I seem to be more impressed at the currency the world of politics offers to those who work the hardest, than the recent events which pitted the Young Turk in the Nationalist Party, Robert Musumeci, in the news. Still a political whelp, Musumeci is the mayor of an important Nationalist stronghold, Siggiewi; he is the long-serving chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council (appointed 1998, a year after graduating in architecture); and the director of his successful architects’ firm in his own right. Put together, it is an equation which guarantees the right amount of power and influence for one of the most prospective political candidates. What a door-opener politics can be, albeit one which rewards only the most ambitious and the hardest working. Whatever Robert might think, I could never help ignore the fact that politics gives those who deserve it some very valuable spoils. For at the politically juvenile age of 33, Musumeci seems to have it all – a respectable mayor who enjoys good relations with his electorate and the councillors from the Labour side, and a thriving business. But now he is on the cusp of intensifying his political profile – he is already one of the most well known political candidates, but he undeniably wants to take it a step further. And he recently marked his ascent by suggesting, in the space of a couple of minutes at the PN General Council, that he found the way his Nationalist colleagues and ministers treat the Opposition a little off-putting.
Because he labels himself a ‘moderate’, Musumeci has decided not to join the fray of pavement wits the likes of Tony Abela or Austin Gatt whose ‘attacks’ against Labour were so strong that the party’s highest officials had to distance themselves from the comments. By some fortunate stroke of luck, some intended or unintended Stalinist attempt at censoring Musumeci’s speech at the General Council – by drowning his last few lines with loud theme music – got him some good coverage in the news, where Musumeci could be seen surprised at not being able to finish his speech, and walking off the podium and into the audience looking slightly displeased.
“I don’t think my speech was censored. Obviously there was a moment when I was concluding where I wasn’t miked for my last sentence. I am convinced it wasn’t intentional. My time was up…”
That may well be possible. But maybe Musumeci had upset some party insiders. Weeks before, at the Independence celebrations at the Floriana granaries, the Birkirkara mayor and son of President Eddie Fenech Adami, Michael Fenech Adami, was overheard commenting “now you’ve done it, Musumeci” (ghaxxaqtha, Musumeci), with respect to the young candidate’s comments on Smash TV in which he decried the Nationalist party strategy at mudslinging Labour leader Alfred Sant. He went as far as saying that Sant had “positive attributes” and that anyone thinking the Nationalists would win the election by attacking Sant was mistaken. So wasn’t he irked that someone might have been eager to see his contribution to the General Council come to an abrupt end?
“Well, I was surprised. It was a build-up to the conclusion, and the conclusion didn’t come out. What I was going to say was that I was against all forms of personal attack, fabrications, frivolous stories and any connotations that could have been otherwise made in a more decent manner – and this of course applies to all political parties. Getting a message through doesn’t require any sort of negative connotations. Firstly it is morally unacceptable to resort to mudslinging. The Nationalist Party has all the ingredients to win without having to resort to this kind of campaigning.
“It’s a message I have been repeating for some time. There is no place for personal attacks or fabrications to get to opponents. People want political serenity, and I saw this when Siggiewi was the only locality in the last local council elections to increase the PN’s vote by 3%. This is what the electorate of Siggiewi consistently acknowledges me for. I am a moderate politician who genuinely believes that political parties can truly work together. This is my hallmark. I just work in a team. Labour have their space, and we achieved results together. On a national level, there is much more Labour has to answer for – but at local level, we have had success together. It is also clear that Lawrence Gonzi has also made this call to Labour to participate at the national level…”
But the Nationalist Party certainly has made no effort in giving this impression. In its deliberate strategy at belittling Sant by all means necessary, everything came to a head when senior minister Austin Gatt, addressing the PN General Council, alleged that Alfred Sant would be a fitting addition to a TV documentary on statesmen who were notorious for drink problems – made with reference to Sant’s dismal performance at a Labour rally on Independence Day.
“Austin Gatt has his own style… certainly it isn’t my style,” Musumeci premises. “He is of course one of the best ministers of the Cabinet. He is target-oriented and I strive to pursue this rationale in my local administration. The way we communicate with the electorate, however is different. I admire Austin Gatt on his attributes for performance, but the way I communicate is certainly different.”
So you don’t agree with what he said in relation to Alfred Sant?
“Absolutely not.”
Aren’t these instances of abusive language damaging the PN?
“I think what Austin Gatt wasn’t said with hatred. He wanted to say a joke, send a message, and he did it by playing to the audience. It is his style.”
But what would be the reason you had to express yourself the way you did at the General Council if not to redeem this unacceptable side of the PN?
“I am a moderate politician… I have a profession, which I am very fond of. My living will never depend on my being in politics and I will serve in the political arena only if the electorate thinks that I can serve the country in my ways and methods I profess.”
But despite the attempts at redeeming these cases, with Gonzi and PN secretary-general Joe Saliba taking the flak by ‘apologising’ for the party machinery, the mudslinging seems to go on. While Gonzi takes the higher moral ground, such as saying that Robert was right in what he said, or disassociating himself from news reports in the PN organ that Sant had refused to pledge his oath to the crucifix in a court case, nothing seems to have stopped the dirt.
