Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1504229
THE fiasco at Enemalta was per- haps in synch with the manage- ment disaster of the Jean Paul Sofia case. We had an electricity distribu- tion issue, which should have been resolved over the years, imploding because of bad maintenance and bad management. Or in simple terms because of political incom- petence. All those who have had sleepless clammy nights because of no elec- tricity have no sympathy for lame arguments or political bickering. And if Enemalta or Minister Mir- iam Dalli blame the excessive heat for this failure, they should have the decency to admit that they fucked up somewhere along the way. The electricity outages and what happened in the Sofia case over the last few days resulted in a pressure cooker exploding in a re- stricted area with everyone blam- ing the cook for all the aches and pains. Robert Abela's political fortunes have taken a serious and apparent dip. And he cannot blame COV- ID, negativism or the war for all this. As he addressed the press on the stairs last Friday in the precise same corner that Joseph Mus- cat chose when he addressed the press at Castille for the last press conference, I could not believe that Abela could be so careless to choose the same setting. It is a setting denoting a crisis. I want to believe that Abela was not hiding anything when he re- fused to call a public inquiry in- to the Sofia case. I would rather attribute it to his fame for being hard headed and stubborn. But the Sofia case unleashed a backlash that was building up af- ter months of discontent. What happened this week was a trigger that led to a coordinat- ed disapproval against Abela in general. And I am not referring to those who naturally dislike Labour but by Labourites themselves, from ministers, to parliamenta- ry secretaries, to party people, to party militants and to traditional Labour voters. Never before have I heard so many people saying they would not vote for their party, and state openly without any regret that Abela is an ass not to have agreed to a public inquiry. But my reading of this, and I do not believe that I am incorrect, is that Abela is being lambasted for the faults of Labour, past and present. From traffic, to U-turns, to non-decisions, to the building spree, to the love affair with big business, to the shabbiness of this country and the general feeling that many entered politics for their own personal gratification not for the greater good. Voters still have not bought in- to the PN, but it is, I believe, on- ly a question of time before they dump Labour and vote for a new face on the other side of the polit- ical spectrum. It has happened before in the time of Dom Mintoff, Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi. Today's national electoral sur- veys show to what extent Labour voters are disgusted by this state of affairs, by the ingrained senti- ment that this is not the party they know, and that this is not their Prime Minister. The big consolation prize for Abela is that the Nationalist party under Bernard Grech is stuck in a deep pothole. That Grech with all these opportunities coming his way has been unable to make in- roads is all too clear. The worst case scenario for this country is that this political uncertainity we have today is ex- tended over a period of four years until the next national election. This will only add to political uncertainity and demotivate busi- ness and people. The challenge Robert Abela has before him is complicated. He must first acknowledge that the honeymoon is over. From today everything he does, wears, says or intends to do will be a re- flection on his government. He is the property of public opinion. He will have to see how to solve the Joseph Muscat problem. Surely by keeping Muscat's sol- diers at arm's length did not help him resolve the Muscat issue. He must get those he has exiled back if he still is in time. And let us face it, Abela is limited in what he can do to stall the judicial process. So he will have to bide his time and act judiciously. Many of Muscat's former loyal- ists are also capable managers and policy makers and many were rel- egated out of Abela's circle adding to a great sense of resentment that festered with time. Another fundamental deficit was Abela's lack of personal con- tact with his parliamentary group, something which is being seen to as I write. Many of his ministers and par- liamentary secretaries and MPs hardly have a chance to meet up with him to state their views. Add to that the large number of young political appointees who replaced the old guard, creating more bitterness in the ranks of Labour. Then there is the perception based on experience that there is a problem when it comes to taking hard decisions. The biggest challenge is the be- lief that you stand for something not because someone is worse or incapable, but because one is bet- ter and more competent. Abela still has to convince many that he is able to turn the tide. * * * I really have got to get this off my chest. The amount of peo- ple who do not read newspapers and news has continued to in- crement at a faster rate than the warming of the planet. I really do not care if people consider MaltaToday to be the mouth- piece of one political party or another. But for heavens' sake please at least check what Mal- taToday has been reporting, and stating in editorials before spouting venom. Most of our critics do not even know what we are saying or have said. As long as I continue to own this media company, I will en- sure that we continue to report faithfully and do what we have always done: tell the story be- hind the story. I have no time for malicious and hyprocritical individuals who seem to have a problem with themselves. And yes, together with other media companies who employ dozens of journalists I will fight to see that governments support the free press. It is far better to have pub- lic funds to sustain a free press than the hidden hand of political mavericks or big business. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 JULY 2023 OPINION 5 Saviour Balzan Fiasco Saviour Balzan is founder and co-owner of Media Today, publisher of MaltaToday, he is a TV host and pollster Abela is being lambasted for the faults of Labour, past and present. From traffic, to U-turns, to non-decisions, to the building spree, to the love affair with big business, to the shabbiness of this country and the general feeling that many entered politics for their own personal gratification not for the greater good