Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/680790
4 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2016 News Analysis: Simon's narrative: BY delivering honest policies, Busuttil promises to be "differ- ent" both from past National- ist governments and from the present government. While Panama remained constantly in the background, the opposition leader – who still trails Musat in public opinion polls – project- ing himself as a "different" kind of leader seems to have been Busuttil 's priority on Sunday. Added to this is the projection of the PN as a "people's party" which is meant to exploit the growing sentiment that Labour has become too close to a select group of aspiring businessmen. Yet this may difficult for a par- ty which was historically seen close to traditional elites. By emphasising the difference even with regards to past Na- tionalist governments he drew a line, but once again he failed to mention tangible examples of what went wrong in the past, ex- cept for a generic but significant recognition of mistakes related to environmental deterioration. How will wealth trickle down? Yet the question is whether a commitment for honesty made by a party inevitably tainted by its record in 25 years in office (an impression the party is try- ing to fight by presenting a num- ber of younger untainted candi- dates who addressed the general council), is enough to win it an election if the economy contin- ues to perform well. This raises the question of whether voters are swayed by their pockets or their conscience when voting. Busuttil 's major accomplish- ment was to relate good govern- ance to sound economic, envi- ronmental and social policy. He may well have strengthened his argument by referring to coun- tries like Spain and Greece, which collapsed after periods of growth fuelled by construction and property booms. Facing criticism that good gov- ernment may not be enough to win the general election if the economy continues to perform well, Busuttil emphasised the importance of having independ- ent institutions in ensuring that economic growth does not sim- ply benefit the few. "Without good governance we will not have an economy for the people but an economy benefit- ting the few." The party has already spelt its economic vision in a document presented last year. But while the document scored well in terms of a vision for the future, it lacked beef – especially on how wealth will be redistributed under a PN government. For if, according to Busuttil, the prob- lem is that the few are benefit- ting from growth, how will he ensure that wealth is shared by the many? For rhetorically, Busuttil has clearly shifted his party to the centre-left. Taking a note from Marlene Farrugia's speech in the demonstration against cor- ruption, he drew a powerful contrast between people who beg for charity to have treat- ment for cancer and the money lost in corruption. He made a powerful statement by insisting that patients should never have to beg for what should be theirs by right, as he reclaimed the party's "social conscience" (ruh socjali). He also made a com- parison between the €20 million spent on CHOGM and the EU migration summit and the way the government increased rent for those living in social hous- ing, which he described as a "tax on poverty". He also lambasted the government's track record on the environment, for making "turning money in to its God ". He also struck a chord with en- vironmentalist by insisting on the need "to draw a line on the environment, it is not ours – it belongs to our children". By accepting his party's blame for environmental degrada- tion, he may earn points among switchers and middle of the road voters. Busuttil also put Panama in a wider, more populist context. In reference to Keith Schembri 's offshore companies, he asked, "How can they pretend that you pay taxes while the chief of staff creates such structures?" Yet he failed to extend his criticism to the role of intermediaries who, according to the Panama Pa- pers, advised a number of Mal- tese clients to open offshore companies. While there is no comparison between the advice given by intermediaries and the issue of political responsibility facing Keith Schembri and Kon- rad Mizzi, from a tax avoidance perspective, offshore companies are an aberration. Beyond Panama For the first time in the past months, Busuttil 's speech was not completely dominated by Panamagate. In this he showed an awareness that he needs to convey a more cohesive message, which is not simply a reaction to "scandal after scandal ". Yet Busuttil can't escape the reality that his whole narrative is based on Muscat's record in office. In fact, it is only thanks to Panama that Busuttil is for the first time being seen as a possible winner of the next election. The ques- tion on everyone's lips can't be ignored: How is it possible for Muscat to remain more popu- lar than Busuttil after such an earth-shattering scandal? Busuttil kept the pitch on Pan- ama, reserving his moment of indignation for the comments made by Muscat while address- ing a Commonwealth meeting on corruption. "He told them about tough political decisions he had to take. But what were these deci- sions, in reality? Because Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi are still there." Responding to concerns Attempting to venture outside of the Panama scandal, Busuttil tried to widen his criticism of government by focusing on the cabinet's least popular minister, Joe Mizzi, singling out the traf- fic congestion issue, even if the party's own proposals launched this weekend are further proof that magical solutions do not exist for this national problem. The PN seems to have chosen traffic as his party's bread-and- butter issue. The problem for the PN is that while the price of electricity can be measured, a strategy on traf- fic is long term. Moreover, the party's most concrete and populist propos- al – that of free transport for school children irrespective of whether they attend State, Church or independent schools Simon Busuttil has produced a narrative based on honest policies which translates in greater social and environmental justice. But how can he win on such a platform if the economy remains strong, JAMES DEBONO asks?