Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1462499
NEWS THE DEBATE 5 maltatoday | THURSDAY • 24 MARCH 2022 1. Embracing the anti-vax: 'If you want a dictatorship… vote for Robert Abela' Bernard Grech's closing address included a pitch against "oppression", citing as an example the restrictions introduced dur- ing the pandemic to control the spread of the virus. He likened Abela's running of the country to a dictatorship: "If you want a dictatorship in this country, vote for Robert Abela… if you want more oppression vote for Robert Abela." But he then called the restrictions intro- duced throughout the pandemic as "exag- gerated" and a curb on individual freedoms. "I want you to look towards the future… live better, be free and not have a govern- ment use the pandemic to cut down on your freedom," Grech said, in an attempt to pander to a section of the population that has been protesting the use of face masks, restrictions and in some cases refusing the anti-COVID vaccine. "I want COVID measures that are reason- able like the rest of the EU," Grech insisted. It was strange that the PN leader should use the arguments championed by the Mal- tese anti-vax movement in his concluding pitch, especially when Grech's more sober reaction to people's concerns when cases started to rise throughout the pandemic was well-received by many people. Grech's fearmongering on Abela's yearn- ing for a stronger mandate may resonate with a section of the electorate that is still jittery about the events of 2019 but going as far as calling Abela's two years in pow- er a dictatorship may be stretching the ar- gument too far. If anything, the risks of a stronger mandate are arrogance and ram- pant nepotism. And linking 'dictatorship' with COVID restrictions does little justice to the necessary sacrifices over the past couple of years to control the pandemic. If anything, Malta's restrictions were far less onerous than those in European coun- tries where total lockdowns and curfews were the norm. 2. Trust attack: 'Lies, lies, lies' Grech tried to use the debate to under- mine people's trust in the Prime Minister, repeatedly accusing him of spreading lies. It was a strategy to attack Abela on what has proved to be his strongest asset – trust. Sur- veys have consistently shown that Abela is trusted far more than Grech. By referring to Abela's earnings as a Plan- ning Authority lawyer, his purchase of a sprawling Żejtun villa on the cheap soon after it was sanctioned, and a property deal with a businessman charged with kidnap- ping, Grech attempted to characterise the Prime Minister as a self-interested individ- ual. "A person who earned €28,000 a month cannot understand you and that is why he is not credible on social issues. He cannot understand how you can live with €500," Grech told his audience. "Lies, lies, lies… it is untrue works on my property were ille- gal," Grech rebutted when Abela accused him of illegalities at his Mosta residence. Grech's strong words were a clear attempt to erode Abela's credibility, telling voters that the Prime Minister cannot be trusted to keep his word. Grech then insisted a Nationalist gov- ernment will increase pensions and the minimum wage, and refund money from overcharged utilities. The PN leader in- sisted that with him at the helm, a PN gov- ernment would offer "peace of mind" and allow people to live better. But Grech's pitch was not accompanied by raw numbers that could be easily un- derstood by his viewers. Grech was unable to quantify the increase a PN government would give pensioners and by how much the minimum wage will increase. While the attack on Abela's credibility may have reso- nated with some viewers, it lacked the killer punch because the alternative offered was bereft of quantifiable detail. 3. Off script: 'Throw Joseph Muscat under the bus' In a peculiar twist to the script the PN has been following over the past five years, Grech avoided any reference to Joseph Muscat's government and its ills. Instead, in three instances, Grech tried to portray Muscat as a victim of Abela's untrustwor- thiness. In the first instance when denying he built his private residence illegally, Grech played the Muscat card: "Robert Abela attributes his ills to others… you cannot trust him. Joseph Muscat trusted him and appointed him advisor. By any chance, Robert Abela, was your advice to Joseph Muscat intended to let him crash into the wall?" On the second occasion, Grech criticised Abela's inability to create new economic sectors and instead ride high on his prede- cessor's surplus. "Robert Abela squandered the surplus that Joseph Muscat left him," Grech hit out, in a clear departure from PN's previous criticism of the surplus. The third instance saw Grech picking on the Prime Minister's statement that his government had inherited a list of 58 de- ficiencies flagged by the Moneyval report, which had to be corrected. Abela said the deficiencies were historic and went back to previous Nationalist administrations. But Grech was quick to point out that Abela had just "thrown Joseph Muscat under the bus" when using the word 'inherited'. The portrayal of Muscat as a victim may have been intended to pander to those La- bour voters, who still believe Muscat was a better leader than Abela. According to a survey published by the Times of Malta on Tuesday, 30% of Labour voters believe Muscat was better than Abela. It will be impossible to know whether Grech's attempt to curry favour with Mus- cat sympathisers will reap results but it cer- tainly jarred with the PN's relentless and at times justified criticism of the former prime minister. 4. Trackless fiasco: 'We will widen roads where necessary' A key proposal of the PN manifesto was the trackless tram. But the proposal has been dogged by inadequate explanations from party exponents whenever asked for details on how the tram will use existing road infrastructure. After two versions of how the trackless tram will use road space, Grech put forward a third version. He made it clear that where necessary roads will be widened to create a dedicated lane for the trackless tram. This contradicts the previous explana- tions given by Ryan Callus and Toni Bez- zina. Callus had said during a Broadcasting Au- thority TV transmission that the tram will run on a dedicated lane in arterial and dis- tributor roads, taking up one of the existing lanes. This, he had said, was necessary so that no additional agricultural land will be taken up. However, a day later, Toni Bezzina de- nied roads will be reduced to a single lane, insisting existing road space will be "ration- alised" to include a third dedicated lane for the trackless tram, without explaining how this could be squeezed in without being a safety hazard. Grech said the trackless tram will be punctual, environmentally friendly, silent and ready in five years, adding: "The track- less tram will not be stuck in traffic… we will widen roads where necessary." His explanation was the more logical of the three but the inability to voice this when the tram proposal was launched created a feeling of unpreparedness and brought back memories of the Arriva fiasco during the Gonzi years. 5. Peace of mind: 'Pro-business, not part of business' Grech's best was when he outlined the PN's vision to create 10 new economic sec- tors and making a clear pledge not to in- crease taxes, VAT and National Insurance. "We are pro-business but not part of busi- ness," Grech insisted in an attempt to draw a distinction between himself and Abela. "I will not be in cahoots with a criminal busi- nessman I will not rent my villa to Russian tycoons," he continued. Grech said the new sectors will create jobs that will pay good wages like the gaming sector. He said development will be impor- tant but it will not be the only sector the country will depend on. Grech said the PN's electoral manifesto would cost €6 billion but will generate €42 billion and 32,000 jobs. "A PN government is a guarantee of peace of mind and a strong economy," he insisted. This was a rare instance throughout the debate when Grech put forward numbers to strengthen his arguments. However, another flagship PN proposal, the intro- duction of ESG criteria, was only fleetingly mentioned. The PN's manifesto is replete with refer- ences to ESG criteria (environmental, social and governance criteria) which businesses and organisations will need to adopt to benefit from tax credits and other benefits proposed by the party. It was evident throughout the campaign that ESG was little understood as a con- cept. In the debate, Grech only made an occasional reference to ESG, and only after it was raised by Abela as an additional cost to businesses. BERNARD GRECH adopts combative mode in first TV debate