Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1310107
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 18 NOVEMBER 2020 NEWS as well-prepared, especially on migration issues, lifts her profile among M.O.R. voters. Surely her ascent in European politics did come with embarrassing compro- mises, with her dovish position on rule of law in Bulgaria (run by an EPP aligned government) con- trasting with her hawkish stance on the same issues in Malta. Still, nothing stood in the way of Abela congratulating Metsola while still flagging disagreements on issues like the IIP and calling on her to use her new position to further Malta's interests. This is what government whip Glenn Bedingfield did in parliament, hours after Abela insisted on not congratulating her. Short of Ab- ela being petty-minded and ob- tuse, his refusal to congratulate Metsola suggests that he is delib- erately making a political point by not congratulating the PN MEP. Abela may want to look firm with Labour partisans while taking substantial steps to distance himself from his predecessor. Not congratulating Metsola gained him points among this intran- sigent faction on the eve of an imminent cabinet reshuffle Abela can't afford to be soft with the Opposition, particularly its most reviled segment, in this critical juncture where the par- ty's most intransigent elements are increasingly nervous about the fate of former Labour Joseph Muscat and his two closest asso- ciates, Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, both of which were re- cently held by the police for ques- tioning. Metsola, whose gesture of re- buffing an attempt at a hand- shake by former PM Joseph Muscat during an MEPs' visit in the December crisis, stands as a powerful symbol of antago- nism which increased grassroots hostility towards Metsola. In his balancing act between continuity and change, Abela may well be sacrificing run-of-the-mill polit- ical decency to keep Muscat loy- alists happy by giving them their pound of flesh. The cost is that such pettiness does not go down well with M.O.R. voters and has only served to build up Metsola's profile. Yet Abela's calculation may be that he can still win favour among these voters by breaking with the cycle of impunity characterising the Muscat days. Abela's intransi- gence on Metsola coincides with an impending Cabinet reshuffle which may create ripples inside Labour. Abela's strategy remains that of emphasising verbal conti- nuity – in this case by behaving in a more divisive way than Mus- cat – while going further than ex- pected in holding Muscat's clos- est allies to account. It's a dangerous game for Abela, who not only promised continu- ity with Muscat, but benefitted from his support in the contest pitting him against Chris Fearne. Abela may perceive Metsola as a potential future rival Abela's budget speech insinu- ation of a plot by the PN estab- lishment to replace Grech with Metsola after the next election comes across as sheer propagan- da, aimed at throwing salt on the PN's wounds before these heal. But it may also be the case that Abela perceives the MEP can- didate as a powerful adversary whose stature may be enhanced by this international appoint- ment. Still this consideration may not be the primary one, as Abela could still have congratulated her while hitting out at her on other occasions. His failure to congrat- ulate her actually may have back- fired, endearing the Nationalist MEP to M.O.R. voters irked by Abela's impoliteness. Ironically, the spat between Abela and Met- sola has eclipsed new PN leader Bernard Grech. Abela may be wary that Metsola's international clout will give her more opportunities to embarrass Labour Metsola's prestige in European circles may give her added clout in her criticism of government policies like the IIP, even if the charge against the programme is now being led by the liberal group on which Metsola has little influ- ence. Abela could have thrown the ball in Metsola's court by con- gratulating her while asking her not to harm the country's inter- ests. He could have urged her to push harder on responsibili- ty-sharing in migration in the EU, a bipartisan approach far more effective than Abela's "full up" mantra which is unlikely to create any ripples at EU level. In this sense Abela may have lost an opportunity to push for the kind of bipartisan approach on migration, which could win him points, especially in a new global climate where Trumpism is in retreat and where voters are starting to shun divisive politics.