You will never walk alone

A smile says it all. And that smile is enough to galvanise the Maltese people into a spirit of unity in the person of our Archbishop. God has given us a precious gift in Mgr Paul Cremona (or perhaps "Patri Pawl" to help us feel closer to him as our spiritual leader). Indeed, his consecration has revived a religious spirit in so many of us. A man we can identify ourselves with. A man of the people, who has mixed and mingled with all.

Or is it too early to judge? Not that I believe that his charisma will ever fade away. But because every honeymoon must come to an end and the realities of life, religious or otherwise, must be faced and the problems facing the Church in Malta must be solved.

Undoubtedly, the biggest task ahead for the Archbishop is that of re-galvanising his flock and, particularly, by drawing the younger generation towards the Church. We have witnessed an increased indifference from this sector in matters religious and this must be strongly reflected in the dwindling Sunday Mass attendance over the years.

It is significant that Patri Pawl has dedicated one of his introductory evenings to visiting young people within their very lair, Paceville. In this he has manifestly shown he cares for their well-being and interests. But the effort to draw them closer must be a concerted one, undertaken by all members of the clergy.

The Archbishop would do well to guide parish priests and other keepers of our churches to provide a more attractive fare during Sunday Mass. Shorter and more interesting sermons come to mind. If the Archbishop succeeds in this, then he will garner much youthful support and never walk alone.

The opinion just delivered by Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, that the statistical revision of GDP figures by our National Statistics Office was in order, has given the lie to the Labour Party's accusations levelled against the NSO that it has been cooking the books. This has severely undermined that party's credibility once again.

It is a pity that New Labour has not renounced to its decade-old tactics of ruthlessly attacking individuals, who are not politicians, but nevertheless provide a very valid contribution to the state. The result is a loss to the state, of which we all form part, in the resignation of a capable and dedicated professional man as is Gordon Cordina. Dr Cordina had actively participated in the campaign in favour of Malta's entry into the European Union, as he had every right to do. Is this a case of getting one's back? We've seen this before.

And what about the credibility of the MLP's newly-elected education secretary, Wenzu Mintoff. During his first public appearance on last week's Bondì Plus programme he showed anything but education. His performance was reminiscent of that of his predecessors during the 1970s and 1980s. Interruptions and vicious attacks on those one disagrees with, rather than weighted arguments.

I will not go into the merits of Dr Mintoff's attacks on Lou Bondì. Mr Bondì no doubt taunted Dr Mintoff in no mean way (I have been told, since I did not see all the programme, but only excerpts) to get such a reaction and has filed libel proceedings to boot. Perhaps taunting is his task, although I completely disagree with his style and his manner of dealing with people. Does it run in the family? But then Dr Mintoff is a political animal and should not fall for such tactics. That is not the way to debate. That is not education. Perhaps it shows up Labour's well-worn true colours once again. Can the party be perceived as serious and credible when the latest New Labour officer behaves like that? I hope it is not a sign of things to come.

And now onto reserved parking for residents. The recent judgment delivered by the Civil Court is to be commended. Not because it declared that the establishment of reserved parking areas for residents of a locality is ultra vires the powers of the local council, but because it opens up the debate on these reserved parking areas themselves.

We are all citizens of one Malta, and no local council has the right to discriminate between one citizen and another. Pietà belongs to me as much as it belongs to its residents. I have the same right to park there as much as they do. I pay the same taxes as they do. And, what's more, I do not expect to have more rights to parking in my home town than they do. As I have held for so long, local councils need to have their wings clipped, and once we're at it we can do the same to the local wardens - perhaps their tongues as well.

Stop press - Well done to my namesake minister for coming down heavily on the General Workers' Union on the shipyard issue. As he rightly said, nobody owes shipyard workers a living. The Lm300 million pumped into the shipyard until 2003 plus the Ln113 million invested in restructuring mean a staggering amount of some Lm1,033 per head of each member of our population from top to bottom; and that's you and me. Do we realise? This sum amounts to one third of the annual minimum wage! And then not only do they sleep on the job, but they stop working during working hours. As the minister also rightly said, gone are the 1970s and 1980s when these people not only held the country at ransom but terrorised it.

GWU watch it. Take it easy. For the sake of your members, let's not have another Sea Malta faux pas. The minister means what he says and, believe me, he'll do it!