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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 NOVEMBER 2024 Labour's quagmire and breaching the 'no beef ' barrier Editorial DONALD Trump's impressive comeback in the US seems to have inspired the Labour Party's special delegate Jason Micallef. The latter be- lieves former prime minister Joseph Muscat will eventually make a comeback of sorts and destroy his foes – the Nationalist Party and its satellites like Repubblika, he told us, and all those who abandoned Muscat in recent years. Whether Micallef was simply stating his wishes or parroting what Muscat has been tell- ing his loyalists behind closed doors is a moot point at this stage. What really matters is that someone, who to- day occupies a post within the Labour Party, is openly threatening Robert Abela and oth- ers that the time for payback will arrive. Af- ter he reads this Micallef will probably argue that his comment was not directed towards the PL leader and that MaltaToday is engaging in 'spin' – it's the go-to word for politicians with their back to the wall. He can tell it to the ma- rines. Abela's leadership is now being openly chal- lenged by Muscat loyalists like Jason Micallef and Neville Gafa. They are agitators, who have gained a foothold within the PL's administra- tion and in true Trumpian fashion are waging overt war on their enemies inside and outside the party. The ultimate aim is to create chaos and instability with the intention of forcing a change in leadership. They already forced Ab- ela's hand over the summer on the choice of deputy leaders and other members of the ad- ministration. This is a strategy that does not have a no- ble aim. Its only intention is to save Muscat's skin. People like Micallef and Gafa believe Abela should have done more to protect his predecessor from criminal prosecution. And the problem is that Abela did try to entertain this immoral request earlier this year when he lashed out at the magistrate who was probing the Vitals hospitals contract and accused jour- nalists of being part of the establishment. The Prime Minister tried to appease Muscat and his loyalists by playing the dirty game but in- stead ended up satisfying no one. Now, the very same man Abela tried to as- suage with the creation of a new party post is biting back. Abela has no one to blame but himself. Micallef's appointment as a special delegate to oversee the implementation of the electoral manifesto was part of a quid pro quo arrangement that saw Micallef give up his bid to become deputy leader and pave the way for Alex Agius Saliba instead. This game of appeasement has weakened Ab- ela's moral authority to stand up and fight. He allowed the serpent inside and it is now encir- cling him and slowly tightening its grip. But Abela's bigger problem is that he has lost the respect of a majority of ministers, who feel they cannot count on his backing when making important decisions. Abela's knack to flip flop on decisions, such as the Jean Paul Sofia pub- lic inquiry, has left ministers unwilling to take bold steps. The lack of friends in Cabinet partially ex- plains why Abela will not take decisive action against Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri over the Amanda Muscat debacle. Bartolo and Camilleri are two of his loyalist ministers and at a time when his leadership is constantly be- ing undermined, the Prime Minister can hardly afford to lose more friends. Doing what is right is no longer a priority. Indeed, the Prime Min- ister ditched righteousness long ago when he tried to appease Joseph Muscat. In this quagmire, it is no wonder that voters are switching off and turning their backs to the Labour Party. Today's survey shows that de- spite a relatively good budget that should give middle class Malta a reprieve, the PL and the PN are still very much neck and neck. The Labour Party must realise that its hold on power has been diluted. People are no longer willing to close an eye to wrongdoing. The Clayton Bartolo affair stinks and no tax cut will be enough for people to forget how his wife was given a very generous salary increase for a job she never did. In these circumstances, the Labour Party must realise that voters are fast running out of patience and a point will come when they will cross the psychological barrier where they would prefer anyone but Labour, even if that anyone is someone who lacks beef. Quote of the Week "The time will come when Joseph Muscat will speak again, return, and become the nightmare of the PN, its branches, and the PN's extreme faction Repubblika, as well as others who felt the need to distance themselves from him in recent years." Labour Party special delegate, Valletta Cultural Agency chairperson and Joseph Muscat loyalist Jason Micallef warning that the former prime minister will be back and seek retribution for his foes. MaltaToday 10 years ago 16 November 2014 "Eco tax out, financing company to cut hospital waiting list, new tax rebates for employers" A private-public initiative is expected to be launched in tomorrow's Budget to address hospital waiting lists, by entering in agreements with private medical profes- sionals at Mater Dei Hospital. Sources have told MaltaToday that Med- ical Plus Malta, a company formed in late September under the auspices of the health and energy ministry, will also attract med- ical tourism to Mater Dei Hospital. Tomorrow's Budget in which finance minister Edward Scicluna could well report a deficit forecast of lower than 2% of GDP due to improved targets in 2014 will also announce the removal of the much-ma- ligned eco-contribution for electronic and white goods by September 2015. The measure was introduced in 2004 for businesses to pay for packaging that ends up as waste. Businesses often com- plained that the costs of the packagi to the consumer. Finance Minister Edward Scicluna will ar- gue tomorrow that savings on the eco-con- tribution, which will generate almost €8 million in government revenues in 2014 alone, will benefit consumers. The government will also announce a consultation process for the transition period, arguing that some aspects of t re an obstacle to business. ...