A lacklustre Alfred Sant scored an important away goal in the Bondiplus studio after several own-goals on Independence Day did more than their fair share of harm for the Labour party.
But Monday’s showing in the first televised debate of the electoral campaign portrayed a Sant definitely more in synch with popular concerns than Lawrence Gonzi, managing to deflate the Prime Minister’s repeated self-congratulatory backslapping on the euro.
“I won’t tell you what Almunia or Trichet said. I will tell you what families are saying… I am not the bankers’ echo,” Sant said, bursting Gonzi’s bubble after a day spent in the company of Europe’s financial heads.
It is certainly no mean feat for any country to get its act in order to join the Eurozone, but gloating over the compliments from the least inspiring of EU bureaucrats just doesn’t strike a chord in a country in which, according to MaltaToday surveys, one in every three people don’t make ends meet by the end of the month.
Gonzi looked too much like a nerdish student showering himself with praise after scooping all the honours in the school’s annual prize day.

Back on ball
Sant, on the other hand, owed it to his supporters to regain his dignity after his abysmal performance in Birzebbugia. After seeing a clip of himself droning the now infamous ‘Goooonzi’ seven times, Sant meekly admitted he lacks a sense of humour. “My friends always tell me I lack a sense of humour. I tried to make a joke. I admit that it was not a good joke,” Sant said chirpily.
But following his Independence Day triumph, Gonzi went over the top with his constant attempts at belittling Alfred Sant as some sort of ignoramus. Ridiculing him for his claim that VAT was imposed on school ties and uniforms, Gonzi alienated parents who dig deep in their pockets every October as their children start returning home from schools with daily “to buy” lists.
Alfred Sant’s second coup came towards the end of the debate when he solemnly declared that if elected he would adopt a “zero tolerance” policy with his ministers over corruption, while accusing Gonzi of being weak with his Cabinet.
On the other hand Gonzi dismissed Sant’s allegations on corruption by constantly referring to them as “mudslinging” – once again ignoring surveys showing a widespread perception that Malta is steeped in corruption.
Gonzi also made the mistake of disputing the validity of the Transparency International report stating that corruption in Malta was on the increase. Gonzi blamed Malta’s poor result on the methodology of the survey.
It was a veritable reversal of roles, with Gonzi assuming Sant’s characteristic role of discrediting statistics.
What surely emerged, however, is Alfred Sant’s inability to fathom the free and independent media. Dismissing threats against MaltaToday by a high-ranking MLP official as a “non story”, Sant simply confirmed his party’s traditional paranoia.
It was equally clear from the debate that, without a crowd in front of him, Sant can score points despite his gloomy image. On the other hand, Gonzi has to learn to keep his cool when nobody is cheering for him.

Style, no content
Dressed in braces reminiscent of Larry King and his own cousin Austin Gatt, presenter Lou Bondì failed to elicit any answer on policies, concentrating instead on the leaders’ style and presentation.
While Sant harped on VAT on educational items such as Tippex, nobody learned whether he would remove VAT on stationery for both business and education use. We were none the wiser on whether his property handouts to first-time buyers will push property prices upwards or downwards. In fact, property was not even discussed.
Rather than focusing on costing Labour’s proposals, Bondì preferred to quiz Sant on whether he can still be a novel leader after a 30-year-long political career.
Sant was quick on the draw to point out that like him, Gonzi contested his first election in 1987, both unsuccessfully.
Bondì in fact seemed too wary that Sant would attack him. He was so edgy that at one point, thinking Sant was referring to him when in fact he was referring to PBS director Michael Seychell, a self-absorbed Bondì instantly interjected saying he was willing to answer any question on himself on a debate on One TV. As soon as he realised his mistake, he invited Sant not to speak about people not present on the show.