Election Playbook: Abela pulls a Houdini and escapes the press

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Voting remains stagnant: MaltaToday’s rolling survey shows that the two parties are enjoying stable support, while expected turnout is down to 85.5% from 85.9%. Labour’s support remains at 53.5% and the PN’s at 44.6%. Third parties enjoy 2% of the electorate’s vote. The numbers tend to suggest that the current electoral campaigns are doing little to change how people will vote. Even the trust barometer has remained stable. 

Robert ‘Houdini’ Abela: SR Technics put on quite a show for the inauguration of their six-bay hangar facility. It felt very Cirque du Soleil, with strobe lights and drum-players dangling from the ceiling of a newly inaugurated hangar facility. And indeed, the performance ended with Harry Houdini reincarnated as Abela quickly dashed out of the hangar and escaped confrontation from the press in a flash. My advice to Abela: if you’re going to escape the press, at least don’t make them sit through an hour-long ceremony for a plane hangar. 

Everybody makes mistakes (except the PN): Nationalist MPs insisted that tenants with pre-1995 rent contracts will continue benefitting from existing subsidies, despite the Nationalist Party manifesto saying otherwise. The manifesto quite clearly states that temporary aid for these tenants will be tapered over three years, leaving readers wondering whether the rent subsidies will be reduced to three years as opposed to the duration of a person’s lifetime – as the current reform provides. When MaltaToday pressed the MPs on this mistake, they insisted this was “Labour spin”. 

…But everybody loves Clyde!: Later on in the day, the Nationalist Party held a political activity in Qormi, where he warned of the economic greylisting effects while gushing over the opportunities available in metaverse technology. Before Grech, a number of candidates on the district made brief interventions. What’s interesting is that almost every candidate praised Clyde Puli specifically for his work on the district. Do they like his work or do they like his votes?  

Passport mania: ADPD – The Green Party want to make public the names of Labour and Nationalist candidates who act as agents for the golden passport scheme. Apart from reiterating their call to close the scheme entirely, Chairman Carmel Cacopardo pointed out that government was slow to take action on the scheme vis-a-vis Russian applicants. Parliament is full of lawyers, and the legal profession is full of people who act as agents to sell golden passports to the global elite. The Green Party suggests that the delayed action might be the result of economic inteest.  

What is everyone proposing?: Not many new pledges came out from the day. Abela pledged to teachers’ unions that the Labour Party will move towards scrapping homework for pupils. The Nationalist Party pledged that all existing rent subsidy schemes covering pre-1995 rental housing will be maintained.  

What’s happening today?: The Labour Party will be in San Ġwann for a live recording of the ONE programme Awla. The Nationalist Party will be organising a youth meet-and-greet with Bernard Grech at 9pm. Cassola will be meeting the Chamber of Commerce at 10am.