. It's truly a tale of two cities. It's the best of times and the worst of times. No party stays there forever if it does not deliver on the expectations of the people Evarist Bartolo Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education and Employment The feeling people have of the Nationalist Party is that it is not only not racing with the other cars, but is stuck in the garage for repairs