Malta is not a stage

I read Mario Vella's tribute to his hero, Alfred Sant, and found it nauseating, to say the least. I could not wait to put my reactions down on paper in an urgent attempt to settle my stomach.

I am no intellectual. I am a very ordinary person with a moderate degree of education and a functional, thinking brain. My sentences will be simple. I will ignore any toponyms that may suddenly appear, whether Arabic or otherwise. I am not out to impress anybody.

First, a general comment or question. Dr Vella's article was published as a Talking Point - what was or is his point? If it was merely to eulogise Dr Sant, he would have left Eddie Fenech Adami out of the picture.

If, on the other hand, he meant to denigrate our prime minister, let me tell him he has failed. He has only succeeded in proving that Dr Sant should have chosen another of the many talents attributed to him and left the government of the nation to others.

To be a leader - even of a cub-scout patrol - requires a lot more than being an intellectual. It requires a deep sense of humanity, great sensitivity and the art of persuasion. It requires charisma.

Dr Sant was elected leader of his party, albeit under circumstances still being questioned now. Within four years he was voted in as prime minister but could not hold the party or the government together. He had to give up after less than two years.

Where were his leadership skills? Was his superior intellect not even enough to show him the way to survival? Dr Fenech Adami, on the other hand, has led his party for 27 years and the nation for 14 years and was elected to do so for 20.

Dr Vella defines Dr Fenech Adami's Europe as one "intended to reassure those that are not quite convinced that they are European because the critical positive 'pessimism of intelligence' that distinguishes the best European culture is so alien to their own traditional provincial cultures".

I waded through that, noted skin colour was not mentioned, and came out the other side with the following thoughts. European culture has to be an amalgamation of the said traditional provincial cultures. These overlap or go off at a tangent but come together as a whole to give all us Europeans, daft or brilliant, our identity.

A string of multi-syllable words will not change this. The pessimism of intelligence - I must be one of the daft ones because I am quite optimistic by nature - may be claimed by Europe's intelligentsia, and by Dr Sant with his talent and skill in metabolising European culture, but it makes them neither more nor less European.

I cannot end without saying that I found the overall patronising tone of the article very insulting. From a very high altitude Dr Vella seems to be telling us unthinking provincials that we are not capable of recognising Dr Sant's credentials if they hit us in the face and are quite happy to make do with Dr Fenech Adami.

Of course Dr Fenech Adami can speak for himself, although he really should not bother in this instance. However, I will say this - I recognise Dr Sant's credentials as a dramatist and author. I have never read his books or plays but know they have worth. The bottom line is that he tried to do a Vaclav Havel and failed miserably to the detriment of our nation and our people. Please let no one give him another chance.