Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1359157
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 7 APRIL 2021 NEWS ANALYSIS a token? could have been an inclusive movement for national renewal. In short Labour was an enemy to be beaten rather than reformed. It also confirms the suspicion of many that the prime motiva- tion of that movement is the fight against Labour now depicted as a mafia organisation rather than a renewal of democracy in which Labour is a player. The reality is that like it or hate it, Labour is here to stay. The question is: will it create the mechanisms to avoid repeating the same mistakes all over again? The reaction to Coleiro Preca's appeal from party stalwarts does not augur well. Say sorry and move on? On the other side of the di- vide, the main reaction was "why should the party have to apolo- gize for the actions of a few rot- ten apples?" Those asking this question are ignoring another more important question; how did their party allow criminals occupying the highest positions to lead it and hijack it and does the party have the antibodies to avoid this in the future? And while many online warriors de- rided the very idea of an apol- ogy, deputy leader Jose Daniel Micallef has neutered Coleiro Preca's words, by dishing a half- baked and reluctant apology, which sounded like the church's generic apologies for the inter- dett. For the kind of apology offered by Micallef falls short of answering the deeper questions on party identity raised by Colei- ro Preca. Micallefs said he had simply taken "note" adding that "the Labour Party has always been humble" and that he has "no problem apologising to those who feel hurt by what hap- pened." Instead of convening party structures including the general conference to reflect on Coleiro Preca's questions and discuss a formal motion, which seeks to strengthen the party's moral credentials, Micallef of- fers an apology in passing, more as a sign of the party's "humili- ty" than as a programme of ac- tion. Moreover he insisted the "the behaviour of the few is not a reflection of the genuine activ- ism of many within the Labour Party" and that the party "will build on the good" and "reform where it did bad" citing the last months as a "demonstration of this with clear decisions being taken." While one has to recognise that under Abela something has changed profoundly with re- gards to the impunity of those involved, the party and its lead- ership have still not addressed the political roots of the prob- lems facing the party. And while the party's actions in the past decade, which include a legacy of social reforms which revolu- tionised Maltese society, cannot be reduced to corruption, one cannot ignore the fact that the party failed to nip the problem in the bud by kicking Schembri and Mizzi out back in 2016. Neither can we forget that the party had elected Konrad Mizzi as its dep- uty leader after Daphne Caruana Galizia had exposed his Panama accounts. For the party's greatest prob- lem was its withering away, af- ter Muscat substituted it with a movement of cheerleaders, glued by love towards the lead- er. And while Colerio Preca did not propose a forum where these questions can be discussed, the only forum where an apology could carry weight would be if takes the shape of motion en- dorsed by the party's leadership and discussed in a general con- ference. The party can't continue ignor- ing its own elephant in the room – which is its former leader Jo- seph Muscat, at best someone who was either an idiot who did not realise what was happening around him... or at worst a will- ing participant in the subversion of the institutions. Surely one can understand the hesitancy from Labour as it gears up for an election, where it is bound to be more interested in unity than in renewal. Polls even suggest that Labour can still win comfortably without making a public strip- tease of its warts. Why engage in self-flagellation now? Yet by not pressing the election button now, Abela has the op- tion of first cleaning up his sta- bles and be in a position to ward off corrupt elements, which may try their luck again, once the current storm recedes. Abela showed no qualms in ridding the party of Konrad Mizzi. But his failure to detach himself from Muscat suggests that he is afraid of his predecessor's ability to up- set his apple cart. But shooting down Abela and anyone else in Labour for any past association with Muscat, suggests an eagerness for 'eth- nic cleansing' which is bound to backfire on those who should know better having supported the PN, a party which is itself built on compromise and bal- ancing acts.