Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1462499
NEWS THE DEBATE 4 maltatoday | THURSDAY • 24 MARCH 2022 1. The devil you know: 'You know where you stand with us' Abela's message to voters was that in times of uncertainty triggered by the in- vasion of Ukraine by Russia, they should rally behind the devil they know which had already proven itself in managing the pandemic. He forcefully contrasted the "calm, stability and certainty" offered by his leadership with lingering divisions in the PN. He also repeatedly challenged Ber- nard Grech to state how much he will raise pensions, contrasting this with the Labour Party's firm commitment to in- crease pensions by €15 a week. Abela's ability to translate the party's manifesto in clear deliverables rather than vague commitments as Grech often did, was his greatest strength in the debate. He had a message to deliver and ensured it got delivered well. 2. The plank in your eye: 'You had built your Mosta villa illegally' It was Grech who threw the spotlight on himself by starting the debate rebut- ting the "lies" said about him and accus- ing Abela of sending a drone to film his villa. But Abela's attempt to turn the tables on Grech was over the top, con- sidering that the Planning Authority had sanctioned very minor irregularities, which were immediately deemed ac- ceptable by the authorities. In contrast, Abela had bought a villa three months after the PA board had regularised its sizeable expansion in an ODZ area in a case characterised by conflicting policy interpretations. There is very little in common between the two cases, irre- spective of the Prime Minister's attempt to blame Grech for having his own plan- ning ills. 3. Broken record: 'You sent the wrong message by saying Malta is not full up' When Grech was elected PN leader, Abela immediately challenged him to state whether Malta is full up or not with reference to migration. Grech simply had refused to engage in such non-sense in a country, which has seen a massive increase of population during the past decade. This episode was awkwardly resurrected by Abela who now claims that by refusing to agree with him that Malta is full up, Grech was weakening Malta's position within the EU - a far- fetched claim considering that Abela's antics like hosting migrants on pleasure ships also failed to ruffle any feathers in the EU. Abela who also insisted that he would never put any life at risk, could have resurrected this episode to reassure the dormant anti-immigrant vote that he had the best policy on migration. In another instant, Abela accused Grech of supporting a magisterial inquiry against him and the army commander that had been requested by NGO Repubblika. It was strange that Abela should play the migration card when the issue has not featured as a concern in this campaign. 4. The Portelli connection: 'The Sannat permit is not definitive' Abela was forced to address the insin- uation by Grech that the permit issued to developer Joe Portelli in Sannat for a massive block of flats was conditioned by a meeting the PM had with Gozitan businessmen, including Portelli. But Ab- ela's reaction was lame when he stated the obvious that the permit, like any other permit, is not definitive and can be appealed. What Abela did not say is that it will be NGOs and the public who will bear the costs of such an appeal. If the over-stretched e-NGOs do not fork out money of their own pockets or resort to crowd funding from citizens, the permit will be eventually become final. Abela's argument would be stronger and more convincing if a public authority like ERA appeals the permit. Abela categorically denied that he received a €200,000 do- nation from Portelli as claimed by Grech and insisted that he never talked to Portelli on this permit. 5. The risk of arrogance: 'The greater the victory, the humbler we will be- come' Abela knows that one factor militat- ing against him is the fear that if La- bour is re-elected by the same majority, or even bigger, it would become more arrogant and ride rough shod over any opposition. Abela was keen to empha- sise that the greater the majority the humbler he will be. This was an attempt to reach out to voters still jittery about the happenings in 2019 that led to Jo- seph Muscat's resignation. But judging by the campaign itself it was the fear of Labour losing its super majority, which made Labour responsive to civil society campaigns like that against a yacht ma- rina in Marsaskala or the AUM project in Zonqor Point. The question remains; when the dust settles and Labour is re- confirmed in power with a solid major- ity, will it remain so sensitive to public opinion? Abela says 'yes' but it remains to be seen whether the electorate will be convinced. ROBERT ABELA Robotic Abela enjoys upper hand as Grech Kurt Sansone and James Debono give a post- mortem of the first televised debate between the PL's Robert Abela and PN's Bernard Grech CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The debate organised by the Broadcasting Authority and chaired by TVM jour- nalist Liam Carter saw Grech adopt a combative stance as he tried to reach out to an undecided audience by un- dermining Abela's trust. The PN leader touched on a few weak points that Abela had to respond to but failed to quantify proposals in pounds, shillings and pence so that his audience could understand how their pock- ets will be better off under a Nationalist government. Abela took few risks, deliv- ering a solid albeit scripted performance. The PL leader touched a number of raw nerves like disunity on the PN side but also empha- sised deliverables that can be translated into monetary benefits for voters. Abela's attempts to fend off allegations of impropriety involving his Żejtun villa by turning the tables on Grech were somewhat lame. The building irregularities in Grech's Mosta house were insignificant when com- pared to the illegalities at the Żejtun villa, which Abela eventually bought a few days after the PA sanctioned. But the Prime Minister had a few messages he wanted to get across and made sure of delivering them clearly, even if at time he overshot his time allocation. These are five take-aways for each of the leaders from Wednesday's debate: