Muscat, Delia and xenophobia

The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have at least one thing in common.

Both have the gift of the gab, and any independent listener with no knowledge of current affairs – but of course with a good grasp of the Maltese language – can easily be persuaded that what either of them is saying is true.

Both Joseph Muscat and Adrian Delia are eloquent, use simple expressions, appear confident and know how to behave in front of the cameras. They are convincing, use valid arguments and, other than acceptable political jibes that are to be expected between political adversaries, they respect each other and each other’s role.

Their detractors say that they are made from the same cloth and, given their respective record, they are not to be trusted. They have not been involved much in head-to-head encounters, when both would be free of parliamentary procedure but simply controlled by a moderator. When they did, they offered easy-to-follow performances where the argument, not the personal, took centre stage.

Of course, if one were to listen carefully to what they are saying, one could easily be led to think that they are speaking about a different country. But then, this is to be expected, considering that the Prime Minister is there to defend what his government has been doing for more than six years, and the Opposition Leader is there to criticise the government’s faults and offer alternatives.

In Parliament this week, their task was to discuss the budget for 2020 which was presented a few days ago by the Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.

And, irrespective of one’s political beliefs, both made a good job of it. Delia highlighted what the budget failed to address, focusing mostly on the need for a better distribution of the wealth being generated by the country, and a lesser dependence on population increase as a way to lead to economic growth. In reply, Muscat boasted of the government’s achievements, the now regular budgetary surplus being registered, the fact that no taxes have been introduced for the third year running and that most people are living a better life.

One subject that was inevitably brought up in both speeches was the riot that dozens of migrants were involved in on the night between Sunday and Monday at the Hal Far open centre, an incident that led to serious concern and unfortunately also to a rise in hate speech.

This is a situation that both the government and the opposition must tackle with delicacy, given the subject, and more so because anything they say could be construed as an attempt to inflame xenophobia. There should be no attempt, from either side, to score any political points on this matter. It is already enough that the social media is offering a huge platform for people to vent their frustration, with many going too far with their comments. The police would do well to monitor what is going on, and act in the same way they did when Maltese politicians were the target of hate speech.

But, going back to the PM and the

Opposition Leader, they should always be the first to give an example with the way they speak. Their duty is to not to throw fuel on the flames, but to exercise restraint and see that politicians from either side do not entertain the hate-mongers or, worse, become one of them.