Opinion: ‘Unity’ is not what Robert Abela presented in New Year speech

As a single guitar strummed away, Ira Losco delivered an over-emotional cheesy rendition of the national anthem.  It was the overture to the great leader’s New Year’s Day message.

Robert Abela used the power of all the national myths and symbols he could muster for his political opportunism. His message was supposedly one of national unity – but with a twist.

According to Abela, the country should unite: “Let’s work together to find solutions to the issues affecting the people,” he said, because “unity is far greater than resentment”.

And swiftly pivoted to identify the problem we should unite against – foreign workers.  That, according to Abela, is “our most significant challenge”. That is Malta’s number one enemy.

Abela’s message of unity is beautiful in its simplicity – all our problems are caused by foreigners. This was a masterclass in authoritarian over-simplification, the autocratic targeting of a common enemy on which to pin the blame for all the country’s ills.

Abela’s delivery was a masterclass for autocrats.  The triumphant anthem, the glorification of a mythical people “that always triumphed and succeeded”.

He lauded the “great courage” (kuraġġ ta’ sur) of the nation.  He extolled the strides from “a populace hopeful that those who ruled them will also feed them” to a nation that “stood on its own feet and stopped serving others”.

He laboured over the obstacles the glorious people overcame, “from a population starved by war to a free and modern country built within just two generations”.

He harked sentimentally on the “heartbreak of mothers waving their children goodbye, waving goodbye to their own blood, waving their hope goodbye”.  And, “Today, we have hope here at home and a sense of opportunity and optimism,” he bragged.

And then the tone changed.  From nationalistic patriotism and sentimental glorification of a mythic past, which included footage of Dom Mintoff climbing the freedom monument, Mintoff waving to the crowd after Malta became a republic, but conveniently excluded Eddie Fenech Adami and European Union membership.

Abela swiftly turned on his enemies. “You will never hear me speak against my country, our country… because this is our land, our home”.

That’s Labour’s narrative – only others attack our country and vilify our nation.  They are the enemies, the traitors who badmouth our country, while he is our protector, defending the nation.

“Yes, we have the solutions, and we will implement them,” Abela added. “We have a clear plan and we know where we’re heading”.

In a classic autocratic vein, Abela glorified the nation’s mythical past and the heroic virtues of its people, demanded unity against the common enemy – the foreign worker – and then presented himself as the leader with the solutions, the benevolent father of the country who has the vision for the people’s future. He portrayed himself as the saviour the country needs.

He will protect you from the evil foreign workers causing all the problems. It’s not his government’s fault for squandering hundreds of millions of our taxes.  It’s not his minister’s fault for spending €18.5 million on a road that should have cost €8 million.

It’s not Clint Camilleri’s fault for funnelling €722,000 to his friend and fellow architect. It’s not his parliamentary secretary’s fault for paying €1 million of our taxes to one singer for one performance.

Those problems are all caused by foreign workers, those very workers that Abela himself invited, indeed recruited to the delight of Labour’s friends who made a fortune exploiting those very workers.

Abela will sort out all your problems. Indeed, he’s already started.  “You will see the implementation of the budget in your life,” he told the nation.  The partisan political propaganda slickly rolled out headlines: “The largest tax reduction in history, whoever works will see his salary rise… you will have more money in your pocket… and every pensioner will receive another increase for the tenth consecutive year… €250 rise in children’s allowance”.

That New Year message by the prime minister to the nation sounded more like the party leader at a Labour party rally.

As for those other problems that he hasn’t yet solved, don’t worry about them, Abela reassured us.  He’s going to cut operating waiting lists for the elderly, he’ll help everyone become a home owner, he’s going to make social housing accommodation accessible to all, he promised.

Rest assured, he insisted, because “what we promise we deliver… when this country unites, when this country shows courage and does not bow its head in fear, it will continue to make progress and write the next chapter of our success story”.

The man brandishing national unity like a lethal weapon is the same one who’s just ordered his justice minister to deprive us of our right to request a magisterial inquiry.

He’s the leader of the party that uses its media machine to torment John Rizzo over his son’s alleged drug abuse.  He’s the man directing the systematic vilification and persecution of adversaries.  His ONE news has been relentless in its character assassination of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and his party has been relentless in the vilification of journalists exposing rampant corruption.

The man calling for unity is the very same person who publicly attacked conscientious magistrates, knowing they couldn’t defend themselves against his vicious attacks.  He’s the man who accused a magistrate of “political terrorism” and intending to harm the Labour Party’s political prospects.

Those aren’t calls for unity.  They’re incitement of the grassroots against fellow citizens diligently doing their duty. It’s a despicable abuse of power to intimidate those fulfilling their roles with dedication and commitment.

The unity the country needs is one that demands justice and fairness, fiercely protects citizens’ rights, resists the systematic degradation of our democracy, objects to Labour’s secrecy and fights for the transparency it requires to enforce accountability from those in power.

The country should unite in demanding action, not empty words.