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The electoral troubles, which have hit of late the Nationalist Party stem from one source: its distance from the middle class.
The middle class section of society is beginning to doubt whether its traditional Party really represents its true interests. It is also beginning to question whether the interests of the Nationalist Party necessarily amount to the national interest.
This is the section that has been the very backbone of Party support. This strata of society was the pioneer and in the forefront of the battle to restore democracy in our country in the early eighties.
It was this section of society that showed character in its full support for the Party and especially for Eddie Feench Adami after the 1981 perverse election result.
The first gathering in Dingli Street Sliema was the first defiant message from a middle class to indicate that it would not accept the result sitting down.
It defied its traditional placid stance and literally took to the streets. Others followed in their masses, once the middle class had shown the way. They acted in their interests and in the interests of the country. They were not necessarily seeing the narrow interests of the Nationalist Party.
The middle class encompasses people of various shades and colours. It includes the salaried worker, the employed professional classes, the small entrepreneur and businessman, the salaried Government employee. These persons have traditionally not only supported the Nationalist Party, but committed themselves publicly to the strengthening of its base. They were in the forefront in the battle against bulk-buying, the right to private schooling, the right to free broadcasting and most especially the upholding of individual rights and liberties.
In Mintoff, the middle class saw the destroyer of its right to lead a serene life. In Fenech Adami it saw a person who upheld all the values it believes in.
With the passage of time, and after experiencing one Nationalist government after another, many of these persons have rightly developed an independent way of thinking. They no longer associate the narrow interests of the Nationalist Party with the national interest.
To make matters worse there is a growing feeling that the middle class’ allegiance and support is being taken for granted.
To many within the PN the middle class is a section that would inevitably keep voting Nationalist as the Sant alternative would always be considered too awesome for them to bear. In short, the PN’s strategists believe the middle class has no other political home to go to.
They would remain Nationalist voters even if no longer Nationalist activists or supporters.
The truth is that these persons are Maltese before they are Nationalist. With the introduction of penalising measures like the taxation of fringe benefits and increased taxation on the sale of inherited property, the shading of Blue has fast faded into a pale Blue. The affinity and emotional link with the PN started to wane over the past six years reaching its lowest level since 1955 at the last European election.
The only reason that kept the middle class from shifting its vote in 2003 was EU membership. The legitimate complaints of the middle class need to be addressed.
Other complaints include the mishandling and the postponement of the smoking ban; the siting of the landfills so close to a heritage site - although this stupid decision was later reversed; the sprawling of building sites everywhere even in zones considered as green areas making the country look like one big building site; and the insistence of the Prime Minister to appoint Fenech Adami as President of Malta.
The hotly contested appointment left the middle class with a very sour feeling that Government looks at the Presidency as simply an extension of the party.
Other worries include the bad state of public finances as a result of the mishandling of the economy and the introduction of new hard measures the Prime Minister has already referred to.
The middle class fears bearing the brunt of yet another higher tax bill. It seems as if this section of society is forever destined to shoulder Government’s mishandling of the economy.
Many other issues erupt from time to time that Government simply chooses to ignore. Why should the shareholders of the National bank remain ignored despite overwhelming evidence that they were deprived of their savings? Why should the depositors of the BICAL Bank remain waiting for over twenty years to receive their savings back? Why should the rent laws remain a tax burden on property owners?
These issues - which all fly in the face of the interests of the middle class - need addressing urgently. The concerns are legitimate. The mood amongst this section of society is one of disillusionment that their Party, the PN they have supported come rain or shine, is oblivious to their concerns. The Party must appreciate that it cannot win a majority vote without the support of this section. It needs to bridge urgently. It needs a new culture that can connect with this section of society, speak its language feel its pain and appreciate its values.
With EU membership sealed, the Labour Party no longer looks as dangerous as it sometimes did in the past. If Labour proves itself to be reasonable in the years to come, many traditional Nationalist voters may do little to stop it taking office in 2008.
No political party should ever take its voter base for granted and at the end of the day what the middle class wants is good governance. Whether Labour or Nationalist no longer makes a difference.
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