The PN’s biggest opponent since 2013 has not been Labour. It has been itself. Labour helped, obviously. It built one of the most effective political machines Malta has seen in decades, absorbed large parts of the centre, and developed an almost indecent talent for turning government into campaign material. But the PN’s collapse was never only about
We are approaching a general election. And what now? Even if the Labour Party had been a shining example of perfect governance since taking power in 2013, a fourth consecutive victory would turn them into a failure; or, worse, a scary aberration. It would make Labour – as it would most administrations if allowed to govern for too long – believe that
There is something oddly muted about this election. Not unimportant. Not boring. Just strangely low-emotion. 2013 had hope. Muscat’s movement, for all its later rot, arrived with energy, confidence, and a sense that the country was about to change. 2017 had consolidation. A Prime Minister under pressure, a party machine in full mobilisation mode, and