Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1532664
IN a country which is rife with scandals and corruption across the board; and over-run with con- struction which has ruined our urban and rural landscape, you would think that the administra- tion of the day would be suffering at the polls. And yet, the latest surveys show just the opposite. The PL is reg- istering an average support of 49.9%, the PN stands at 44.4% while support for third parties is at 5.7%. In other words, if an election were to be held tomorrow, Labour would probably still win. This is not the first time that La- bour has managed to maintain its lead, despite all odds. No matter what the latest scandal happens to be (take your pick, there are so many), the party seems to be im- mune and, with Teflon-like preci- sion, the muck and the mud just slide right off. For example, the concession giv- en to Vitals and then Steward to manage three hospitals, should have seen a major upgrade when one hears of the millions that were paid. Yet, after spending a consid- erable time visiting Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital recently, I can say it is an utter disgrace and stuck in a time warp circa 1988. It is shabby, antiquated, lacking modern kitchen and bathroom facilities. I doubt anything was spent on its aesthetic appearance, although at least we can be thank- ful that there are proper hospital beds. While I can vouch for the dedicated, professional staff and excellent health care provided by everyone, the environment is cry- ing out for a facelift. When one has to spend many long weeks and months in a rehab hospital, the at- mosphere goes a long way to help with the cure. It's also not fair on the staff to work in such depress- ing conditions. It really doesn't need millions to make it look bet- ter, so when one juxtaposes the sheer neglect at Karin Grech with how much of our taxes were wast- ed on that scandalous contract, it is enough to make you see red. This is the end result of corrup- tion – something tangible and real which many Maltese patients and their relatives have experienced for themselves. Money was squan- dered and people in high places got rich instead. There are many other similar examples direct- ly linked to the scandals we read about every day. There is a lot to be justifiably angry and disillusioned about, so the question is why can't the Op- position make any real inroads and claim back the floating voters who gave the PL its super major- ity in the first place? Despite the large chunk of former Labour vot- ers who say they will adamantly not vote for their party, they will still not migrate to the National- ist Party. The reasons for this are various: An ingrained, visceral dislike for the PN and its expo- nents, which is often very hard to shake off and the fact that Oppo- sition leader Bernard Grech rarely comes up with real feasible solu- tions for the country's problems and finally, because the PN itself is seen as so fragmented that its ide- ology and principles are very hard to pin down. Let's take the last point. What does the PN of 2025 stand for? There is a faction which is very hard-core, right-wing and un- abashedly conservative which is what the Nationalist Party has always traditionally been. Among them, you will find those who speak openly of supporting Trump purely because of his an- ti-immigrant, anti-Liberal stance (even though the Times poll showed that he has the highest support from middle-aged Labour voters, I can assure you that there are many Trump supporters with- in the PN, even if they keep their views private). Then there is another faction, raised in conservative households but who have broken free from their own rigid upbringing. They went to Church schools but have sent their children to secular in- dependent schools; they were bought up to be very religious but their own children rarely go to Church; whereas their parents on the whole adhered to their vows of until death to us part, the sec- ond generation includes a large percentage of separation, divorce, cohabitation, civil marriages and children born from new relation- ships. The more liberal PN faction also includes gay supporters who have now been able to get mar- ried. I want to make it clear I am not moralising or passing judge- ment, just stating facts. Bridging the chasm between these two completely different ideologies (because that is what they are), has been the challenge for the PN ever since the infamous divorce referendum in 2011. It was there that the first cracks started to show, because how do you reconcile advocating for di- vorce when the core values of the party have always been enshrined in traditional Catholic dogma? It was at that time that many Na- tionalist supporters started to feel uneasy and irritated about the lack of flexibility of its MPs and leaders who could not (or would not) ac- cept the separation of Church and state, but felt they had the right to tell the public what to do in their private lives, even as a few of them were hypocritically doing the op- posite. Apart from these morality issues, there were other fissures which appeared as minuscule at first but which then cracked wide open during the unforgettable years when Adrian Delia was elected to replace Simon Busuttil as leader following another PN defeat. The debacle which followed, instigated by those who simply would not accept him, meant that the nasty infighting spilled into the public domain, and that spelled the end of the PN as we know it. Since then, it has never fully recovered. Undecided Opposition So this is the situation we have today – an Opposition which cannot seem to decide which side of the fence to stand on, when it comes to a whole plethora of is- sues. Golden Passports? It's hard to shut down that goldmine down when so many Nationalist (and Labour) lawyers, notaries and bro- kers have become rich from it. Exorbitant rents? Again, there are too many people making money from this sector (almost everyone you speak to is now a landlord). Over-development? There are very few people willing to stick to their principles and not sell their family home or a too-costly-to- maintain inherited property, to a developer. The PN, like Labour, is also much too cosy with big busi- ness names and reliant on their finical support to get elected. Over-population? (A euphe- mism for "too many foreigners"). I have yet to hear Bernard Grech come up with a viable, concrete, alternative to the present eco- nomic model, to stem the influx of more people coming here. As long as there are employees in various sectors who are desperate for staff, they will continue to come. Unless the PN starts putting its money where its mouth is and promises to take what might seem like unpopular decisions, nothing will change and Labour will con- tinue to lead by default. Of course, one also cannot ig- nore the fact that when it comes to putting money in people's pockets, Labour has delivered – whether it's the increase in pensions or providing a whole plethora of services for free, these things cannot be easily dismissed. "It's the economy stupid", as the famous dictum goes… and with people out there spending, mak- ing the wheels go round, everyone is relatively content. Or, let's say, content enough to close an eye to everything else that is wrong. Meanwhile, a new political par- ty, Momentum, has seized on the fact that over 100,000 voters stayed home in the last election and is offering a new platform for those whose politics are more towards the centre. They have a good chance of gaining support from those who are thoroughly fed up with the status quo created by the two large parties, resulting in a stagnant political atmosphere where the rights of Joe Citizen are often the last to be consid- ered. Whether they can persuade enough of the electorate to give them a chance is a matter of wait and see. 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 FEBRUARY 2025 OPINION How come Labour is still leading in the polls? Josanne Cassar Miriana Conte