Transport Minister hypes up voters with roadworks in front of Labour Party’s headquarters

On Thursday, Transport Minister Chris Bonett continued to trounce every boundary of separation between the state and the governing party by posting a Facebook reel showcasing ongoing roadworks in front of the Labour Party’s headquarters.

Though the video was posted without Bonett’s usual self-aggrandising commentary, it serves as an obvious dog whistle for Labour Party supporters who are being primed for the upcoming general elections.

In fact, the video quickly accumulated over 100 comments in a couple of hours after it was posted, most of which were from party diehards who lapped it up accordingly.

One commenter pleaded with the minister to “finish (the roadworks) as soon as possible because we are going to use it soon and it will need to accommodate a lot of people”, with dozens of others posting similar responses which played along with the hype.

While the Labour Party has all but normalised the abuse of public funds for the purpose of appeasing a minister’s constituents, the fact is that any functional democratic system must maintain a clear separation of power between party and state.

In the case of Transport Minister Chris Bonett, it appears that his lack of popularity has fueled the kind of abuse of office which stands out even in the Labour Party’s new “normal”.

Earlier this month, Bonett was forced on the defensive in his own electoral district after facing public criticism over the latest developments related to the Marsaskala promenade project, which remains shrouded in secrecy.

The Shift also reported how Bonett leveraged his ministerial portfolio to secure funds for the restoration of a traditional statue in Żejtun and issued a unilateral ban on airport pickups in Gudja, two decisions which were explicitly presented to his district’s voters as interventions that only happened as a result of Bonett’s influence.

Even official marketing campaigns carried out by authorities overseen by Bonett tend to carry the same kind of overstatement. In November, an FOI request filed by The Shift had revealed that Infrastructure Malta’s claim that it had completed 1,000 projects also included minor, routine works like fixing potholes.