How to lose an election without trying

Politics is not for the feeble and Jason Micallef does not fall in the category of being delicate, unlike the incumbent Labour deputy leader for party affairs. 

But Jason Micallef unlike Daniel Micallef, the man he hopes to replace, has baggage. All those who lived over four decades in politics have baggage. But Jason’s armoury is reminiscent of medieval times, when Malta was still desperately fighting over European Union membership and when the idea of blues voting red and vice versa was unheard of. 

Micallef is a brusque character, nothing wrong with that, but his heavy handed and Robespierre approach to partisan politics is outdated.   

In 2008, when the young Joseph Muscat was still sporting a goatee, he skilfully plotted as the elected leader of the Labour Party to side-line Micallef. Muscat was a Machiavellian operator when removing people. Muscat started off by erasing the post of secretary general, replacing it with that of executive secretary and introducing a new unelected post of chief executive. 

Ironically, the post of executive secretary was taken up by Lydia Abela, wife to Robert Abela and that of CEO by James Piscopo. 

Micallef had been former PL leader Alfred Sant’s side kick, standing by his leader’s fantastical political statements even when everyone either laughed or cried. When Muscat came along, Micallef was seen as a liability; an old hat.  Muscat wanted new faces and new voices. 

Muscat did the same to Manuel Cuschieri; the propagandist who is manna to a small hard core of Labourites. Nonetheless, Cuschieri is despised and detested by all the others for his monosyllabic monologues championing Labour in a scene reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984. 

Cuschieri too was marginalised by Muscat even though at one time he tried advancing his reputation by befriending a would-be judge. 

So, it is strange that both Jason Micallef and Manuel Cuschieri have turned out to be the most ardent apologists for Joseph Muscat in the face of overwhelming evidence that the former prime minister has some serious answering to do in the Vitals/Steward scandal. 

Muscat is directly to blame for the Vitals/Steward shambles that saw millions being passed on to con men and companies linked to people who orbited around Castille. 

Jason Micallef has now decided to contest the election for deputy leader party affairs. The Labour Party has two deputy leaders; a decision that dates back to the indomitable Dom Mintoff who wanted to divide and rule by trimming power. 

That the PL needs a dedicated and able deputy leader for party affairs goes without saying. That Micallef could fulfil some of these requisites also goes without saying. But posts in politics are not only for hard working and loyal people. Politics is about evangelising beyond the comfort of one’s nest and Micallef is not suited for this. 

Indeed, he is considered to be a pariah out of the confines of the party’s inner core. Worse of all, he may declare that he is loyal to Abela, but his admiration and adulation of Muscat makes Abela very uncomfortable. 

Everyone knows this, even Muscat who is secretively encouraging Micallef to stand for the post. 

Micallef’s long term goal to be elected is not as far-fetched as it sounds unless he faces an election with a war torn heavy weight from one of Abela’s ministers. But there is a problem - the party statute, which prevents MPs from contesting the deputy leadership post for party affairs. 

It changed in 2016 to allow for minister Konrad Mizzi to stand for the post but in 2020, the decision was reversed again so that MPs and ministers will not be able to contest. To change the statute again, an extraordinary general meeting is required. The whole episode is turning into a veritable farce. 

The easy way out is for Jason Micallef to reconsider his interest in the post but my feeling is that he will not budge. Micallef is convinced that his decision is in the best interest of the party and himself. He has always impressed me for his out of proportion belief that he is more important than anyone else. 

Robert Abela’s fight with Micallef is not about Micallef, it is about beating Muscat and gaining the respect of his Cabinet of ministers and parliamentarians.  

He knows that he must win the next general election on his own steam. But it is also about winning with a good margin. 

If Micallef is elected deputy leader, the artist who draws the portraits of prime ministers at Castille need not wait for the election; they can start preparing for a portrait of Prime Minister Bernard Grech. 

For the PN is very likely to win comfortably with Micallef in Labour’s leadership and potentially a Manuel Cuscheri drawn back into the picture. 

There is a lot at stake here for Abela. He cannot afford to lose. 

Looking on, very quietly and curiously is the Nationalist Party. The PN’s prayers are finally being heard at the very top as its rival experiences a series of calamities. 

The PN has been gaining ground from the numerous blunders past and present of Labour but it cannot depend solely on Labour’s faults to gain traction; if it wants to win on its own merits it needs to show political vision.