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10 maltatoday | THURSDAY • 28 MAY 2026 OPINION ELECTION 2026 James Debono Senior journalist A bizarre election: Why The problem with Labour For me, there is an appeal in post-2013 Malta. It is more cosmopolitan and socially lib- eral than the Malta I grew up in during the 1990s, where you could be arrested for smoking a joint, and even the sheer men- tion of abortion was scorned as blasphemy. Despite Labour's shift to the right during the campaign, it is more open to a conversation on themes like abortion, assisted dying and secularism than the National- ists. This liberalism is impor- tant, but it also comes with big limitations. For example, the PL's manifesto vaguely hints at increasing penalties in libel cases. But the worst aspect of the PL's campaign was its pander- ing to xenophobia. Consider how Robert Abela quickly compensated for any losses from being courageous in fielding Omar Rababah with deliberately exclusionary dis- course on foreign workers. The worst aspect was that this divisive language, pitting na- tive workers against imported ones, was used by the leader of a government whose economic model rests on the hard work of all workers, migrants includ- ed. Sure, to a large extent La- bour has used revenues from this wealth to shield Maltese workers from austerity. But this does not redeem Ab- ela from his collusion with big business and presiding over an economic model/miracle which is addicted to unsustain- able growth. Labour's message has been consistent: We have an ugly model which we try to tinker with but, in the end, that is what funds your super bonus… from which those who suffered most to create it are excluded. Sure, Labour is the devil we know. A devil which can some- times be forced to backtrack under public pressure. As was the case with the PN in the 1990s, it is the government one likes to oppose but which remains the most plausible option. Robert Abela deserves credit for successfully navigat- ing major international crises like the pandemic and glob- al inflation without resorting to the kind of austerity which crippled the working class in other countries. But still, at a deeper moral level, I feel un- comfortable with taking this to the logical conclusion—peg my nose and ignore the stench. After all, only last summer they even tried to enact a develop- ers' wish list into law. The fact that this law was even contem- plated makes me shit scared of the harm the same people behind that law can do if giv- en the power to change local plans. The problem with the Nationalists Through the campaign I could sense a revitalised Oppo- sition which was at least trying to sell a vision for the country. Moreover, the PN has found a leader who can give Labour a run for its money, even if the odds remain pitted against him. But the PN has also actively contributed, at times even out- stripping Labour, in the bizarre auction of promises. In so do- ing it also participated in the most ridiculous aspect of the campaign. The PN has gone as far as pro- posing a fully functioning met- ro line in five years, exempting young people from paying tax for five years, and reducing utility bills by 30%. All this in an election taking place amidst mounting international fears over the fallout from the war in Iran. Moreover, considering the unlikelihood of a PN victo- ry, my hunch is that the PN is simply promising everything to everyone with the aim of narrowing the gap. If, by some miracle they actually win, I doubt they have a clear idea of what to do the day after and, crucially, whether they have a team who can actually make it work. While the PN made an at- tempt to present the promises in a wider package, some of its proposals, like removing any inheritance tax even on large patrimonies, affirmed a right- wing shift and departure from the principle of social justice. And like Robert Abela, Alex Borg used exclusionary dis- course to rule out another mosque in Malta despite fully knowing that any policy lim- iting the number of places of worship of any religion is un- constitutional. The cherry on the cake was the PN's proposal to create a police/ army taskforce targeting irregu- lar migrants. On the other hand, I was pos- itively surprised by the PN's endorsement of a key aspect of the equality bill that had been shelved, by proposing to make discrimination in the provision of services to LGBTIQ+ people illegal. But I still fear a lurking con- servatism, not just on themes like reproductive rights and as- sisted dying, but which could also be reflected in the appoint- ment of conservatives to regula- tory authorities. I am also turned off by the party's reluctance to mention Daphne Caruana Galizia's name and to hit back at Labour on cor- ruption; not because I subscribe to the anti-Labour crusade of many hypocrites who fronted this cause, but because I want to be sure that an alternative gov- ernment will not simply preside over the same system which is so exposed to state capture by pow- erful commercial interests. Be- fore talking about multi-million projects like a metro and a fuel hub, we should rather be sure that these are insulated from dirty money. The leaders of parties contesting the 2026 general election at the KSU's general election debate at university (Photo: Daniel Tihn/MaltaToday)