Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1404527
8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 25 AUGUST 2021 JAMES DEBONO "IF they keep annoying me, I do not exclude it," former Labour prime minister Joseph Muscat provocatively replied in an in- terview with the Times of Malta, when asked if he was mulling a return to Maltese politics. He qualified that answer by excluding the possibility of con- testing the upcoming general election or making a future bid for party leader, thus raising the question: was this rather emp- ty threat simply made to hit the headlines? And against whom is this threat directed? Muscat must know his future political options are extremely limited, if non-existent. Short of being accepted as a Labour can- didate in the next election, a pros- pect Muscat himself excludes, it is hard to imagine a former PM creating his own political move- ment to defend his legacy, as his friend Matteo Renzi tried unsuc- cessfully in Italy by founding Ita- lia Viva, in a bid to destabilise his former party. The only power Muscat has left is that of remaining an inconven- ience or a nuisance for Abela. In some ways, it's the kind of dec- laration reminiscent of a report of his plan to campaign for safe abortion back in January 2020 – which never materialised but acted as a warning shot against a conservative restoration in the party. Muscat himself was frank in stating the intentions behind his not-so-cryptic reply: "I'm giv- ing you something for people to think about. Because people say I'm going to contest, so I figured I'd say I don't exclude it," he re- plied. Muscat, himself a master of spin, was probably aware that such a statement would grab the headlines. This may well be understood as a desire by a former leader to want to be talked about, even vilified, dissected and analysed, but also adulated by his army of loyalists who rally on Facebook whenever their beloved leader is under attack. In short: Muscat's greatest fear seems that of being ignored and left to rot amid the revelations which slowly erode his legacy bit by bit. With long- time party activists like Desmond Zammit Marmara openly calling on the party to denounce Mus- cat, it has become clear that the tide is slowly but steadily turning against Muscat even in his own party. This is exactly what Muscat tried to avert when he delayed his resignation in December 2019 by a few weeks to preside over the election of his successor: with both leadership contenders forced to pay him homage, in a choreographed farewell tour, cul- minating in a party tribute on the eve of an election which saw Abe- la defying predictions by trounc- ing Fearne. The cringe factor in which Mus- cat thrives Muscat is also an expert in the art of provocation. He knows that the more his detractors cringe at his declarations, the greater the adulation amongst rank-and-file Labourites who are still loyal to him. There is logic in accept- ing an interview on the Times of Malta and provide the sound bites which make critics and the opposition cringe, while banking on loyalists rallying in support to a beloved former leader. For Muscat knows that he remains a polarising figure, and that any at- tacks from the opposition, solid- ify his hold in the Labour party. This is the kind of declaration which makes it harder for Abela to exorcise Muscat from the par- ty. Muscat can still bank on "the love" of supporters who are com- pletely oblivious to what has been written in the media and who will only have second thoughts the moment Robert Abela expresses his verdict on Muscat. As has been the case in his po- litical ascent Muscat remains in tune with the emotional side of politics which he sees as a per- sonal, unmediated relationship between the leader and his peo- ple. "I see a chorus of people sup- porting me. While others might share different views, in the last weeks I've seen an unprecedent- ed number of people supporting me. In reality, it's irrelevant. I still feel the people's love but I can't gauge if I'm still popular or not". Moreover on the same emo- tional plane, he refuses to ditch 'friends' like Keith Schembri with whom he says he reconnect- ed after he learned of his health problem. While some may see this as the ultimate confirmation of the dangers posed by friends- of-friends networks, Muscat may also be perceived as empathet- ic and someone who respects a code of honour which he sums up by saying: "I will definitely not ditch a person I know in this sit- uation, knowing what he is going through. I might be in the wrong; I might be in the right. But I will definitely not ditch him." Ultimately the threat to re-enter politics, has to be seen in the con- text where Abela is silently dis- tancing himself from the Muscat era, going as far as emphasising that "the way the State functions today is unrecognisable when compared to January 2020 and the years before". The reality is that after having resigned from office and after re- linquishing his seat in parliament last year, Muscat has very little political capital left, except the adulation of his supporters. But Muscat must be aware of the fra- gility of this kind of support. He knows that most Labour- ites turned against Dom Mintoff when he rebelled against Sant, albeit at a political cost in a sce- Joseph Muscat: from statesman Has Joseph Muscat relegated himself from the once- statesman with European ambitions, to a nuisance factor who capitalises on his supporters' undying love with a warning to his successor not to touch him and his friends?