Labour insiders: ‘Party sacrificing future for the present with Vitals strategy’

Labour insiders feel the party is sacrificing its future for short-term success in the upcoming European Parliament election it will surely win. 

“I feel we are making strategic mistakes by pandering to voters who would have voted for us either way,” a Cabinet minister who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity said. 

MaltaToday spoke to Labour Party insiders to understand the feeling following a tumultuous week, which saw former prime minister Joseph Muscat and others charged in court with corruption over the Vitals hospitals deal. 

Following weeks of anticipation, hundreds of die-hard Labour supporters gathered outside court to support Muscat. PL officials feared the situation could deteriorate into something uglier. 

Although a heavy police presence ensured law and order were always maintained, PL insiders still feel the Vitals case and all its side trappings could have a long-term effect on the party. 

Joseph Muscat supporters gathered outside the law courts in a show of support for the former Labour leader (Photo: Kurt Sansone/MaltaToday)

“The government has done a lot of good work throughout the year, but when you have the former PM dragged to court, and the party seems to be openly backing him, the optics are bad on everyone linked to Labour,” a Cabinet member told this newspaper.  

Another minister said they could not understand how Prime Minister Robert Abela has thrown the full weight of the party behind Muscat, given the decisions he took when he was elected leader in 2020.  

“His first moves as party leader and PM were to distance his administration from Muscat’s. He kicked out Konrad Mizzi, sought to end the hospitals deal, but now he has flip flopped and is doing the opposite,” they said. 

Calling out the party’s strategy, they said it was a case of “short-term success, for longer-term loss.” 

“It’s a strategic mistake. The people we are trying to convince through Joseph Muscat would have voted for us either way. From where I’m standing, we have already started to lose the moderate vote, and in the long run that will hurt us,” they said.

Abela bothered by Muscat appearances  

Since the beginning of the election campaign, Muscat has addressed several local council and MEP candidate events, with hundreds attending to see him speak. Nearly all Labour MEP candidates have invited Muscat to their events, with insiders expressing how this bothers the current Labour leader. 

“Of course it bothers him, as Robert Abela knows Joseph Muscat will always overshadow him, and at such a delicate juncture, this makes him seem weaker in his leadership over the party,” an MP said. “Abela knows that Muscat’s strength lies in the way he communicates, and so he fears that.” 

Nonetheless, Abela has done little in public to distance himself from Muscat after having allowed propagandist Manuel Cuschieri to interview the former PM on One Radio when the charges against him were already known.

‘Rolling back the years in how we do politics’ 

Another MP who wished to stay anonymous said he feels “torn” about the situation.  

“Everyone is presumed innocent, and I do feel some have been indicted and embroiled in this case for nothing. The timing was bad in my opinion, and I do feel the inquiring magistrate could have waited a bit longer to finish the report, but at the same time with all the boxes of evidence which have been presented, and after reading sections of the inquiry there is a lot of damning evidence,” they said. “While the timing is controversial, at the same time who am I to say how the magistrate conducts an inquiry.” 

The nine Labour MEP candidates taking a selfie at the Naxxar counting hall where they collectively submitted their nominations: The Vitals scandal has overshadowed the election campaign (Photo: PL/Facebook)

They said their biggest concern is how the big parties have approached the election campaign.  

“We, and I mean both us and the PN, seemed to have rolled back the years when it comes to how we approached the election,” they said. “We are constantly slinging mud at each other and have sunk to a new low. Where are the parties in discussing local and European issues? This has been completely ignored.” 

Another MP seemed bothered with Abela’s criticism against the PN for “only speaking about the inquiry.” 

“He keeps on attacking the PN for only speaking about the Vitals inquiry, which they are, but the reality is that he is doing the same thing,” they said. 

Polls have consistently put the PL well in the lead to capture the most votes in the European Parliament election with estimates putting the gap at anywhere between 20,000 and 27,000 votes. 

However, at the start of the year, the PL’s fortunes were hampered by higher abstention among its voter base. The expectation of a Muscat candidature had rekindled enthusiasm among Labour voters, which waned when it became clearer that the former PM would not be running. 

However, Muscat’s arraignment is likely to have triggered enthusiasm once more among the PL’s rank and file. The bigger question is whether the Vitals inquiry findings, Muscat’s arraignment and the scenes witnessed outside the courthouse last Tuesday have turned off middle of the road voters.