 14 - 20 March 2001 |
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 Blame it on yourself, Pietà There was a lull and a laugh too. Here we are spectators to a lacklustre campaign and the Nationalist party folk say they are surprised. Once again, it was not a question of losing or winning, but simply not winning. The Labour party has nothing concrete to offer; apart from isolation and doing the same rounds the PN is doing, but the Nationalist party played on its linkage to making history to acquire votes. If there was a protest vote, it was registered by the fact that many Nationalist voters either stayed at home or transferred their votes to the Independent candidates. Those labour pundits who believe that there was a cross-country transfer to their fiefdom are wrong. And their elation should be managed and treated with soft gloves. The Nationalist campaign for the local councils was a disaster. We have no other words for it. To suggest that someone should vote for the Nationalist party because it was the creator and benefactor of the local councils is simply taking the electorate for morons. Voters are more interested in concrete arguments based on clear communication skills. These were lacking. Yes, Jennifer and Ricky may not have been great ideas but they worked better wonders than the election campaign from Pietà. The Labour party is right when it says that the barometer the PN used for the elections was far from one related to local politics. The barometer used by most people was linked intrinsically to national politics. This cannot be denied. Which points a finger to a number of issues. We disagree with our colleagues in the press who blame measures taken as the prime reason for this election result. The general trend in our view is linked to governance. There is, in our view, an emphasis or better still a concern which cannot be denied. And in our view it cannot be solved by simply changing the tone of one's voice, or the colour of one's tie. More than a simple facelift is needed. Elementary: a case of overkill Another piece of news that cannot be ignored is the overkill on Europe. Just when the Nationalist party was in a delirium over Europe, out comes the news on Switzerland, and as was expected the Leader of Opposition had a field day. Anyone who attempts to decimate the Leader of Opposition over his Switzerland in the Mediterranean and treat it as some simplistic pie in the sky should not forget that Dr Sant's hold over people's opinion should not be underestimated. And as we all know, it is much simpler to paraphrase the negative aspects than the positive side of the EU. And perhaps still, the people would like to see some more focus on Maltese affairs instead of this fixation on the EU. |
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