Being negative in a positive way

 

Joseph Muscat has been continuously hammering the message that they are leading a positive campaign. Many seem to agree with him. But is it really so?

At face value, he is certainly right. If we compare it to the strategy used by the PN, he might be right. If we had to compare it to Labour's past campaigns he is certainly right.

Their main slogan, Malta Taghna Lkoll, is certainly a positive a one, most would argue. Or is it not?

I beg to differ. Malta Taghna Lkoll implies that Malta is not ours, yet. Then who's is it? Some, echoing Franco Debono, might argue that our beautiful islands have been hijacked by an evil clique. But which clique really? Is it Austin Gatt? Certainly not. The man is not seeking re-election. By Richard Cachia Caruana? If hijacked by Cachia Caruana means an injection of more than €600,000,000 in the Maltese economy, then quite frankly, let it be it. Is Malta hijacked by some big businessmen? Malta, like every other country in the world has always been led by such big fish. If Labour will be elected to power, we would be really naive to believe that the situation will change. At best, we might have a change of guard, but nothing more. Indeed, contrary to some years ago, it is becoming ever more clear that most businessmen (and not only) are actually making it a point to be seen getting closer to the PL so as to be part of the new clique should Muscat be in office.

In other words, through its slogan, the PL is actually echoing Franco Debono's hysteric cry to free Malta from the evil clique. But since the wording used by Debono was negative, they cleverly rephrased it in positive wording.

But their campaign is still positive, some might argue. The campaign they started in January might be predominantly positive, but not the one they had been doing before. Many certainly remember the numerous PL billboards scattered all over Malta showing us Franco Debono and the others with Gonzi covering his eyes, ears, in a kitchen, sporting a Brazilian t-shirt and worst of all their Father Christmas billboard.

It is clear that the PL have concentrated most of their dirty tricks before the actual election campaign to then move to a more positive one during the last part of the campaign. I used the word 'most' because we are witnessing the negative way how the debates in the higher education institutions have been organised - in great dissonance to the spirit of unity characterising the PL campaign.

Jobs, jobs, jobs

A lot of issues are being discussed during this electoral campaign - electricity tariffs, unity, corruption, Toni Abela..... But in my opinion, the issue which matters most is the one which is being discussed less - jobs.

One doesn't need to be a genius to realise the importance of jobs. When a household has a safe income, bills can be paid, food can be bought and the level of wellbeing increases. The first people to gain from the job (or jobs) are the members of that household, but they are not the only beneficiaries. With consumerism so much ingrained in us all, the majority of that income is sure to end up circulating in the Maltese economy. This in its turn will make sure that enough funds are generated to sustain the government's spending on social welfare, health, education, etc. Moreover, if this spending is kept under good control the government will be able to lower its deficit and possibly even start registering a balance.

In short, with the creation and consolidation of jobs, every Maltese is set to gain. So why aren't jobs being discussed?

To be fair, the PN has been trying to push the issue of jobs higher up on the agenda. But it is quite obvious, that the party who has been so successful in the past electoral campaigns to set the agenda, has lost its muscle (an issue I will tackle in another post).

The PL, on the other hand, is much more interested in promoting national unity, than showing us how they plan to create more jobs. Of course, the fact that jobs are not discussed serves them well, as this will put the spotlight on, arguably, Gonzi's greatest success - low level of unemployment and the creation of 20,000 jobs. This success is even greater if we consider that the last four years have seen a constant increase in unemployment worldwide, especially in the southern European countries.

The creation of jobs is going to be more important in this legislature as, starting from this year, the retirement age is set to increase. This means there will be fewer jobs automatically available for people entering the workforce for the first time.

The disregard of jobs is perplexing indeed. The cause for this strange local phenomenon could be because we seem to be taking them for granted. If it is so, it is yet another proof of the success of this government. We have to be very cautious however, as it might soon gain more importance in the national agenda. But by then it might be too late.