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12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JANUARY 2021 NEWS ROBERT Abela is the third prime minis- ter in Malta's post-independence history to take the reins of power from a sitting PM – the others having been Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, who took over from Dom Mintoff after the constitutional cri- sis brought about by the 1981 election result; and Lawrence Gonzi, who took over from Eddie Fenech Adami after EU accession and left the PN deprived of a uniting battle-cry to keep liberals and conservatives together. Like Abela both were overshadowed by the legacy of their predecessor and strug- gled to leave a mark of their own, with Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici losing power in 1987 and leaving the party leadership in 1992, and Lawrence Gonzi scraping through the 2008 election only to be trounced by a new coalition of middle and working class voters forged by Jo- seph Muscat in 2013. Although unlike Mifsud Bonnici and Lawrence Gonzi, Abela was not for- mally designated for the succession by his predecessor, it was his emphasis on "continuity" with the Muscat years in a short campaign against Chris Fearne that tipped the balance in his favour. But a year later Abela, despite being severely tested by the reverberations of Muscat's disgraceful exit and the pandemic, Abela managed to sustain the successful coali- tion which supported Labour since 2013 while cautiously distancing himself from his predecessor's antics. For while Gonzi and Mifsud Bonnici were overshadowed by the more states- manlike qualities of Mintoff and Fenech Adami, Abela risks being eaten away by the scandals inherited from Muscat. Yet in the face of adversity and uncertainty, a number of character traits defining Ab- ela's premiership are emerging: here are six defining ones. To retain grassroots loyalty, Abela can sound divisive, tribal and more confron- tational than his predecessor, at the risk of weakening a coalition becoming less wieldy or reverential In his heyday Muscat projected himself as a unifier, keen on appealing to Nation- alist voters while leaving the dirty work of rallying partisans to party stalwarts further down the chain of command. In contrast, Abela seems keener on proving his bellicose credentials with party faith- ful by belittling political opponents and showing a lack of courtesy. Even his first encounter with Bernard Grech was dominated by his challenge on the Opposition leader to declare Mal- ta "full up" for migrants, apart from re- fusing to congratulate Roberta Metsola on her European appointment. Abela did not even keep a distance from the PN's internal troubles, reportedly having re- ported Grech's tax troubles to the IRD. And while he has put an end to the re- moval of flowers from the Caruana Gali- zia shrine opposite the law courts, he has refrained from any public recognition of the slain journalist. All this may be con- ditioned by Abela's greatest political feat: that of removing and replacing the pro- tagonists and enablers of Panamagate, including Konrad Mizzi and the former police commissioner, without causing havoc in his own party. Unlike Mifsud Bonnici in the 1980s, Abela has taken de- cisive steps to clean up his party's dirty stables even if he remains reticent on expressing any damning political judge- ment on his predecessor, at the risk of sending mixed messages to Labour sup- porters. But in his bid to clean up his govern- ment's act he can't afford to look soft and conciliatory towards the opposition. The risk is that people may end up judging Abela through his words and not his ac- tions. Abela also finds it difficult to bury the hatchet and move on even after resolving an issue. One clear example was praise for strike-breakers during the Malta Un- ion of Teachers strike, even after reaching agreement for the reopening of schools. Reacting to criticism on his government's COVID-19 strategy he showed signs of intransigence which defy the inroads Labour made in professional groups like teachers, nurses and other health work- ers. In so doing, he risks committing the same mistake as Gonzi, whose coalition was weakened by his inability to reach to professional bodies in 2013, alienated by his government's arrogance in matters like the hike in energy bills. Abela's method of injecting new blood through co-options is unorthodox but he has shown regard for merit, inde- pendent judgement and progressive instincts Abela has used co-options to con- solidate his grip in the parliamentary group but has refrained from appointing 'yes-people', expanding his pool of talent and detach his government from Mus- cat's administrtaion. Both Clyde Caru- ana and Miriam Dalli are respected for their competence. The appointment of Oliver Scicluna, who occupied the role of disability rights commissioner, may 365 days of Abela Leaving a mark in adverse times From his unorthodox way of expanding his talent, to forays in civil liberties, Robert Abela has so far avoided the curse of those overshadowed by larger-than-life predecessors. JAMES DEBONO identifies six traits that suggest the MP is becoming his own man