Toned-down fanfare for Labour’s decade in power

Labour’s 10 years from its unprecedented 36,000-vote majority victory in 2013 has passed by without the party’s usual fanfare, at a time of dismal polling and the fall-out from the Steward scandal.

Labour opted for scaled-down ‘interviews’ with ordinary citizens who benefited from Labour policies and welfare reforms, but failed to match the exuberance of previous milestones – the most recent being its centenary celebrations, the Paola rally in honour of Joseph Muscat’s 10 years as head of the Labour Party, and before that, the audio-visual campaign celebrating its “Five Years of Change” marking the first Muscat administration.

Instead, Labour leader Robert Abela marked the occasion with an unremarkable radio interview on party station One a fortnight ago, when MaltaToday polls registered Labour’s worst-ever result, coming in the wake of a court decision to rescind the Steward hospitals privatisation deal.

And on Sunday, 27 March, Abela addresses Labour faithful from the Labour national headquarters for a rally to mark his victory at the 2022 elections... his anniversary, not the one marking a decade stained by Muscat’s now toxic legacy.

Asked about the subdued tone of the videos marking Labour’s last decade, Labour Party president Ramona Attard insisted that the PL’s campaign was “centred around people, as ultimately, it was the people who gained the most from the major changes which Partit Laburista brought about in our country – from civil rights, to economic success, to major reforms in social justice.”

“The impression given by your questions – that Partit Laburista has not marked the achievements that it has made over the past 10 years – is completely wrong. Those who also followed the main programmes of ONE during last week, both on TV and on radio, could note that this was the main theme discussed with priority.”

Attard said Labour in government had consistently worked to implement the mandate it was given by people, “with the commitment to continue building on the many achievements and strengthen where required.”