A Maltese tragicomedy in two acts

Tonight the curtains close on Act I of the drama being played out on the national stage, a Maltese political tragicomedy being staged in two acts, after which the curtains will be raised on Act II.

This tragicomedy’s plot sees a down and out party, bruised and beaten by two successive hammerings at the general election polls, seeking a new leader to reform the ailing and beleaguered party and lead it to greener electoral pastures.

The number of lead actors will be whittled down from four to two after the Nationalist Party’s 1,300-odd councillors cast their ballots on who they believe could be their knight in shining armour that will lead them through what are arguably the party’s darkest days since the 1980s.

The main players so far have been the four candidates who have lined up for this seemingly impossible task. And the villain, or hero depending on which way one views the situation and perhaps on which side of this country’s political divide one stands, has been a journalist who on her blog has set about exposing the dirty laundry some of these candidates would certainly have not wished to have

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been hung up to dry in full public view.

As a result, one player has been politely asked to step down from the contest by the party that he aspires to lead. That request was snubbed with accusations that the party’s establishment is conspiring to scuttle those aspirations.

Another has faced anonymous accusations of conflicts of interest and financial irregularities just hours before the party’s structures met to pass verdict on the former.

Another, seemingly Malta’s answer to Donald Trump, has also been hauled over the hot coals over his financial position.

The fourth candidate has, for all intents and purposes, been sitting back and basking in the other three’s trials and tribulations.

And in the meantime, the various supporters of the four candidates have been going at each other like packs of crazed hyenas in the throes of a social media feeding frenzy.

After tonight’s first hurdle, the dimensions will change yet again and the two left standing will have to lobby not just the party’s councillors but the 20,000 plus party members, who will have the final say in this real-time production. And who knows what lies in store once the curtains are raised on Act II, and what depths this contest, originally falsely advertised as a ‘contest between friends’, will sink to.

The situation would be comical if it were not so serious. This Maltese tragicomedy being played out is indeed a tragedy for the Opposition, a comedy for the ruling Labour Party, and seriously concerning for the country as a whole.

Having a strong Opposition, after all, is one of the main underpinnings of having a strong democracy. Not only is a strong Opposition able to challenge the government and keep it in check, but it also collaborates with the government and provides essential input on the drafting of new laws and policies. But as matters stand, it appears that what the country will have, once the dust settles, is a bitterly divided and fractured Opposition.

This contest has so far had very little to do with the national interest, nor the party’s interest – it is simply a winner-takes-all scenario that is completely unbecoming of the party.

What this production needs right about now is a deus ex machina to save this seemingly hopeless situation, but there is none to be found at the moment for this stage.