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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 MARCH 2023 OPINION 5 Saviour Balzan TODAY'S Polar survey pub- lished in MaltaToday comes as no surprise. It comes after a damning court sentence on the Vitals/Stewards hospital con- tract. If we were to be sincere, the court sentence could have been more punishing to govern- ment. It was not. The decision did however con- firm beyond any doubt that the deal was rotten. No one in his right senses can remotely say that Joseph Muscat was right in allowing this to happen. The return on the monies passed on these crooks was zilch. Those that present some excuses to justify Steward's presence are non-existent. The reaction to the court sen- tence by Robert Abela could have been more expressive. Everyone knows that the blame for this deal is Joseph Muscat, but Abela should have been more forthright and admitted that the government should be sorry for its action and that it would leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this great train robbery. That is falling short of accus- ing Muscat of getting Malta into this mess. Relations between Abela and Muscat are non-existent and not at all good. But sooner rath- er than later, Abela will have to face the music and push the blame button. Unlike the 1998 Mintoff/Sant debacle, Abela has a healthy majority and is at the beginning of his second term. He has time to act and bridge to dissenters and Mus- cat diehards. But today's poll, which sees the Labour party, dropping from its historic majority of 54,000 down to 8,500 – at least for now – should not mean that Abela should become more indecisive. It means that that he needs to understand what the issues are that will gain traction. There are many, but the three that come to mind and that always resurface in polls, is that people are seri- ously concerned about political responsibility and the inertia of politicians to react to allegations of misconduct, the environmen- tal issue, especially the question of land use, and more impor- tantly the cost of living. Abela has to address these is- sues without appearing weak and unfocused. He needs to en- sure that the reforms that need to happen are not hindered by fear of losing out. Whereas the economic drive needs to be maintained, one cannot forget about quality of life and the need to address pressing issues of land-use and traffic. And on the politi- cal front, Abela needs to find the best way to detach himself from Muscat. There is no other way. More so if the magisterial inquiry puts Muscat in a more difficult situation. On the other side of the trench, we find Bernard Grech with good reason to be cheerful. He has to overcome one crucial malaise in his party. How to be credible enough to attract the middle ground and Labourites. With the Talibanesque state- ments on Labour by some in the Repubblika and Occupy Justice camp, it is very unlikely that he will attract any Labourites. That is one problem he will have to solve. No easy matter, but just in the same way that Abela ex- iled Manwel Cuschieri, it would not be a bad idea if the same yardstick was applied to some individuals who come across as sanctimonious and self-centred. Another consideration is the need of the Nationalist Party to start acting like a secular party. The PN continues to believe it needs to set a morality barom- eter and dictate its dogma on what people should do or not do with their personal lives. The PN needs to find a way to learn from sister European par- ties with a conservative agenda. Young people find it very diffi- cult to associate with the PN in its current set-up. So hopefully this latest poll will service to galvanise both parties to address their weak- nesses. * * * Today is the last edition under the editorship of Matthew Vel- la. I recall the first time I met Matthew as a young man seek- ing a career in journalism. I foolishly turned him down in his first interview, but he re- turned for a second. In 20 years of working at MediaToday, Matthew Vella has experienced the political machinations of over two decades. There are simply too main episodes to recount, but I think that the Gonzi years, the divorce ref- erendum, the 2013 oil scandal, the rise and fall of Joseph Mus- cat, the Panama Papers and the migration crisis marked Vella's years as editor. Together we spent long hours debating and arguing over sto- ries and editorial stances. He was steadfast in his role as ed- itor and unwavering in his ap- proach to standards that other journalists would simply ig- nore. Like most journalists at Mal- taToday, he was often attacked and harshly ridiculed by politi- cal and business apologists. Matthew Vella brought with him a fresh look, a unique com- mand of both the English and Maltese language, and a dis- taste for the establishment as a whole. He was also hard-headed and refused to compromise on principles. He also knew how to judge when a story was a story and when something was not worth the candle, or when he felt something that did not punch up fit his criteria when using the power of the press. He also good journalism and resisted attempts to turn to superficial and tabloid journalism. And he fully recognised the value of the digital world and its social media challenges. I shall miss his presence as an editor and a friend, and out hard-hitting discussions that made me fume at times – es- pecially in Saturdays when most people do not work. I am grateful that he will stay on as a journalist. And I wish him well. Now the numbers have gotten serious for Robert Abela Robert Abela