Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1192401
OPINION 21 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2019 Will Labour come clean? Michael Falzon micfal45@gmail.com LABOUR cannot have it both ways. The new leader – whether it is Chris Fearne or Robert Ab- ela – cannot promise to come clean and cut off Labour from the Joseph Muscat era when the sleaze led to an assassina- tion while, at the same time, joining and hugging Muscat on his pathetic 'farewell tour'. For many level-headed persons, it pains to see the two contenders for the La- bour leadership on the same bandwagon of the discredited leader. A true Machiavellian to the end, Muscat is organising a 'triumphal' roadshow in a bid to hang on to power for some more time and resign from the premiership in a 'celebra- tory' mood; when it would be more appropriate for him to disappear immediately into oblivion. This is nothing but a schizo- phrenic stance. On one side the two Labour candidates want the vote of those Labour Party card-carrying members who still idolise Joseph Mus- cat. At the same time, they need to send the message to all level-headed Maltese citizens that the Muscat era is over and that whoever is elected leader will be doing his job in the right way. The right way begins with the cleaning of the mess that the new leader will inherit from Muscat. When Hercules had to clean up King Augeas' stables of 30 years of dirt in one day, Hercules knew this job would mean getting dirty and smelly, but sometimes even a hero has to do these things. So long that both he and the stables end up squeaky clean. For the new leader it will be no easy task. In Labour's cur- rent circumstances, publicly hugging Muscat is no way to start it. Meanwhile, of course, Mus- cat soldiers on with the gall of pretending that he has no fault because he was betrayed by friends working behind his back. This narrative is easy to sell to those who idolise him... but everybody else finds it im- possible to accept. Not just the members of the 'Daphne fan club', but everybody else. This includes all men and women of good will who are revulsed, as they cannot accept – as a matter of principle – an as- sassination ordered with the connivance of people in the Prime Minister's office. As the last week has shown us, those who cannot stomach Muscat's role in this sordid affair includes people from all shades of the political kalei- doscope. These include even those who were victims of Daphne's diatribes – irrespec- tive of their justification or lack thereof – as well as genu- ine Labour supporters who are on the point of despair when they realise how Muscat and his friends have managed to push Malta to the edge of a precipice. The number of high-profile Labour supporters who have gone publicly declaring that Muscat should leave immedi- ately from his prime ministe- rial position is impressive. This is no surprise. Muscat's clique at Castille has crossed a red line. Now Labour has to go back and start behaving responsibly. The narrative that Muscat did all he could in order to find those who killed Daphne Caruna Galizia's murderers and those who ordered and paid for her assassination pales into insignificance when it is obvious that Muscat failed to take the obvious action that everybody in their right senses thought he should have done a long time ago. Even worse: so long as Muscat clings to his position as Prime Minister, it seems that the cleaning up cannot be pursued with the Herculean energy that is needed. This is obvious from what has been going on in these days. Like the former PM's chief-of-staff being grilled by the police for his part in giving the middleman a 'ghost' job with a state entity. For many, it looks like grill- ing Al Capone for a parking violation. This sort of shenanigan on the part of the police does nothing to restore the people's trust in Malta's institutions. All it indicates is the need for Muscat to step down immedi- ately, sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, he has had his way and the party has accept- ed his timetable for leaving. This is doing untold harm to the country, and the respon- sibility for this does not rest solely on Muscat. The onus is also on the Cabinet, the La- bour parliamentary group, and the executive of the Labour Party. Labour cannot have it both ways. There is no better time for coming clean than to start doing it immediately. And the signs from Labour are not encouraging. Young people and labour A survey published in this paper's midweek edition last Wednesday has revealed a new trend among young people – a trend that is more accentu- ated among those with tertiary education. More of them are opposing Labour following the revelations about the Caruana Galizia assassination. Since the PN in government opened up the University to all after assuming power in 1987, the number of tertiary stu- dents exploded. More so since the stipends system enabled everybody to have access to tertiary education. The number of university students from low-income families increased drastically, correcting an imbalance that had existed since the Universi- ty was founded 250 years ago. This led to more Labour- leaning graduates. The change in administration in 2013 with Muscat's landslide victory was indirectly influenced by the change in the social back- ground of university gradu- ates. As a student, Muscat himself benefitted from the PN policies on education. So did many of the candidates who made up the face of 'new' Labour. For some time, Malta was considered a 'normal' country – which meant that interest in political issues among ter- tiary level students was no big deal. Frankly, many students couldn't be bothered about which party was in govern- ment – life was fine just the same. The motivation and the execution of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia have distanced tertiary educa- tion students and – to a lesser extent – other young people away from Labour. Voting intentions have swung drasti- cally against Labour. This is a classic irony of fate. The PN's radical changes in Malta's tertiary education first produced a crop of Labour 'in- telligentsia' leading to the elec- toral triumphs of the so-called Joseph Muscat movement. Joseph Muscat's behaviour in government is now having the opposite effect: pushing gradu- ates and young people away from Labour. This is how the wheels of po- litical fortune keep on turning and returning. So long as Muscat clings to his position as Prime Minister, the cleaning up cannot be pursued with the Herculean energ y that is needed For the new leader it will be no easy task. In Labour's current circumstances, publicly hugging Muscat is no way to start it.