What’s in a ‘boo’?

So Simon Busuttil got a bit of a cold shower last weekend - instead of the usual adulatory claps and cheers, the leader of the PN was treated to a chorus of boos after the Rockestra charity fundraising event.

Social media comment boards buzzed to the tune of people arguing about the merits of the case - was Simon Busuttil booed because Labour supporters are "hamalli", or was it because he is genuinely disliked to such an extent that people could not control their emotions? Was Joseph Muscat not booed because PN supporters are "puliti" or is it because he is liked more than the head of the opposition?

One could argue about the subject for hours without being able to come to a conclusion - crowds have a psychology that is peculiar to themselves, so anything could have triggered the boos and once the catcalls were under way, there would have been no stopping them. People can be vicious that way.

What cannot be ignored is the fact that the episode cannot have been pleasant for Busuttil and there is no doubt that it must have raised alarm bells for the party faithful who elected him to his post, because he was seen as a likeable fellow who was not "stained" by the mistakes made by the party in the past. A fresh start, a new leaf, a clean slate...

However, has the strategy worked?

To be totally fair to Simon, it is rather early in the day to assess his performance. However over the last few months there have been some mistakes made that I feel have damaged him, not only in the eyes of Labour supporters, who would not be inclined to like him anyway, but also in the eyes of the PN grass roots.

I am of course referring to the PN financial debacle that exploded around the time Simon Busuttil took over the helm of the party. His claims not to be aware of the financial state of the party when quizzed by the press did not put him in a very good light. When contacted by MaltaToday at the beginning of April he replied: "I cannot comment on the situation because I do not have the accounts at hand and I have never seen them." Did he even stop to consider how bad that would sound?

It is his job to be aware of the problems the party is facing and a major financial meltdown should have been his top priority. As a Prime Ministerial hopeful, it does not augur very well that when the shit hit the fan in his own party, he was not aware of all the ins and outs of the situation. Admitting publicly that he had not even bothered to look at the accounts made him sound like a nincompoop, and an irresponsible one at that.

This was already bad enough, but the situation took a turn for the worse when details started to emerge about PN employees not getting paid and even being asked to forfeit their July and August salaries, either as a "donation" to the party or as an interest-free loan to be repaid at an unspecified date. Once again one would have expected the leader of the party to take over at such a difficult time - you know, when the going gets tough and all that... However, the only person mentioned in articles referring to the subject was Chris Said, who apparently was given the unenviable task of talking to staff and letting them know how bad the situation was.

Simon had an opportunity there - the opportunity to emerge as a true leader, but he missed the boat. He is the one who should have met the staff. He is the one who should have spoken to the press. He is the new face of the PN and as its new leader, he should have faced the financial problems in his party head on, along with the music from the disgruntled employees and the bewildered public.

Well, we all know he fudged that one.

Then another opportunity to shine came along - the Indipendenza celebrations. This is where Simon Busuttil should have stood up to be counted. He should have called a press conference and said - "Hey guys, the Indipendenza celebrations mean a lot to us, but this year we are going to give them a miss and instead we are going to have a fundraising event at Dar Centrali. All funds raised will be used to retrain our staff and help them find new employment - because that is the responsible thing to do."

I guess he fudged that one too.

So when I heard that the crowd booed when the presenter called out Simon Busuttil's name I could not help but wonder - goodness, did the PN supporters in the crowd want to pass on a message, or what?