Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/998504
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 JUNE 2018 7 NEWS ANALYSIS at a time when the economy is doing well. Sure enough, he is reacting to surveys on popular concerns. But he also has to convince voters that he is not just talking about their con- cerns but that he can make a better job than Muscat in tack- ling them. His declaration on Sunday that foreign workers in Malta do not spend their money here and therefore do not contrib- ute to prosperity, suggests a lack of depth. For it is a fact that foreigners not only boost consumption but also contrib- ute to the national pot through taxes and national insurance. The question is whether Malta is becoming too dependent on their presence which could possibly be resulting in infla- tionary pressures. In fact, Delia does raise perti- nent questions on the sustain- ability of Muscat's economic model but so far he fails to out- line a convincing vision of his own which reconciles his own party's tradition of openness with environmental and social concerns. In the end mainstream voters, especially those who voted for Gonzi in 2008 and 2013 but for Muscat in 2017, will have one question in their mind: Who comes across as the better manager of the country's econ- omy? On the other hand, less mainstream voters who give importance to issues like good governance, social justice and environmental protection will ask in what ways is Delia more principled than Muscat. Delia may be tempted to confront Muscat on his own ground, projecting himself as a strong- man who is close to popular as- pirations. But in so doing, will he be able to convince voters that he is better in this game than Muscat? The irony of all this is that while Muscat is hinting that he will bow out after winning an- other super majority, Delia is insisting on staying on even if humiliated in next year's con- test. And while Labour voters will seek to convince Muscat to stay by voting for him, some PN voters may well be tempted to show Delia the way out by abstaining. The problem is that by doing so they may end up with an even stronger Muscat and a lame duck at the helm of their party till the next general election. a 100,000 defeat When one considers that Busuttil's team was itself weaker than that of Gonzi and Fenech Adami, one can't help feeling that the PN is a party in decline. Delia is not to blame for this. The PN electorate did not renew the party in the last general election by electing a new dynamic front bench Adrian Delia desperately needs the party to unite behind him because divided parties are always punished by voters