Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1481871
THE latest MaltaToday survey that was published last Sunday confirms a trend that has been obvious at least since the elec- tion held earlier this year: both Labour and Nationalist parties are losing support, with the de- crease being faster in the case of the PN. Apart from the mess that led to Joseph Muscat's resignation, the current administration is the third successive Labour government, and a loss of pop- ular support is normal and ex- pected in such circumstances. On the other hand, the PN would have been normally ex- pected to start recovering from the drubbing it got from Joseph Muscat's first electoral tri- umph. But this is not happening and, as things are going, it is not expected to be happening any way soon. The reasons for this were there for all to see during Simon Busuttil's tenure as PN leader and, even worse, the PN's in- ternal reaction to the election of Adrian Delia as PN leader with the votes of the ordinary card-holding PN members (tesserati). Incidentally there is a some- what similar situation in the UK where Liz Truss – who was elected leader of the Con- servatives by the card-carrying members – does not actually have the support of the majority of Tory MPs. Of course, Truss was appointed UK Prime Min- ister, while Delia became leader of the Opposition. At the same time, one cannot but compare the ruthlessness with which both Tory MPs and the Na- tionalist MPs greeted their new leaders, both elected against their better judgement. Those in the PN who opposed Delia were not just ruthless, but were also crude and vulgar. Subtlety was certainly not the forte of those who opposed Adrian De- lia from day one. But that is water under the bridge, some might say. It is on- ly so up to a certain point. The negative effect of the episode of the removal of Adrian De- lia from the PN leadership still rankles and it is still off-putting for many voters. Whether those who opposed Delia were right or wrong is irrelevant to the fact that the methods adopted by them did more harm to the PN than any benefit that could have been gained by his eventual re- moval. One can hardly blame voters who judge politicians by their methods. And the blame lies squarely on those who adopted the most spiteful methods to change the PN leader. It now seems impossible for the PN to start regaining the trust of the voters. Its election results and its ever-decreasing support and results from the polls since then show that a large gap between the two main parties has been created in the political spectrum. Fully 31% do not support either PL leader Robert Abela or PN leader Ber- nard Grech. Since the March election, more voters have abandoned the loser – Bernard Grech – than the winner – Rob- ert Abela. More PN voters than Labour voters have switched off. Surely this is hardly normal in political scenarios. The intended abstention rate among those who voted PN is so great (21.1%) that there is space for a strong third party that could actually elect MPs in a theoretical election held at this point in time. Yet the ADPD is not making headway, its support only in- creasing to 3.2%. Interestingly, 33.7% - that is more than a third of young voters (16-35 years) – say they will not vote. The PN's problems are even bigger than what they seem, as it is not making any headway with these young voters. In this situation the possibility of a strong third party cannot be ignored. This party should take most of the voters who are now saying that they will not vote in the next general election. Of course, the first test is the election for the European Par- liament, although this is not a very good barometer of Malta's political situation with more people refraining to vote than there would be in the general election – something that is a fact all over Europe. If a third party capable of hav- ing a strong following is to sur- face from nowhere, it will be af- ter the MEP elections not now. But this of course depends on whether the PN will keep on losing support with Ber- nard Grech unable to stop the haemorrhage. Ideally it should change leader after the next de- bacle that it will be facing in the wake of the elections to the Eu- ropean Parliament. Otherwise, it will just limp on while making the dawning of a strong third party no longer a veritable impossibility... and with that the end of the PN-PL duopoly. Racist undercurrents The news that the three po- lice constables were charged with abducting and grievous- ly injuring foreign nationals is bad news indeed. It seems these officers practised the 'sport' of picking some foreign national at random while out on patrol, take him to an inhabited area in Qormi, beat him up and aban- doning him. In Court, they have pleaded not guilty and the case against them is still going on. This is shocking. It is not the first time that foreigners of Af- rican origin were badly – and illegally – treated by police of- ficers or army personnel. They were grievously injured or killed for no other reason than that of being African. Last Tuesday, The Times list- ed what it felt were the four worst incidents of this nature, including the murder of Lassa- na Cisse in April 2019. The responsible minister, By- ron Camilleri, condemned the latest incidents, calling them "disgusting and unacceptable". But the country has to react to these incidents more than by bringing the guilty to justice. There should be no place for police brutality in any case, of course, but picking a victim be- cause of his skin colour and eth- nicity is obnoxious. It is a well-known fact that people with certain psychologi- cal tendencies look for jobs that give them the opportunities to satisfy their illicit desires. Pae- dophiles, for example, seek to become sport coaches, scout- masters or school janitors: they want to be in a position that gives them more opportunities for their favourite abuses. Similarly, racists and people with sadistic tendencies seek to become members of the police force or of the armed forces so that they would have more op- portunities to satisfy their mor- bid desires. More so if they are also racists. This leads me to insist that the government should introduce a system of psychological screen- ing to all those who apply to become members of the police force or of the Armed Forces, as well as to those who serve in other detention services. Training them and giving them lectures is not enough. 7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 OCTOBER 2022 OPINION The end of the PL-PN duopoly? Michael Falzon micfal45@gmail.com