Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/820803
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 MAY 2017 12 News A referendum on Joseph… What the PL wants The PL wants this election to be a direct presidential contest pit- ting Joseph Muscat's economic achievements against the risk of disruption posed by Busuttil. Banking on Muscat's higher trust rating and his better communica- tions skills, Labour is hoping that coupled with a blitzkrieg of prom- ises, it will trounce the opposition. This is why it has chosen the slo- gan "the best time for our country" while dubbing the opposing camp as a "coalition of confusion". Subliminally the PL's slogan invites voters to make a choice dictated by self-interest and the promise of personal enrichment. What the PN wants The PN wants this election to be a referendum on Joseph Mus- cat, whose credibility has been undermined by the Panama scan- dal. That is why it has chosen the simple slogan "I choose Malta". Underlying this slogan is that vot- ers are being asked to choose the national interest over Muscat's 'clique' in Castille, evocatively dubbed by Marlene Farrugia as the "Panama gang". Subliminally the slogan invites voters to make a moral choice against corruption. In this way the PN seeks to unite all those who want to get rid of Muscat while giving an assurance that the PN would restore a sense of institutional normality. News that the inquiring magistrate has ordered a separate probe on the PM's chief of staff after finding that "the necessary prerequisites" existed for an investigation has surely tightened the noose around the inner circle of government. The pitfalls in the PN's strategy One major pitfall of the PN's strategy is that Muscat has consist- ently enjoyed a higher trust rating than Busuttil. In fact by inviting voters to choose Malta rather than Busuttil the PN may be inadvert- ently admitting its weakness. In this much depends on wheth- er voters are willing to trust the PN again after just four years in opposition. For by re-electing the PN, voters would be breaking with the 10-year cycle rule, which saw governments losing their majority after a decade in 1971, 1981 and 1996. Labour will probably resurrect some skeleton from the PN's clos- et to undermine Busuttil's claim to the moral high ground, in a strate- gy aimed at convincing voters that both parties are equally corrupt. But at this stage any revelation by Labour may well be seen by the electorate as a desperate attempt to cover up the more immediate Panama scandal. The pitfalls in Muscat's strategy Ironically both strategies hinge on Muscat's towering personality and the success of the PN's cam- paign depends on how far the elec- torate has lost trust in the Labour leader. On the other hand Labour's campaign hinges on people's will- ingness to forget all about Panama and the perception of increased corruption and to celebrate eco- nomic growth. It also hinges on the belief that a future Labour government will channel the fiscal surplus into people's pockets. That is why Labour has used the initial days of the campaign to blitzkrieg the electorate with promises of tax cuts, holidays and road repairs. The gist of Labour's campaign is that the economy and people's pockets, not governance, are the most important issue. In some way this is reminis- cent of Lawrence Gonzi's similar emphasis in the face of Franco Debono's tirades but it under- scores the risks posed by corrup- tion to economic wellbeing. The risk of all this is that the electorate may perceive these promises as a devious ploy by Muscat to save his skin, especially in view of the tim- ing, which sees Muscat calling an election before the conclusion of the Egrant inquiry. PL more focused, PN more tactical Judging from the opening days, the PN's campaign seems less fo- cused on a single message. While Labour is basing itself on Mus- cat's record in office, the PN is still fighting on two fronts: bidding to demolish Muscat's credibility while trying to portray a more pos- itive policy oriented message. While the party is trying as far as possible to keep the spotlight on the fact that the election itself was called in the wake of serious accu- sations against the Prime Minister and his chief of staff, it is finding it harder to sell its alternative vi- sion. But there could be more than meets the eye in the PN's cam- paign, which has targeted Gozo to focus on one category of voters, which may sway the result. The PN has also announced a separate manifesto directed at young people, a category which presently includes a large percent- age of voters who are either saying that they won't vote or who are undecided. Another major difference be- tween the campaigns is that while Labour is inclined to pit Muscat against what it perceives as an in- ept Busuttil, the PN's campaign is trying to convey the impression that the "national force" is greater Will Malta's 2017 election be a referendum on Muscat, or a presidential contest between two leaders? JAMES DEBONO breaks it down Joseph Muscat, a better communicator