Why Did Robert Abela Call An Early Election?

The last two weeks have made it amply clear that Robert Abela was not ready for a March election, which begs the question: What made him call it? 

If he had been planning an election, he would have finished his electoral manifesto. 

But 12 days have already passed and his manifesto is nowhere to be seen. 

It also took Labour about seven days to roll out billboards with any proposals. For the first few days it was just a rushed campaign logo, a narcissistic Robert Abela logo, or a negative billboard about PN. 

By comparison, PN approved and published its electoral programme on day three – and that’s without having any forewarning of when the election campaign whistle would be blown.   

To make matters worse, the only ideas Robert Abela has announced so far are copied directly from Bernard Grech’s Budget-response speech or PN’s Vision 2030 Electoral Programme.

Labour has not even announced its congress, which must be held to discuss and approve the manifesto, so it looks like we’re still days away from it being published.

All this confirms that Robert Abela was planning on calling the election after the Pope’s visit, using that visit to garner goodwill. 

But something changed and he rushed to the polls instead.

Two things changed in the weeks leading up to his decision. 

Firstly, Joseph Muscat’s warnings became louder. After a police raid on his house, it was clear that Muscat wanted to send a clear message to Robert Abela to protect him or face the consequences.

Another thing that happened is the arrest of Christian Borg and his allegedly criminal gang. Borg was a client and business partner of Robert Abela. He obviously knows a lot about Abela’s past, which could have got the Prime Minister worried.

Whatever the reason, it’s clear that Robert Abela is out of ideas and has no vision for the country. 

It’s also clear that he is compromised and unable to take the right decisions.

Vote him out.