A political choice and its impact

There is a similar pattern between the UK political situation in the recent past and the present one in Malta. Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour Party leader on the 12th of September 2015 with 59.5% first-preference votes.

Adrian Delia was elected Nationalist Party leader on the 16th of September 2017 with 52.7% of the total votes cast. Jeremy Corbyn had to face three different Conservative leaders, namely, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Adrian Delia faced two Labour Party leaders, Joseph Muscat and Robert Abela.

Given that May had a recurring Brexit problem on which she was forced to focus while generally ignoring all other problems, Corbyn should have been an outstanding Opposition leader.

However, he failed to emphasize May’s shortcomings in the administration of the country and lost the possibility of gaining political advantage that could have increased his popularity. As a matter of fact, between July 2017 and July 2019, the polls showed that May enjoyed an average of 50% support whereas Corbyn remained lagging at the 14% level.

In the same way, given that the local Labour government was tainted with corruption, nepotism, abuse of power, favouring a few lobbies against the general public and protecting ministers who operated behind the people’s back, Adrian Delia should have made the best Opposition Leader in Malta’s political history. Yet, his performance at the polls was always wanting. In December 2018, the polls showed that Joseph Muscat was far ahead by 27%. In February 2020, he trailed Robert Abela, the newly elected PM, by a bigger margin of 49%.

It is no wonder that the PN Parliamentary group passed a no confidence vote against their leader. This was followed by another no confidence vote in the Executive Committee of the Party. The question was then referred to the General Council of the party. The vote took place in August 2020. 55.6% of the members opted for an election of a new leader.

At this stage, the similarity between the UK Labour Party and the PN comes to an end. After the UK general election of 2019, Jeremy Corbyn wisely decided to resign to pave the way for an election of a new leader, hoping that the humiliating defeat would be reversed. Despite losing three no confidence votes, Adrian Delia decided to stand for the forthcoming PN leadership election.

Corbyn’s hopes are vindicated. When the new Labour leader, Keir Starmer, took over, the polls showed that the Conservatives were leading 53% against Labour’s 32% and Johnson was leading by 46% to Starmer’s 22%. By July 2020 the Conservative Party’s lead was narrowed to 4%. A poll taken in early August on the question of who would make the best PM, Starmer’s rating was 34% to Johnson’s 32%. On September 26 the Guardian reported that the Labour Party has a 3% lead over the Conservative Party and Starmer is leading Johnson by 4 points on who would make the best prime minister. As Labour leader Starmer has proved that he means business, knows how to oppose Government’s policies and is able to propose new ones, the British public has approved his performance.”

In Malta, Adrian Delia has never made any political headway. The reason, perhaps, is due to the fact that before becoming a leader, he never had any political experience, nor participated in any political debate or ever engaged in any PN activity. He had the opportunity to show his worth as Opposition leader but failed miserably.

The PN paid-up members’ perception of the party’s future will be shown on 3rd October when the leadership vote will be taken. The political choice will certainly have its impact. The choice is between continuing in the prevalent negative poll rating and possibility of improving upon it, by having a new person who has participated in political issues for several years before offering his services to lead the party.

Hopefully, a good leader for the PN will be able to restore its winning trend and salvage Malta from its present rot.