Labour MP Marlene Farrugia has the same message for the electorate as Times of Malta columnist Martin Scicluna: don’t vote Labour
The construction of Marlene Farrugia’s argument in The Malta Independent today is (understandably) oblique, but her meaning is clear in her column in The Malta Independent today:
If the Labour Party underperforms it will get the much needed message to revisit itself and evolve into the much needed New Labour Movement that the Maltese and Gozitans resoundingly voted in 14 months ago. If that happens, Labour will govern for the next 9 years at least.
If on the other hand more arrogance is encouraged by a great showing in this election, we might very well lose the next general election.
That’s the same message Martin ‘Time for a Change to Labour’ Scicluna gave in his column for Times of Malta last week. The difference is that his concern was not with the government shaping up so that the Labour Party can win the 2018 general election, but with the government shaping up so that he can be proved right for encouraging us to vote Labour into power.
And let’s be fair to both: neither of them likes what he or she sees. And that’s what drove them to write what they have written about the way we should vote in this upcoming EP election.
It takes some doing for a Labour MP in a pretty scary party set-up to say ‘don’t vote Labour in this EP election because Muscat will interpret it as further licence to behave autocratically and wrongly’. So we have to respect that.
And Martin Scicluna could have sat back and fudged the issue, as Lino Spiteri did today – telling us how he thinks people will vote instead of telling us how he thinks they should vote and what he will be doing himself.
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http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-05-19/opinions/rise-like-a-phoenix-5065277441/
Perhaps it s best to highlight an obvious fact: the new labour movement does not exist.
It never did. Sure, the PL may have tapped into what it was that a lot of people wanted, a bit more cash in their pockets, less ties with the church etc- a more liberal Malta.
Sadly, when we have what we want dangled in front of our eyes, we forget to consider the person offering it to us is. In this case it was Labour. I think that says it all.
The package was liberal, but the actual company isn’t. It hasn’t been liberal for ages. It is still the same mentality that Mintoff promoted, playing on the same ignorance.
Perhaps these people still think that the message was genuine. Perhaps they knew it wasn’t and thought they could get away with it but haven’t. Perhaps they thought that the message was real, that it meant so much to them specifically, that they are finding difficult to let go of their dream.
Whatever the realisation is, they had better reach it and reach it fast. All this pussy footing around on the fence is only going to make things worse.
Throughout my life I always felt that my options were tough but clear: Vote PN and use them to bring about the change. Don’t forget AD but never trust Labour- ever.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/39142/letting_things_slide_is_not_an_option#.U3oGM3byFWE
What a nasty turn of events: here we are, on the eve of an election, to choose individuals to represent us in the European Parliament, to safeguard our interests, and instead it has become a contest of party leaders on issues which are not even remotely related with the European Union.
I thought this opinion was interesting also:
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/39142/letting_things_slide_is_not_an_option#.U3oPb_mSwxE
All this after just one year? Speak about winds of change!
I don’t feel sorry for Marlene Farrugia, she ought to have known what she was getting herself into before jumping eagerly onto the gravy train. Having said that, I admire her for being outspoken and for trying to be as honest as possible to the electorate.
How many Labour voters are seriously thinking about not voting Labour ?
No survey result will give an answer to that question? It is hidden in the minds of those who did not want to give a reply to whoever was carrying those surveys.
The Independent on Sunday survey (18th May) gives us an indication on the undecided Labour vote. In the fineprint, the surveyors told us that 36.7% are still undecided (that’s a potential of 112500 voters) and that there are twice as much undecided PL voters (75000 voters) than undecided PN voters (37500 voters).
How many of these 75000 undecided PL voters will not vote PL ? That is impossible to say.
On a different note, Maltatoday survey (18th May) shows that a huge 40% of those who did tell Maltatoday that they switched votes in 2013, did not disclose how they are going to vote. Only 24% are still convinced with Labour, the remaining 15%, 12%, 9% will vote PN, AD, or not vote at all, respectively.
So, wheras the TIoS survey indicates that there is substantial amount of PL voters who might decide to abstain, the MT survey indicates that the switch back of votes is not strong enough.
Based on these surveys I worked out the following end result : PL (49-50%), PN (46-47%), AD (3-5%).
In theory, 42.8% (3 out of 7 quotas) of the votes should be enough for PN to secure 3 seats.
Most Labour voters do not think.
People are afraid to show their voting preference, especially to unknown telephone interviewers.
I just had a phone call asking if I was voting for Simon Busuttil or Joseph Muscat.
Tell them you’re voting for Norman Wisdom.
It is in the PL’s interest to have people like Ms Farrugia speaking out. Not that Big Head is ever going to acknowledge it.
Marlene, jekk tahseb li ser twaqqa lil zewgi mil-Gvern sejra zball.
Vera telghalhu ghal-rasu xi ftit pero issa nizzilhu f’zaqqu, ghalhekk hxien ftit miskin.
Joseph tieghi ma hawx bhalu. Kien kapaci jbiddel il-politika tal partit, min kontra sirna favur l-Unjoni Ewropeja, l-Indipendenza s-suq miftuh, in-negozjant, insomma hadna l-politika tan-nazzjonalisti. Il-marmalja socjalista ta zmien Mintoff mhemx post ghaliha.
Ahna nies puliti issa
There was the second Labour meeting under the tent in Żurrieq. Why? It’s Marlene’s stronghold!