Like every other individual who has at least a passing interest in politics, I hungrily devour the political surveys carried out by our local media Houses.
My interest has piqued mainly due to the fact that whilst in the past surveys were carried out in an amateurish, partisan and very often non-empirical way, today’s surveys are carried out by experts who more often than not, are bang on the mark when their work is compared to the actual polling results of General and European Parliament elections that follow their predictions.
Now whilst both parties have historically tried to greatly diminish the importance of such surveys, the PN has recently taken a totally different outlook.
As opposed to Labour consistently harping on about how the only true survey is taken during the actual voting in an election, seemingly convinced that lowering expectations is the best policy, the Nationalist party has for the last number of years given the results a whole new level of importance, leading to the point of actually having surveys justifying their booting a democratically elected Leader, Adrian Delia, off the grass.
The Nationalist party has for the last number of years given survey results a whole new level of importance.
Now we all know that resentment towards Delia had been brewing from day one, evident ever since his rallying cry in the PN leadership campaign of chucking out the old guard and replacing with the new irked the oldies. But let’s face it, not even allegations of a shady past brought up during the same campaign managed to even dent the PN member’s faith in this rank outsider who was eventually elected by a landslide.
History now shows us however that the elation of Delia’s victorious new way was short lived, as even after long months of open attrition and not so subtle stabs in the back, it was only the dreaded predictions that enabled the self-proclaimed blue heroes to twist the knife in his innards and fling the pendulum in their direction, subsequently allowing them to lump the responsibility of all of the PN’s failures, past and present, on to their Kapo and ultimately swaying Nationalists tired of infighting and who had blindly trusted Delia and convince them that Delia should be a thing of the past.
He was subsequently and not too surprisingly shoved aside by the new messiah, someone who Delia himself had managed to drag into the political fray. He of the ‘ no to divorce’ debacle, Dr Bernard Grech, who unashamedly rode the anti-Delia wave and the PN’s disastrous showing in surveys to get himself elected as the new Kapo and who perhaps, rather arrogantly felt that he would steady the sinking ship.
All’s fair in love or war or so they say!
Now fast forward a couple of years, and the PN has been thrashed in the surveys time and again, and this beggars the obvious question as to why are they now choosing to diminish the importance of media surveys?
Now why was Delia treated with a whole different yardstick?
When one compares Delia’s results with those of Grech, whilst clear as day that the PN is still rushing headlong into a downward spiral, there remains a deafening silence from the same folks who vehemently claimed that poor showings in surveys should be taken as justification for removing the top dog.
Now, ignoring a survey is one thing, however Dr Grech actually went one step further and in what seems as a very short-sighted attempt at defending himself, sought to find refuge in the ridiculous assertion that the populace has been bribed by the Government.
Isn’t this the same party that had ridiculed a similar claim made by former Labour Leader Alfred Sant following the results of the 2008 election?
To be fair with Dr. Sant, making such a claim after losing an election by a mere 1,580 votes is one thing, whilst making the same claim when the gap between parties is a whopping 45 thousand votes is another!
How can the PN, in the face of another such drubbing, claim that powers of incumbency are the reason for their misfortune, when the same PN had lost two major elections on a trot, one for the European Parliament and a General Election when they were STILL in power?
Do they believe that Labour managed to bribe so many thousands whilst in opposition?
In my books, this pathetic attempt at diverting from the crux of the problem by Grech, is another clear indication that the root of the PN’s demise is far from the alleged powers of incumbency they claim are the reason for their doom.
Ignoring all the infighting, u–turns and lack of policies, and taking the PN’s results for the past 11 years and the fact that they have not gained an absolute majority of votes since 2003 into context, such a petty claim clearly indicates that the PN’s major flaw is its utter disregard for the electorate in general.
The PN’s major flaw is its utter disregard for the electorate in general.
How can the PN, which previously exalted the electorate’s intelligence and maturity after each and every victory, suddenly decide that the electorate is a heaping mass of bribed plebs?
Do they really believe that the Electorate is only mature and intelligent when the PN is elected?
The gall of it all!
No wonder the PN is failing miserably in gaining ground, even after the various well-known events in the past years had rocked the Labour Government and shook it to the core.
It is hard to believe that the PN, apart from the Delia blip, once again, seems unable to show at least a modicum of humility and admit that their predicament is self-induced and that when one is constantly spurned by the electorate, one should not seek to blame the voters.
Why is being humble anathema for a party that aspires to lead us in the very near future, even when it is evident for the rest of us that sitting on a high horse looking down on the electorate is incredibly counterproductive, and gives further credence to the Labour media’s spin that the PN is a party of elitists?
Are they so enamoured by the fact that the electorate is unable to make an informed choice, and that they should be elected by default that they are totally blind to their own shortcomings?
Incredible when you put it that way, is it not?
