Obscurities, not observations

What cobwebs of confusion are woven into Richard A. Matrenza's "Observations" (The Sunday Times, March 6). Any claims or comparisons to the wit and wisdom of Samuel Johnson whom he rather capriciously quotes in his opening sentence are immediately dashed by the subsequent obscurity of the rest of his piece, including that fatuous endpiece.

First he regales us with a boring lecture on China and about how a mercurial Maltese Prime Minister once opened it up for us lucky ones in the 'wicked' 1970s (his quotes, not mine!). At least he acknowledges that China has, in the meantime, changed into a market economy - a far cry from the grim realities of those years or of the subsequent horrors at Tiananmen Square.

Yet, Mr Matrenza sounds as though he is still living in those nostalgic years, rooted in that obscurantist socialist mindset in the midst of those cosy state monopolies then strangling Malta, hindering and stunting economic and political development and maiming the efflorescence of our cultural base.

Not surprisingly, he next takes a swipe at Malta's membership of the EU and the 'fat and rigid Brussels Book of Rules' which, he wildly claims, now 'shackle' us from the freedom to benefit from our relationship with China.

What an topsy-turvy observation to make at this moment in time! Could the opposite be true? I doubt if the Chinese are still unaware of the additional commercial advantages of foreign investment in Malta as a result of, and precisely because of, EU membership?

Next Mr Matrenza tries his hand as a latter day Solomon dispensing judgment about Commonwealth institutions and the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Malta next November.

Sadly, he turns out to be nothing more than a serial whinger with a large chip on his shoulder. Why is Malta 'least to benefit from participation in the economic activity of the Secretariat and the other various ramifications of the Commonwealth organisation'. We are 'overlooked' and 'never invited to form part of various (Commonwealth) missions or delegations'. He gripes that immediate first selections (for jobs with international perspectives) 'will go to those from the same network of the old school tie'.

Yet the very fact that the next CHOGM is actually being held in Malta should be proof enough that Malta is hardly being overlooked. As for jobs in the Secretariat, I well recall that the accomplished ambassador in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malta presently responsible for the organisation of the CHOGM in Malta was himself selected and then seconded to the Commonwealth Secretariat for a period of time - old school tie network aside!

Predictably, Mr Matrenza then turns on the present administration and attacks it just where it is possibly doing a good job - promoting e-government. He calls it 'exploiting the emerging world of telecommunications'. Emerging? Where has he been all this time? It has been emerging since the 1970s when the first calculator appeared and during all those precious years when the Socialist administration in Malta abandoned the world of telecommunications altogether.

The telephone system was archaic and remained out of date until rescued by an incoming Nationalist administration many years later. The importation of TV sets was banned and locally manufactured sets under licence were 'rationed' out. Video players and recorders, then the latest technological innovation, suffered from the same ban. Effectively, this amounted to a total ban since none were produced locally. To own a fax machine (if you could get hold of one) was considered a wild extravagance. Thankfully, home computers and mobile phones had not yet appeared on the scene for they too would have met the same fate.

We are back to the Seventies mindset again when Mr Matrenza refers to the 'roadmap' which he gingerly describes as a 'contemporary buzzword'. Contemporary? What lapse of observation is this? The word has been around in political circles for as long as I can remember - and I am no spring chicken! It has certainly been around in EU circles since 1996 when the short-lived Socialist administration suspended Malta's candidacy for EU membership - happily rescued two years later, again by the Nationalists.

Like the Chinese, the Maltese also belong to an old and sensitive culture and they too never forget old friends...

The final endpiece about Argotti was unworthy of a budding Johnson. It was not even clever nonsense - although it is a shame about the dogs!