Dirty tricks, mud-slinging and a big dose of rhetoric are part of political parties’ armouries, more so during an electoral campaign.
The electorate is, most of the time, willing to accept that. What, however, it will definitely resist – and certainly penalise the unrepentant defaulters – is when its intelligence is not respected. Two issues that have been dominating the political scene in recent days are a case in point.
One is the controversy surrounding Labour Party deputy leader Toni Abela following the release of a compromising tape recording on ‘problems’ he was handling regarding certain behaviour in party clubs.
The other is the fallout from the oil buying scandal investigation, which has already seen several people being arraigned and charged with fraud, bribery and money laundering.
The Abela saga is being ‘serialised’. The electorate would have preferred being presented with all the facts at one go, giving them time to make up their minds.
What many people have not appreciated is the manner in which Dr Abela tries to defend himself. As the top official responsible for the party’s clubs, he should have immediately assumed full responsibility for grossly mishandling a...
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