The Luxembourg contingent landed this morning. I drove straight to Evans Building to pick up my voting document which, as it turns out, had already been collected by a conscientious neighbour (thanks John!). Still, it gave me time to go walkabout in a resplendent and vibrant Valletta. It was a welcome assault on the senses. The streets thronged with people – at work or for leisure – with a wonderful background from the numerous musicians at every corner.
The (I almost said cruel) sunshine beamed off the golden buildings and were it not for the incredible amount of dog droppings that peppered the Saint Elmo end of Valletta it would have been a party for all the senses.
I bumped into the (almost complete) set of nationalist MEP candidates close to the law courts. They were on a walkabout of their own drumming up last minute support. Speaking to Simon Busuttil, Jonathan Shaw, Therese Comodini Cachia and (international secretary) Trevor DeGiorgio I got the feeling of a genuine effort of reaching out. I am no fool and this is an election campaign but there is no doubting that the effort remains and the PN does have a negative perception reputation that it needs to overcome.
Further up Republic Street I came across AD’s Cassola getting a quick lunch in a main street cafe. I asked Arnold what his feeling is and his reply was one of guarded confidence. The polls are not clear he said but AD have a sense that this is 2004 all over again. By AD standards this is supposed to be good – particularly since they seem to be convinced that a chunk of Labour voters might be tempted to go green. I did not meet any Labour candidates – nor did I meet any from the unfortunate Panini Sticker Album (though I did get a wave from former course colleague Franco Debono when turning into South Street).
I am quite sure that Labour are confident in their own way – especially given that they can still count on their well oiled propaganda machine that has become their trademark. It’s a machine that has the pulse of the luoghi comuni, running mainly on half-truths and brushing aside the weak nationalist stunts that seem to backfire so unpleasantly for the time being.
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I have deliberately taken a sabbatical from this campaign. It has been tough for the past few months trying not to keep up pace with the goings on – especially since this was supposed to be a European Campaign with a European dimension. We did get Juncker and Schultz visiting this micro nation (thanks Malta Design Week – go there, it’s definitely worth a visit) but on the whole there has been little or nothing European about these elections.
Muscat seems to believe that his best bet is forcing a personality battle between himself and Simon Busuttil. The targeted campaign highlighting the supposed benefits of one year of Taghna Lkoll glossed over the glaring failures of such concepts as meritocracy and highlighted such incredible achievements as the pittance of an increase in stipends. Thank God for hurriedly assembled “social right” laws that threw a heavy dose of mascara on Labour’s mask – making them seem that they really cared (when it was immediately evident that such moves were strongly rooted in populist measures). Labour seems to have managed to hide its very un-European approach to everything under the sun – including the European Union itself. Quite frankly the Labour party is the last party that could genuinely claim to understand what representing citizens in Europe is about – mainly, and most importantly because the Labour party either does not understand or does not care about what Europe really means. Forget the rhetoric of “best in Europe” – it is clear that for most of the time (all of the time) Labour still reasons clearly in us and them terms.
The PN is struggling resource wise and the temptation to play along to Labour’s game is still strong – which explains such monumental, off-putting gaffes such as the Panini Sticker Album. Ironically Europe is where the PN should be stronger in battling it out – at least on an MEP level – it being the party with a stronger pedigree on the matter. I have already had occasion to point this out before – the PN needs to work strongly on the principled building blocks and begin to believe more in such principles and their power of attracting the voters who are more careful when selecting leaders and not bluffers.
As for AD. This could be their golden chance. The unconvinced Labour voters who are rattled by certain Labour positions such as the unconditional backing of Cyrus Engerer might add to their base. They also have consistency on their side – they have a clear European dimension that could be attractive to the discerning voter.
The discerning voter. These elections will be a severe test for the voting population. Are they still biting at the marketing hooks that are thrown at them? Does a bus parked outside a secondary school do the trick? Will the little cheques (car registration, slight dip in petrol prices, maternity cheques) being thrown at them as bait win the day? Also, hopefully a marginal point, how many will go for the rabid loonies that form the tail end of the electoral list? Will we get our own dose of intolerant Eurosceptic vote?
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To sum up these MEP elections will unfortunately be far from a definite sample of representation at a European level. In all probability there will be a set of mixed results that every party will interpret as a victory in their own right. It would be good for the electorate if it had an interpretation of its own. One that measure the success or failure of the vote on the basis of true representation within a European Union that is currently in dire need of getting in touch with its demos.
Or to misquote an apocryphal Plato: those who can’t be bothered to choose wisely who will represent them are punished by being represented by those who couldn’t really give a damn.
