Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1220238
11 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 MARCH 2020 OPINION UP until around a week ago, everything seemed to be going swimmingly for our new(ish) Prime Minister Robert Abela: who has so far probably enjoyed the longest and most blissful honeymoon period in Maltese political history. Off-hand, I can't think of a single other Prime Minister who had it so easy in his first couple of months in power. Just look at all the things that have somehow worked to Abe- la's advantage since January 12 (without, it must be said, any real input of his own). All the protests and civil un- rest that characterized the last weeks of 2019? Everything seemed to evaporate into thin air, almost within hours of Ab- ela's appointment… as though Joseph Muscat had taken all his political baggage away with him when he stepped down: leaving his successor with an administration that was – on the surface, at least - cleansed of all its previous blemishes. Meanwhile, the few issues that Abela has had to deal with since then (e.g., the police corruption scandal) have all been more attributable to the preceding administration, than to his own. And in any case, none of them required any specific interventions by the Prime Minister… beyond the occasional public appearance here and there, with all the usual reassuring soundbites we have come to expect from our political leaders: 'the govern- ment will listen to the people'; 'we will take the necessary de- cisions', etc., etc. It is hardly surprising, then, that our surveys recently re- vealed such unprecedented na- tionwide approval ratings for Robert Abela – surpassing even Joseph Muscat at the height of his popularity. So far, all he has really had to was 'look the part'… and to be fair, that is something he is naturally quite good at anyway. But all that seems to have suddenly collapsed around him in the space of just a week: i.e., since when the first symptoms of genuine coronavirus pan- ic started to set in…. followed by the first actual cases, which (understandably enough) have dramatically heightened a na- tional mood of apprehension and anxiety. Suddenly, Robert Abela found himself having to transition from a Prime Minister who only had to 'look good for the cameras' – and even then, in front of an audience that was largely well-disposed towards him to begin with – to a Prime Minister who had to take deci- sive, effective decisions in the face of a real leadership chal- lenge. And while it might be too early to gauge his efforts on that particular score… some- thing tells me that the results to date have not been all that encouraging. Last Sunday, for instance, this newspaper reported that Abe- la was facing internal Cabinet dissent over his handling of the crisis. His health minister Chris Fearne (who is a doctor, and was also Abela's main con- tender for the leadership) was of the opinion that all fights to and from Italy should be halt- ed with immediate effect; and it seems that the medical pro- fession as a whole – as repre- sented by its main unions, the MAM and MUMN – agreed. Abela, on the other hand, was at first reluctant… and whether or not this was his actual inten- tion, people were quick to point out that his hesitation chimed in with pressure from the only other non-governmental or- ganization to likewise oppose a total ban on flights from Italy: namely the MHRA, which has a natural (and equally under- standable) interest in carrying on, as much as possible, with a 'business-as-usual' approach. In the end, Abela was forced to backtrack… announcing the cessation of air traffic to Italy, only after the entire country was placed under quarantine on Monday. And this was the second such U-turn in the space of just a few days: after Abela had similarly reversed his previous decision to allow a cruise-liner to dock in Malta, despite fears (which admittedly may have been exaggerated) of possible contagion among pas- sengers. At this point, I shall have to admit that neither decision was particularly easy to take. For reasons I already outlined last week, I happen to agree with the rationale behind Robert Abela's seemingly nonchalant approach… if nothing else, be- cause the very worst thing a Prime Minister could do, under the circumstances, is contrib- ute to the nationwide panic by being alarmist himself. But then again, a Prime Min- ister is also expected to display leadership at times like this; and 'leadership' is not defined merely by the external mani- festation of authoritative qual- ities. After all, one cannot pro- tect a nation from infectious diseases just by projecting the reassuring image of a benevo- lent 'father-figure'… no matter how convincing the act may appear on the surface. One also has to take difficult decisions on the basis of a co- herent and consistent political direction: something which, to be brutally honest, we haven't actually seen from Robert Ab- ela, in the week when he faced his first real test as Prime Min- ister. Meanwhile, there are other indications of inconsistency in his approach. This morning, Abela addressed a press con- ference to assure us all that everything should carry on as usual: that today is a normal work/schoolday just like any other, etc. By early afternoon, however, the same Prime Minister an- nounced that "all mass events with more than 2,000 people have been banned, and indoor events will be limited to a max- imum gathering of 750 peo- ple"… which suggests that, just like the previous decisions con- cerning flights and cruise-lin- ers, the same type of extreme measure may yet be taken in the case of schools and work- places… despite all Abela's as- surances to the contrary. Unfortunately, this seems to be having the opposite effect from what was actually intend- ed. For while the official mes- sages we are getting from gov- ernment (and, separately, from the country's health authori- ties) is that 'there is no cause for concern' – and I stress that there is no real reason to doubt that, so far - the fact remains that the same government is also unwittingly projecting the image of completely being out of its depth. It keeps changing its ap- proach, from one moment to the next… suggesting that - be- yond the virus itself, and all the understandable (if most likely excessive) alarm it is causing - there may actually be some- thing else to worry about: i.e., the fact that the people we rely on to protect us, at times like this, don't seem to have a very clear idea of what to do next. In a sense, it reminds me of that classic scene in the mov- ie 'Airplane!': i.e., when the air hostess manages to reassure all passengers that 'everything is under control', and that 'there is absolutely no reason to pan- ic'… only to tragically add: "Oh, and by the way… does anyone know how to fly a plane…?" With hindsight, the analogy may be apt for another rea- son. For at the end of the day, it would be grossly unrealistic to expect Robert Abela – or any other prime minister, for that matter – to come up with some kind of magical formula to insulate Malta from this en- croaching virus, where all oth- er countries have failed. This is after all a medical, not a political problem; as such it requires a medical, and not a political solution. But by the same token, it is not at all unrealistic to expect a Prime Minister to consult all the experts in the field before taking any public decisions; and in this case, Abela is sur- rounded by people who do have the experience and expertise to tackle such matters. Like the Medical Association of Mal- ta, for instance… or his own health minister, Chris Fearne. So even if he doesn't know how to 'fly the plane' himself… he can always take instruction from the people who do. In this case, that would mean fol- lowing expert advice BEFORE announcing any final decision regarding public protective measures; as opposed to taking all those decisions alone and unaided… only to later be over- ruled at every turn. At the end of the day, it would be grossly unrealistic to expect Robert Abela – or any other prime minister, for that matter – to come up with some kind of magical formula to insulate Malta from this encroaching virus, where all other countries have failed Raphael Vassallo Leadership in times of crisis