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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JANUARY 2022 The ghosts haunting Abela and Grech Editorial MALTA'S great electoral year starts in 2022 and it finds an electorate that has never been surer of who the winner of this year's election will be. Ever since Labour delivered its first super-major- ity in 2013, winning a snap election overshadowed by unprecedented accusations of corruption in 2017, incoming prime minister Robert Abela has managed to ride a multitude of waves since taking office in early 2020. First it was the legacy of his disgraced predeces- sor (whom he previously served as a Cabinet ad- visor), which he started addressing with cosmetic and other substantial touches – a restoration of the Caruana Galizia shrine, the replacement of the Commissioner of Police with an inspiring candi- date, the sacking of Konrad Mizzi, and seemingly dispassionate moves to force resignations, intro- duce technocrats, and leave errant MPs out in the cold. Secondly, it was the COVID pandemic, where Abela's temptations to cave in to populist whims were thankfully tempered by Chris Fearne's scien- tific advice and a national reverence for the medi- cal establishment. All throughout, Abela has convincingly retained the stratospheric trust highs Labour leaders have grown accustomed to. His Nationalist adversary, though cut from the cloth of his party's attraction to 'Mondeo man' and committed to place the PN on a higher ideological plane, has failed to inspire. That has left Abela vying only with the ghost of Joseph Muscat – severing allies like Mizzi, Chris Cardona, Edward Scicluna, minor MPs who were replaced with co-opted technocrats and new fac- es; his elastic ethical yardstick leaving errant MPs to face the pressure of public indignation on their own; using liberal reforms to keep the PN exposed on both its left and right flanks... Abela too can aim for a 40,000-vote super-majority. And if he does, will he have exorcised the spectre of the man who recently toyed with a vengeful return to politics? What happens then once the 'Abela era' takes off; what happens to the political conspiracy Muscat and cronies like Keith Schembri created? It sounds shocking to consider that Malta's next five-year administration, in a time of rising gas prices, inflationary fears, and increasing pressures on wages, could once again be faced with an in- effectual Opposition. Bernard Grech has been a cautious leader of a fractious PN, whose divide between reformists and establishmentarians is a headache for its leader – old-timers fear bold moves that displace their influential hold, and the PN's totemic worship of conservatism prevents it from reading the signs sent to its by its electorate. It takes a kind of charismatic leader to force such bold changes. Even here, Bernard Grech is not without his a shadow 'nemesis'. While he struggles to convince and bring floaters and Labour voters into the promise of a new way of doing government, or to at least chip away at the trust Abela has managed to command, far off in Brussels a star that some believe is ideal for the PN leadership, has made her own mark. With Roberta Metsola as European Parliament president, a stellar career inside the European in- stitutions beckons. Many will nurture the hope that Metsola can one day convert her star quali- ty in Brussels, into the charisma that is required of a Nationalist prime-minister-to-be. Chances that Metsola will be convinced to hang up her EU dream so early in the day to lead the PN into yet another five years of trying to surmount its trust deficit, however, seem low. Even Grech is, ironically, a victim of this kind of success: the PN's great white hope, apparently not motivated to chance the party leadership, is away in Brussels enjoying the fruits of her successful po- litical career. This mirage of what a successful kind of PN lead- er could look like – liberal, female, successful – will haunt any PN leader. Of course, success in Brus- sels is no guarantee of the same in Malta. But this chimeric reference point for an election-winning leader, just ike Muscat did for Labour in 2009, will always be present unless the PN leader's charisma can start chipping away at Labour's hegemonic success. Until then, its captains will be victims of comparison, unfairly perhaps. 8 January 2012 Wardens to enforce smoking law in playing fields SIGNS announcing a legal notice banning smoking from playing fields, which came with immediate effect on 23 December, still have to be put up, and the local enforcement agencies which are responsible for the enforcement of the new law are still working on a schedule on how to enforce the law. The new law will be enforced by local war- dens, a spokesperson for parliamentary sec- retary responsible for local councils – Chris Said – told MaltaToday. The legal notice states that smoking is not allowed in a playground or in any public garden which hosts playing equipment for children. But although the law is already in effect, no signs warning against smoking in playing fields have been erected. The Department for Local Government is urging local councils to fix signs, including the details of such legal notices in playing fields. Smoking regulations have been devolved and are enforceable by local wardens: both in play- grounds and in other public places where smok- ing is prohibited. The five Regional Committees administer the local enforcement system. The committees have been asked by the De- partment for Local Government to work out a schedule how to implement this new prohibi- tion of smoking in playing fields that fall within their boundaries. Asked how many people have been booked for smoking in playing fields since 23rd De- cember 2011, the government spokesperson said that it is too early to establish whether any fines have been issued in respect of the men- tioned Legal Notice. Introducing smoking bans in children's playgrounds, sports facilities and mass leisure events was first proposed in Mal- ta's National Cancer Plan, launched in February 2011. Malta's new National Environment Pol- icy, launched in September, aims to introduce smoking restrictions in outdoor areas frequent- ed by children by 2014. But subsequently, the government decided to introduce the ban in playing fields immediately. The Presidents' Kitchen Garden at San An- ton Palace, which hosts playing facilities for children as well as a café and animal pens for ponies, ostriches and emu, was Malta's first smoke-free recreational park. Quote of the Week "I want to apologise on behalf of the Church to all those who were hurt by these harsh words, and their mothers and fathers who also feel betrayed by the church they love." Archbishop Charles Scicluna following homophobic comments on social media by Fr David Muscat MaltaToday 10 years ago