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13 NEWS ANALYSIS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 JUNE 2023 greater uncertainty as permits are increasingly questioned and even taken to court for revocation. For one cannot ignore that Labour benefitted in electoral terms from policies that create 'little rich peo- ple' by selling their land to devel- opers. Each time Labour moved the planning goal posts by a few inches, it endeared itself with a new category of winners in this never-ending planning lottery. This may explain Labour's elec- toral inroads in strategic dis- tricts like Gozo, where despite increased opposition to uglifica- tion, the party has increased its majority. And after being paralyzed by COVID-19 and the impact of the war, Abela may be tempted to kickstart the economy by once again pressing the accelerator in his bid to compensate inflation with a trickling of wealth and tax revenues from property projects. This explains why in the face of growing dissent at local level, Ab- ela keeps sending mixed signals on an issue which pits Labourites who shun big business, against acolytes who thrive through con- nections and deals involving these same interests. This tension may well create even more uncertainty, as each project is judged based on the op- position it triggers. Instead Abela may opt to change and tinker pol- icies, as he indicated in a speech on 1 May, but that would require yet another balancing act between conflicting pressures. 3. Joseph Muscat: Abela's silence on his predecessor's political legacy suggests that he still fears him despite winning a strong electoral mandate on his own steam last year The greatest of Abela's current worries may well be the ticking time bomb in Burmarrad, as his disgraced predecessor Joseph Muscat is showing increased nervousness at the PM's silence on his judicial troubles. The situation may come to a boiling point in the next months upon the conclusion of an inquiry on the hospital contracts led by a magistrate whose independence is now being vocally contested by Muscat. Muscat's interview with party stalwart Manwel Cuscieri was clearly a message directed at Abela, that he would directly seek the support of the party's grass- roots if left out in the cold by the party's leadership. Abela may well decide that si- lence and letting the institutions work, is his best course of action. And while that may well be the right course of action with re- gards to judicial and police in- vestigations, Abela's authority is being undermined by his political unwillingness to cut the umbilical cord which ties him to Muscat. In the absence of a clear political verdict on the wrongs committed under Muscat, a segment of the party's grassroots may still feel at liberty to drag the party down by rallying behind a disgraced for- mer party leader, whose presence is now considered toxic by other Labour voters and activists. Abela's reluctance may well be shaped by experience, namely Al- fred Sant's rejection of his father's advice to avoid an epochal clash with Dom Mintoff which effec- tively condemned Labour to the political wilderness for another 15 years. Abela may understand the last thing he needs is the emergence of Muscat as a reference point for internal dissent, especially among those still nostalgic for the 'best of times'. Muscat has so far been prudent, refraining from any criticism of Abela. But this could also be his way of exerting political leverage. Muscat knows that while confronting Abela would be suicidal for him, the very hint that he may break ranks sends shivers down Abela's spine. But while a clash with a former leader is damaging, Abela may not be able to postpone the prob- lem indefinitely. He must now be pondering on how to react when push comes to shove, especially if the magisterial inquiry recom- mends that Muscat is charged. Abela will need to take back control over the course of events by sending a clear political mes- sage that he will not tolerate any internal display of 'solidarity' with the former leader. This is after all what voters expect from a political leader elected with a strong mandate of his own. But strangely Abela still be- haves like the party leader who inherited Muscat's mantle in 2020. One factor weighing on his mind is that events may well explode in his face in the run- up to MEP elections, where La- bour's super-majority could be tested by a PN reinvigorated by the cross-party appeal of Roberta Metsola's candidacy, after serv- ing in the role of EU parliament president. But this makes it even more im- perative for Abela to act now to avoid a curveball coming his way closer to the mid-term test. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Muscat: Abela's three big headaches