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starts yielding results. If nor- mality does not set in by the Spring, he would probably not lose the opportunity of pre- senting a Budget to ensure that measures are in place to prop the recovery. Therefore, in the knowledge that Abela may yet take his time, Grech is trying to portray the PM as the one who is reluc- tant on going to the polls. This may not be the case because Abela may actually prefer an election at the earliest possi- bility, both to solidify his hold in the party and to deny Grech time to consolidate his. Yet in this case Abela is not master of his destiny as it is the virus or rather the success of the vaccine deployed against it, which will ultimately be in charge. In fact, Grech is also sending the message that the govern- ment's failure to arrest COVID is the reason why Abela cannot go to the polls as soon as pos- sible. 3. Grech knows Abela's opti- mism, even though sometimes misguided, chimes in even with PN voters who want normality Grech has often come across as a prophet of doom by fo- cusing on the rising death toll and the spread of COVID-19. While it is true that Abela has often downplayed the risks, throughout the crisis he was in synch with voters who are ea- ger to get back to their normal lives, either because they want to make more money or be- cause their lives are too miser- able to be endured in isolation. Although both parties, in- cluding Labour, have cohorts of voters who prefer caution to haste, Grech may have realised that his approach may have been putting off more optimis- tic voters. To dispel this image a more upbeat Grech is presenting the need for a final sacrifice as a quicker path back to feel good normality and an election. "Let us do the sacrifices to- day so that we can beat this pandemic," Grech said as he hit out at the Prime Minister for ignoring warnings that the contact-tracing system had collapsed. In doing this, Grech is per- forming a balancing act be- tween the concerns of those who feel that the government has been too fast in lifting restrictions and those who have had enough. What Grech is telling them is that one last sacrifice could actually quicken the pace of recovery. Where Grech disappoints is that he does not indicate what sacrifices he would have made us endure to accelerate the re- covery. 4. Grech may not actually want an early election, but talking about it consolidates his lead- ership. What he wants is to put the country in election mode Grech cannot escape the re- ality that he took over a party riven by factional infighting. And he is identified with the faction that removed former leader Adrian Delia, whose an- tics still test Grech's ability to keep everyone on board. Talk of an early election inev- itably solidifies his hold on the party and helps him mobilize his troops and quell lingering divisions. For as elections ap- proach, the party is obliged to unite behind its leader. That election could give him carte blanche to transform his party in his own image, such as ap- proaching social conservatives who are less in a position to dictate the agenda on matters like decriminalisation of can- nabis. Yet Grech needs time to find candidates who are able to re- generate the party and widen the pool of talent on which he can rely on. Therefore, while Grech may actually want to convey the impression that he is eager for the polls, in reality he needs more time to assem- ble his war machine. Grech knows that his chanc- es of winning are remote, if not impossible. His best bet is to narrow the gap, and use the election as a launch-pad for the regeneration of the opposition to ensure that it would have a fighting chance in the 2027 election. By going in election mode now, Grech risks peak- ing early; but he cannot afford to do otherwise. For even when it comes to polling, Grech still needs to recover more of his voting base than Abela does. This is because more for- mer PN voters than Labour voters are undecided or in- clined not to vote. To get there Grech needs to spend the next months selling the illusion that he can win, fully knowing that his best shot would be that of narrowing the gap. In addition, while Abela can rely on the power of incumbency to rein in disillusioned Labourites, Grech has nothing more to offer than hope. 11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 FEBRUARY 2021 NEWS ANALYSIS More former PN voters than Labour voters are undecided or inclined not to vote. To get there Grech needs to spend the next months selling the illusion that he can win, fully knowing that his best shot would be that of narrowing the gap