The race is on

Now we have a date for the elections. The race is on.

The Times of Malta announced today on it website that this is an election without a central theme. This is what I said in my earlier blogs. However is it true that there is no theme or that there should not be a theme?

If there is no central theme, it speaks volumes on the quality of the political parties. Is Malta therefore going to vote in a vacuum? This gives the parties the opportunity to fight the election campaign on the theme which is most congenial to them. Up to now both the PN and the MLP have presented the electorate with meaningless slogans. The drabness of both messages is staggering.

Well the economy could be one theme. Malta's economy is currently going riding on an artificial wave based on construction activity. Thousands of residential units are being built while sales to those who need a residence have dwindled. Perhaps sales are slow because of the uncertainty of the outcome of the election. People are postponing decisions until the outcome of the election is certain. What seems certain is that the current level of construction activity cannot be sustained and contractors will see a severe downturn six months after the election. Furthermore the impact of the Euro on the economy will take some time to be assessed because it is still early to judge. Time will tell.

Divorce could be a theme. But it highly unlikely that any of the parties have the courage to bring up the subject for fear of antagonising the Church. There is no way that the PN would ever propose the introduciton of divorce. What is surprising is that the MLP seems to have become just as confessional as the PN. The MLP was traditionally the party for social rights and progress but it lost that ages ago. Maybe AD will have the guts to bring it up during the campaign. AN certainly would not.

The theme of corruption has been coming up in all electoral campaigns in living memory. This time around anti-corruption will be brought up by the MLP. But unless something sensational comes up, the MLP will not get much traction from it. Up to now only small fry have been caught.

The environment. This should be an important theme for the election. Care for the environment has however been engulfed by the greed of the few and economic needs. It is already too late for Malta given the amount of construction that has been going on. For many people this will always be secondary to the primary goal of making money.

Unfortunately hunting will once again rear its ugly head in the election campaign with major and minor parties doing their utmost to appease one of the most bigoted and backward elements of Maltese society. I am sure that one of the considerations behind the timing of the election on 8 March is that it will leave unresolved the decision whether spring hunting will be opened or not this year.

Illegal immigration. AN will try to bring this theme to the fore. As with hunting the PN avoided a summer election to avoid letting illegal immigration dominating the headlines. The elections are being held before the usual season for the illegal landings. This would work in favour of AN. This is an open sore in Maltese society. Malta has to come to terms and deal with this problem. We cannot let ourselves be pictured in Europe as bigoted racists, keeping fellow humans is such sub-human conditions.

There will be plenty of other issues that should be discussed and voted upon, such as the efficiency or otherwise of Government services, waste in Government expenditure, mismanagement of Government contracts, gay rights and education. The high level of Maltese who remain illiterate after 12 years of schooling is a national disgrace.

EH