There was a time when I had little fascination with politics. I read and wrote only matter related to my work as an educator who was satisfied to say what he felt as against the parody of some educator promoted for not thinking. I used to believe, because of the mental conditioning of early years in conservative circles, that the natural place for cultural evolution and cultural expression was the right. I knew relatively little about Europe and the fact that, in that distant continent, if you wished to think, you had to sit in a leftist amphitheatre.

But I struggled against obvious evidence and read more (at a time when books were part of education and were not insulted by VAT) to be able to silence the nagging feeling that there was some kind of contradiction between thinking and conservatism. It's like the attempt to play the guitar harder to forget that it cannot silence fundamentalism.

As article followed article in the conservative press - which promised me that it had room for my thinking that the evolution of a country had to pass the test of elimination of poverty, hardship and, especially, arrogance - I became more and more convinced that the glass of water necessary to swallow the conservative pill now required a bucketful of a stronger liquid.

Around me there were people who spoke of "the others" as incapable of comprehending thinking and less bent on brushing their teeth. But at the same time, they slammed me with their bad breath and, when challenged to discuss without laughing and shouting, they idiotically accused me of trying to crack glorious tradition - a parody of Religio et Patria. I understood that their conviction of thinking was indistinguishable from rigid self-righteous mould. So I bid farewell to the stinking fold.

Over my leftist friends of nowadays I have a great advantage. For decades I have lived with the conservative right waiting for it to show signs of change. I waited and waited until I realised I was expecting to see daffodils growing in a dank dungeon.

For, the internal racism of those years is the same as that of nowadays. It is enough for a politician who loves culture to state that he has an interest in the emancipation of his country for my ex-friends to bring up their vicious hatred from the sediment of their varicosed mental convolutions. The hatred of yore is the hatred of now.

Hatred is a mental disease that makes you attempt to live the schizophrenia of solemnly refuting international racism while practising internal racism - or apartheid. Hatred makes you gang up with a stinking herd and cowardly attack individuals who seem to be more honest than you. When the hater realises that his adversaries abhor arrogance and corruption, he hates them even more and tries to assassinate their character by saying that they drink or abuse all kinds of substance.

Hatred makes you apparently hug Christian Democracy while kicking in the teeth both Christianity and Democracy.

The MLP is wrong

The MLP is mistaken to think that many Labourites would have to emigrate following another PN electoral victory. Indeed, emigration is not cruel enough. It is more cruel to oblige people to live in a country where jobs and promotions are for the less competent conservatives. Ask those who went to see the Ombudsman and others who did not even bother to do so.

A score of idealists

It is normal for European young people to have leftist idealism. A score of Maltese young leftists got together and expressed their political sentiments in writing. These were attacked by a hostility reminiscent of far right intolerance. I thought that political censure was out of fashion.

Transparency International

This respected monitoring organisation placed Malta number 28 in 2006 in matters of corruption and down to number 33 in 2007. It is nothing to jump for joy about - especially since we like to pat ourselves on the back by boasting about "certificates of excellence from abroad".

Corruption has been mentioned in the Maltese media for several months and I believe that it will play a part in serious election debates organised by independent journalism. My intuition also tells me that we have not seen the end of these stories and perhaps Labour is keeping to itself some more interesting stories about corruption and will divulge them just before the election date. I suspect that Labour is also searching energetically for more corruption stories and may discover a few more things in the coming weeks.

Tax holiday

The holidays removed from your rest have not been given back to you. But at least the government has added a tax holiday - budget day when no new taxes are mentioned. The new taxes are imposed during the rest of the year - over a period of 364 days. Plenty of time for whipping you. Also when a solemn cross-my-heart statement of "no new taxes" is made, it does not mean that an increase of the same taxes is not contemplated. They are higher but not new. Who says the government is not politically honest?

No tax on overtime

I very much agree with Labour's proposal on the removal of income tax from overtime work. I believe this idea to be the result of emancipated socialism, a compromise with the little that is positive in capitalism. It is an incentive for the hard working to be more productive by working more - perhaps even during the holidays taken away by Dr Gonzi.

Please slap us on the face

It seems to many that, as the election approaches, Dr Gonzi is becoming more emotional in his voice and body language. Obviously, I would be too if a number of factors co-existed to take away my calm. First of all, it is a great emotional pain to have suffered four consecutive local council defeats and a Euro Parliament sledgehammer vote and keep cool at the same time. It is also a source of tension to have the opposition dig up all sorts of corruption (with perhaps more to come) and see Transparency International express the same attitude.

Having mixed feelings about the general call for a Cabinet reshuffle without having the courage to effect it is also quite stressful. Finally, the conviction that one has created a wonderful budget which is received less warmly than one expected is not pleasant at all. Parties commission reliable surveys and Dr Gonzi's survey must have told him that the euphoria expecting the budget to generate was at most a hesitant half smile.

And this is why he is insisting that if this were an election budget, let people slap the government in the face. Dr Gonzi's surveys are obviously why he has not called an election before Christmas. But, as the days go by without this blessed election date being announced, one may end up more than worried while painting oneself into a painful corner with the electorate poising itself to deliver the energetic slap in the face.

Easy provocation and demands for apologies

Speaking of transparency, the conservative fashion today seems to be great sensitivity and painful demands for apologies - smacking of political hypocrisy and censure. Perhaps the first apology should be for the untruth about someone's son being stopped from entering university.

John deserves better

The sort of "rehabilitation" of John Dalli on the eve of the election is, like the budget, a case of "too little too late". This should have taken place three years ago and taken ministerial aspects.

I agree with Maltarightnow

While not agreeing with its stiff military-sounding name and its lack of letters to the editor, I agree with Maltarightnow's advice: "The best challenge in life is to believe in what you are." Friends of friends have tested this successfully.

Dr Licari teaches psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and geolinguistics at the Department of French of the University of Malta.