In his closing speech, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said that he was hopeful about the initiative to set up the foundation, as this would help push Malta out of mediocrity.
“I think members of the media had their biggest shock today, as they heard what was being said in a discussion where everyone vented their thoughts without being a hipprocrite,” he started.
The PL leader said that Ideat has “carte blanche to think and talk out of the box,” claiming that during the event, he received two phone messages warning him that the initiative might be too risky a move for the party.
“No, this is not too risky,” he said. “We need to reach out to a wider audience, and this is the path we must take.”
While assuring that the foundation and the PL will remain independent entities, Muscat said he sees Ideat as a factory of ideas, and that the PL should in no way control the think-tank or vice-versa.
“Ideat will really act as a factory of ideas, and if the PL is wise enough, it will inspire itself from its most suitable ideas so that they can become policies,” he said. “I do not exclude that other political parties use such ideas for themselves, perhaps even before we do.”
This brought him to his next point: “Political monopolies have ended.
“There is no longer a monopoly of north over south; or of worker over non-worker. It was easy in the past – your father’s a labourite, then you’re a labourite – no questions asked. But times have changed and people question themselves. In the same way, we have to ask ourselves questions too. If the PL did not exist, would there be a need for us? Yes, certainly.”
Muscat said he hoped the think-tank would function as a way to address “the mediocrity that many of us feel in this society – be it in terms of aesthetics, economy or politics.”
He could not have avoided mentioning the attack made on the media by Labour exponents earlier on.
“Each vote has a story of its own, and in a society like ours, we must have the interest, the resources and the time to listen to as many as those stories as possible. We may complain about the media not being on our side and having the establishment work against us, but we have the most important resource – ourselves. We must bring personal politics back – the way we should talk to people is not just on a screen where we’re competing with a remote. Politics should be brought back to being you and me.”
Finally, Muscat appealed for a change in style of discussions, making an example with his MEP days.
“Even in Brussels, it was typical for discussions among centre-right groups to focus on finding a solution, while the centre-left kept discussing problems – almost in a self-flagellating way. Change is difficult, and it is the PL that has to bring about change. The best way to do this is by means of a progressive movement.”
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