Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/299616
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 APRIL 2014 8 IT started with an early morn- ing "positive energy" tweet from Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, followed by a video message of an overbearing Muscat defending his record with the Girgenti country- side as a backdrop, followed by an interview by a part y journalist and finally a rally in Labour's Vit- toriosa heartland. His message was focused, and meant to rekindle the spent f lame of last year's electoral enthusiasm. "Judge us on the basis of what we have done," Muscat said while sin- gling out key reforms; namely the reduction of tariffs, free child care for all, civil unions and the stag- gered refund of car registration tax. Like his Italian centre-left counterpart Matteo Renzi, he is keen on aping Silvio Berlusconi 's "governo del fare" mantra… which in his case happens to be backed by an impressive record of legisla- tive initiatives, but it also betrays a self-congratulatory tone. Minutes after Muscat's tweet, Simon Busuttil fired off his own counter-tweet launching the par- t y's retro logo, followed by a press conference by Chris Said and fi- nally addressing a well attended rally at the Dar Centrali, where he urged voters to use their vote to cut Muscat down to size and pun- ish him for not keeping his meri- tocracy pledge. Out for the core vote With surveys showing Muscat enjoying a higher trust rating than Busuttil, the PN has taken a big gamble by focusing the elec- tion on Muscat's credibilit y. In fact, pitching the election as a presidential contest may not be to the PN's advantage. But by giving itself a modest and achievable target of winning three seats and banking on abstention among disillusioned Labour vot- ers, the PN goal seems to be one of consolidation, to the extent that victory is being excluded. Still, the stakes are high for the PN, which starts the elections as the underdog. If Muscat manages to retain the 12-point lead his part y enjoyed in the last general election, Simon Busuttil 's leadership would be in deep crisis. Busuttil 's success can only be measured in terms of how much he is able to reduce Labour's lead. On the other hand, Muscat seems keen on retaining a strong majorit y, thus giving his govern- ment the legitimacy it needs to push through less popular re- forms in the coming months. Crucial to the designs of Muscat and Busuttil is bringing out the core vote. The strategy indicates that both parties are more afraid of losing votes to abstention than to na- tional swing in favour of either part y. This strategy may be even more vital for the PN, whose core vote was demoralised by the scale of defeat in the last election. But even Labour may be suffer- ing from the first signs of unrest among core voters, who are disap- pointed for a variet y of reasons, ranging an inabilit y to please all and sundry along with a sense of ideological disorientation and discontentment over local issues like the decision to locate the LNG terminal in the Marsaxlokk harbour. In fact, despite Muscat's denials, the timings of the civil union bill vote, the free childcare initiative and the reduction of utilit y bills have coincided with the only ma- jor electoral test before 2018. Muscat's strategy may be one di- rected at compensating inevitable losses among switchers by mak- ing further gains in PN territory (note his inclusion of George Borg Olivier in Labour's pantheon of heroes) while projecting himself as a latter day Mintoff in a bid to avoid losses in part y's heartlands. The choice of Birgu for the first rally of the campaign was highly symbolic. Moreover, despite signs of a rekindled enthusiasm among the Nationalist core, the PL still seems to enjoy an edge when it comes to campaigning and mar- keting in an election where part y finances remain unregulated. The retro logo of the PN is still no match for Labour's imagina- tive use of the Google Earth icon. In fact the PN's decision not to book any billboards may well be the most intelligent one taken by the new part y general secretary, signif ying a refusal to play a game in which Labour has a distinct advantage. In fact, a low-key campaign may be more in sync with the mood of the electorate in view of electoral fatigue after last year's election. Where on earth is Europe? Of the three established parties contesting the election, it is only Alternattiva Demokratika which has put Europe at the centre of its campaign, through the slogan 'For a better Europe', which is strik- ingly similar but different from the PN's 'For a better Malta'. The PL's 'Malta – Positive En- ergy' has a more corporate appeal, banking on the government's drive while also reminding voters of the reduction in utilit y bills. Intelligently, Muscat is also able to give a European dimension by saying that Europe is about val- ues and equal opportunities and not yellow stars on a blue f lag. In so doing, he is addressing his own supporters' distrust of the European Union – something which he himself cultivated last year when he threatened to push back migrants in an attempt to convince Europe to "wake up and smell the coffee" – which prob- ably this goes down as one of the more memorable quotes of the campaign. But while civil unions can be projected as inspired by European values, the crude sale of European citizenship was seen by many in Europe – including So- cialist President Hannes Swoboda – as def ying these same values. Busuttil is correct to criticise Labour's European credentials. Candidates like Cyrus Engerer, Miriam Dalli and Alfred Sant have put the defence of Malta's turf in Europe as their focal point, thus giving the impression that membership is more a question of contrasting Europe than of being part of a greater whole. Still, the PN may well be pay- ing the price of the way member- ship was sold to the Maltese as a source of €100 million in funding in 2003. Still, by turning these elections in to a referendum on Muscat, Busuttil is displaying very paro- chial traits, which def y the part y's self-proclaimed Europeanism, something which has never been clearly defined. At the end of the day, neither the PN nor the PL seem all that keen on debating the future of Europe. It remains a mystery whether the PN or the PL stand for more or less of Europe, and it is not easy to determine what kind of Europe they are aspiring towards. For while the PL nominally ad- heres to the Socialists' anti-aus- terit y platform, it remains alien to its European allies' focus on tax harmonisation and taxing financial transactions, which as recent votes in the EU parliament have shown, make the PL closer to the EPP than to the PES. On their part, the Greens have presented a manifesto which questions the EU commission's neo-liberal policies. Reformists vs anti reformists? Still, it is not entirely the fault of political parties that these elec- tions will be the first chance for the Maltese electorate to express News James Debono James Debono For the PN, the May 24 election is "your chance to show Joseph Muscat the yellow card". For the PL it is "your chance to approve the performance of a reformist government". Whatever the case may be, JAMES DEBONO argues that the MEP elections are – ultimately – a referendum on Muscat's performance in power, rather than an election on the future of Europe MEP elections: It's all about him xxxx Muscat's failure to mention the environment may be seen as a sign of discomfort with the party's endorsement of the pro- development lobby Simon Busuttil