Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1492662
NEWS ANALYSIS 7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 FEBRUARY 2023 voters for being "bought" by La- bour's cheques and handouts. This ignores the reality that measures like abolishing exam fees and free public transport do make a difference in people's everyday life. The PN also remains dismissive of the gratitude felt by marginal- ised social groups like LGBTIQ people and cannabis smokers who can now live a life without fear. Rather than shooting down these reforms and benefits, the PN should address those themes which Labour has ignored or not addressed head on. These include low incomes, wage stag- nation and housing affordability. And while under Grech the PN has paid lip service to the idea of a living wage it has done so with- out coming up with a concrete proposal apart from the hard to sell and difficult to understand ESG proposal in its last electoral manifesto. And to win votes from Labour, the PN needs to accept that some things done under Labour are good and are here to stay. 3. Majority of working-class vot- ers want decency, fairness and a more livable environment The PN can still fight its bat- tle against corruption but has to do so without pretending to be immune from a disease which it knew very well when in power. The impression given by some anti-Labour pundits is that suc- cessive Labour victories reflect a degeneration of society and an acceptance of corruption. But blaming ordinary voters for the sins of a corrupt government is a very bad tactic for any opposition party. It is true that Labour has rein- forced a system of patronage it in- herited from the PN, but the ma- jority of the population does not benefit from it and feels cheated. So, the PN can capitalise on pub- lic outrage against favoritism. Once again, the major problem facing the PN is one of credibili- ty and authenticity. Voters who grew up in the 1990s, fully know that Nationalist politicians can be as prone to dubious and cor- rupt dealings as Labour politi- cians. Many of the bête noires of the anti-corruption movement are prominent former National- ists, including prominent former ministers like John Dalli who for a time had a good chance of be- coming PN leader. In fact, what skewed the battle against cor- ruption was the attempt to turn it into a crusade against Labour's defective DNA rather than a col- lective struggle for a better and fairer country. The very least the PN can do is to acknowledge some of its mistakes like the ex- tension of building boundaries in 2006, while taking pride on other aspects of its legacy like Malta's successful EU membership bid. 4. Re-inventing the PN on the EU referendum campaign model The EU referendum campaign, which appealed to a wide constit- uency of voters including thou- sands of young people brought up in Labour-leaning working-class families could well be a blueprint for a regenerated PN in its bid to re-invent itself as an alternative to Labour. The last time the PN command- ed an absolute majority in the country was in the 2003 general election, which confirmed the re- sult of a referendum in which the PN was in synch with a coalition of voters that included many who do not naturally identify with the party but were motivated by a desire to see a more prosperous, cleaner, fairer and in many as- pects a more disciplined country. Moreover, the PN's campaign at that time elicited hope rath- er than anger and spite. Sure- ly the party now lacks a similar appointment with history. But in a similar way to what Joseph Muscat effectively did in 2013, the PN can project itself as a big tent united by a commitment to fairness, pluralism and modern- isation. One major challenge for the PN is how to deal with the country's radically changed de- mography by embracing a cos- mopolitanism with a human face, by for example standing up for the rights of foreign workers and offer a prospect of citizenship to the children of immigrants who were born and educated in Malta. Surely this may not be the most popular proposal, but parties also gain respect for being principled and forward looking. Unfortu- nately, the PN is moving in the opposite direction by pandering to xenophobia and ultra tradi- tionalist values which often clash with the European values which the party was once so proud of. 5. Mainstream conservative val- ues out of synch with younger voters The PN has to understand that society has changed and the mainstream conservative values of the past are increasingly out of synch with the values of younger voters who grew up after Malta joined the European Union and the watershed divorce referen- dum of 2011. In the UK it was the Tory par- ty, which led the country into the European Union in 1972 but it was elements from the same party who exploited resentment among left-behind communities to force the country out of the union. It is no longer far-fetched to imagine the same happening in Malta. With Labour moving deep in its ideological territory, the PN may be tempted to outflank it from the conservative right by taking a hard line against immi- gration and exploiting insecu- rities and fears. Lashing against Woke culture, re-evoking the (failed) war on drugs and oppos- ing a timid reform of abortion rights to better protect the health of women, are symptomatic of the PN's drift to the right. This may work with a restricted category of older voters irrespec- tive of their class background. But it will further alienate the party from one important seg- ment of society; younger and educated voters hailing from working class backgrounds who resent elitism despite joining the ranks of the middle class but who are becoming more pro- gressive and continental in mo- res and values. It had to be political veteran Mario de Marco to recognise that people do not want a government interfering in their personal life and that "people have become more liberal than the PN and this was not always the case". And while affirming the party's pro- life stance as a matter of principle, de Marco is unique in his party in showing an understanding of the signs of the times. With little prospects of ever becoming prime minister, Grech may at least dedicate his time in office to reposition his party on more solid centre ground while remembering that society has drastically changed since 2013 with views that were considered radical and edgy at that time be- coming mainstream. The risk is that to survive Grech may well take shortcuts to solidify his position among core voters in a way which ac- tually increases the gap between the party and younger genera- tions. For it was Grech himself who 'looked down' on Andrea Prudente, a suffering mother, whom he belittled in a speech in parliament aimed at firing up the conservative brigade. for the PN to ditch its toxic elitism With Labour moving deep in its ideological territory, the PN may be tempted to outf lank it from the conservative right by taking a hard line against immigration and exploiting insecurities and fears