“If we take the case of Sant choosing not to pledge his oath to the crucifix, this has absolutely no relevance. You can report it, but it has no relevance if you want to give it ulterior interpretation. To me, this personal episode has don’t nothing to diminish or increase Sant’s credentials.
“My icon is Lawrence Gonzi: he is the most moderate politician in the PN. His choice of words are testament to this. That’s why we can win the election. Whenever a question was asked to Gonzi over certain comments made, he was categorical in his disagreement over certain negative statements. He was categorical when he stated that he preferred had Austin Gatt and Tony Abela not said what they said. We just didn’t score any points. We got nothing out of what they said.
“I agree with the prime minister… Charlon Gouder is a good journalist, he is carrying out his duty, and I have great respect towards him. I consider him as a close friend, although he might be quite hard hitting at times even in my regard. As a journalist he has the right to ask the most embarrassing of questions without having to hear what Tony Abela said. And I think Gonzi’s confrontation with Gouder was the most convincing so far.”
So does he feel his moderate approach has made his position uncomfortable in the party?
“I cannot feel like a fish out of the water – Lawrence Gonzi has said he agrees with me at the Floriana Granaries, Joe Saliba too saying he agrees with me on Bondiplus. I understand that I am endorsed by the highest officials of our party administration.”
Despite this moderate approach and some progressive statements on party financing and party broadcasting, Musumeci is not one to step out of line with party policy. He was indeed the first to defend MEPA’s U-turn on the Ramla permit, a decision which seemed purely in line with an attempt by government to placate the angry environmentalist vote.
“The MEPA board decided to revoke the planning permit when it took the public consideration in hand – now they will have to take up the responsibility of the decision. They had a right to revoke the permit – if they could have chosen to modify it, that would be up to debate. But now we know the planning process is democratic…”
But how democratic is a planning process that chooses to discard an environmental impact assessment for something like the Fort Cambridge development? (At the time of interviewing, the decision to have the project submitted to a partial EIA had not yet been taken).
“There are criteria in which an EIA need not be done. The planning process is a serious one, and a transparent one, readily available on the internet. You can see the plans and you can object.”
Musumeci is also a supporter for more transparency in party financing, and has called for all party financial statements to be audited and be made available to the public. Recently he discarded suggestions for thresholds on party donations. “Any thresholds would be a fictitious solution, easily defied by breaking up donations into small parts. Every donation, whether small or large, should be made public. Party financing has to be rendered public in a bid to decrease any sort of commercial influence on politics and liberate civil society from policies which reflect the landscape of power.”
And he also has an equally critical view of party broadcasting, although he concedes that TV stations are there to stay. “Although one can argue that money can go instead to research and development of policies, because these stations really take up cash, and the parties seem more ready to spend the money on television rather than policies, I believe that political TV stations are the best medium to get the message across.”
The big stumbling block may be divorce: although a subject expected to become a big issue in a couple of years, someone as young as Musumeci, obviously aware of the different realities of today’s marriages and the breakups which have become commonplace, does not commit himself on the matter. He says that although the issue will have to be discussed, it will need to be reconciled with the party’s principles – which makes resolution on the matter slightly tricky given the Nationalist Party’s confessional opposition to divorce.
“We have a big challenge ahead of us, certainly before taking any decision. We have to see to the changing fabric of society, and I appeal to the MLP to be on board with us when confronting the changing reality of our society. We can’t escape it, but we have to see how divorce may affect the social fabric of society. Certainly, politicians must respond to this reality, they can’t avoid it. I believe that nobody must be left behind, and that goes for gay people, cohabiting partners, and people who in general choose a different lifestyle to others.
“Although I think that the introduction of divorce is not the optimal solution to failing marriages, the latter is however an emerging reality, which we cannot conveniently ignore. As political parties, we should be discussing the issue of failing marriages and the way society is responding in depth.”
So is the PN disinterested in pursuing this debate?
“I don’t think the PN is not interested – I understand it is necessary to discuss, but divorce is not necessarily some solution the country needs. We want to see civil society participating in the debate, seeing it move forward, and hopefully reconcile principles to a solution.”
Now he is being paraded as one of the new candidates which should serve as a counter-balance to Gonzi’s ageing Cabinet ministers and backbenchers. Surely a credit to him as he gets to stand side by side the prime minister in meetings with constituted bodies as one of the PN’s stock of renewable energy – but isn’t it a weak attempt after Gonzi failed to carry out a much needed Cabinet reshuffle?
“The PN is a dynamic party. Its economic successes are without comparison to those of any other party. It is structurally designed to see that the country moves forward. But it’s the electorate that chooses. Gonzi takes his own decisions and he takes his decisions based on what he considers to be best for the country. It’s a fact that the age of our Cabinet cannot be ignored, but having new candidates will mean the electorate can respond to this perception or not. It’s a renewed party despite its 20 years in power. And people like Tonio Fenech have given an excellent performance, despite being young. In itself, there is a mix. We certainly need politicians who have performed well in their respective private professional practice and who can relay their expertise and gained experience within the political spectrum.”