Maltese PM Joseph Muscat – Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George no less – has announced that he is stepping down in Jan 2020. This is due to his handling of the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. EU special envoy to Malta, Sophie Veld, said that trust between Malta and the EU had been damaged and that PM Muscat has done very little to ameliorate the situation. This only means one thing – amidst the current media blackout surrounding the situation – that he and his crony administration are dodgy as hell. Want to buy Maltese, aka EU, passport? No problem. $1,000,000 pls. What a fantastically renewable model! Events in Malta bear a striking resemblance to what happened in Slovakia and their PM Fico. Luckily, mass outrage has forced both of these money enthusiasts out but the fact remains: journalists investigating corruption at the highest level are being murdered in EU member states.
But there is more. Who are the patrons, consiglieres and other fwends of PM Muscat? You will never guess. The New Labour Party Massive: Tony Blair (Muscat was once proudly anointed as Mr Blair’s Mini-Me and latches on to his every word), Alastair Campbell (Mr Campbell said he would be using his recent trip to advise Mr Muscat who was ‘a bit corrupt’ but ‘no murderer’. Lovely). And let us not forget Mr Iain McNicol, now of McNicol Consulting, who lied about his trips to Malta. Said he was on holiday with his son while in reality was meeting Government ministers. Oh dear! How did socialism metamorphose from Marx/Engels/Lenin to Blair/Campbell/McNicol?
Finally, Germany gets on with the programme. Labour’s equivalent in Germany, the SPD, has finally elected a duo of true socialists – Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken. Decimated by propping up German Tories, the CDU-CSU, by adherence to neoliberalism (and balanced budgets). This is important. Corbyn’s Labour winning the election is not enough. The tax dodgers and the big money are already threatening to leave our shores if the Real Change agenda is implemented. But where would they go? Not France, if future President Melenchon or Le Pen have their way. Not Italy, with 5-Star more than happy to follow the lead of its European left wingers. Even right-wing Lega Nord would not provide succour the mega-rich are looking for. Spain? What with prodigal Socialists doing deals with Podemos? And that’s just the start. That left Germany and now this… It won’t be easy but SPD, after years in the wilderness, are ready to enter the political purgatory and cleans their sins. Once they recover, in the next few years, I can see them joining forces with Die Linke and the Greens. And that’s Germany in the bag. Japan and Hong Kong are not exactly the most popular destinations, due to distance and cultural differences. This leaves the mothership…
The clouds are gathering in the US as well. Sanders and Warren – should either of them become the President – are not going to be their buddies. With their wealth taxation plans hanging like a Damocles Sword over the American One Percent. I also expect Tulsi Gabbard – the dark horse of the race – to do the right thing. USA would take some time – as it takes time to clean the Augean stables – but the direction of travel would be determined and clear.
So where would they go and for how long? UK, even under socialism, is still a magnet for the rich Russians, Asians and other Europeans. It is a hollow threat. As the saying goes, better the devil you know. Pay your fair share and sleep well at night. And UK, once again, would be in the vanguard of global change.
The argument that Labour are out of it and are unelectable is for the birds. This narrative had some potency pre-2017 but by achieving 40% – despite a barrage of attack from media, big business and even a good bulk of his own MPs – Corbyn’s Labour shattered that pseudo-construct. We all have issues with cognitive dissonance, but we must remain fair. 40% was an astounding result. Corbyn proved to be very competitive and a master campaigner. To rule him out the second time – this time pre-2019 GE and post-40% – is just folly. Variables change, such is their function, but the fundamentals do not. GE 2017 activated a two party system in the UK and it is not leaving anytime soon. Lib Dems led by woeful and out-of-depth Swinson are freefalling and hemorrhaging Remain votes to Labour. There are still two weeks to go and I expect the polls to tighten even further.
My prediction, Labour would stop just short of 40% and would form a Coalition government with SNP by promising them a 2nd referendum in 2022. Following a proposed investment of almost £70bn – showing that Scotland matters – and a good campaign, I expect Remain to prevail over Leave in Scotland by the ironic 52-48 margin.