OR WHAT?

Perhaps in an effort to counteract the comments being flighted his way as a result of his conspicuous absences (and equally conspicuous presences, for that matter) Labour leader Joseph Muscat had himself put on (Super) One Radio on Sunday. Since this is the favourite station of Labourites and since not many people other than Labourites listen to it, it was also necessary to make the appearance more widely known, and timesofmalta.com, from where I am taking my information, obliged, as is its duty.

The hook, which is what the headline put up to attract interest is called in jargon, was that "on the issue of migration, the national interest came first". I am convinced that Dr Muscat does not have a racist bone in his body but this was a really craven attempt at appealing to those whose skeletons fairly rattle with racist bones. When he continued to say that he had not seen any 'mainstream reports' (presumably he meant mainstream media) about poor conditions of migrants in Libya, the Leader of the Opposition was either trying to convince us that he is terminally naive, which he can't be, or that he doesn't comprehend how little mainstream media have actually got into Libya over the years.

And since when is national or regional policy made by heeding media reports, mainstream or otherwise? And if it wasn't the mainstream media to which he was referring, what are mainstream reports, pray tell? We have enough buzz-words floating around to not be needing any more.

According to Muscat, there is no humanitarian crisis in Libya with regard to immigrants and the number of immigrants who had been coming to Malta was unsustainable and the national interest had to be protected, if necessary at the expense of political correctness. He added, one assumes as a sop to people like me, that migrants should be treated with dignity but those who came to Malta should come in a legal way.

Which was the thought that prompted my headline. And what will happen if they don't come in a legal way? From the logic he seemed to use, they would be sent back to Libya, because he (Muscat) had not (during his day or so in Libya) seen a humanitarian crisis.

What would happen if the Libyans refused to take them back was not stated.

Oh well, another day, another sound-bite.

He also went on to insist, it was reported, that the Maltese people ‘will not be made to pay' for the decisions taken by the government on the extension of the power station at Delimara. "The people will not pay for this incompetence," and "The people will also not pay for people who stole from the Maltese people," he said. He also said the PL would await the EU's actions on this issue before announcing its own decisions.

Excuse me, mate, but a) the people (or those of us who pay taxes, anyway) are already paying, as we have paid for everything every Government, even your apparent hero Mintoff's, has done since the King or Queen stopped sending us bundles of money and b) what "decisions" is the Labour Party going to take?

Do tell: are you going to shout and scream and stamp your feet? Naaah, you're doing that already. Are you going to ask the Commissioner of Police to prosecute? If yes, don't ask Anglu Farrugia to do it, given his fun and games with the vote-selling scandal.

Go on, tell us what you're going to do after the EU delivers itself of its take on the thing? Are you going to explain to your supporters, the ones who you had spent years telling that the EU was nothing but an insult to national sovereignty, why you had to wait to see what the Brussels mandarins come up with?

You're right, the next election should not be about the introduction of divorce: there shouldn't even be a debate. We agree on one thing, that divorce should be brought in sooner rather than later, but I'm really going to enjoy watching you twist in the wind trying to reconcile the hidebound conservatism of most of your supporters with the notion that divorce is long overdue.

There was plenty more with which I could have some fun in the interview, such as the failure to explain why, after going on and on and on about corruption, perceived or real, Labour's councillors in Sliema failed to vote against Nikki Dimech, who had admitted, falsely or not, that he had been guilty of that little thing. And I could have asked how Muscat knew that Gingell Littlejohn and Zaren Vassallo were going to contest the elections on behalf of the PN, which is what he seemed to say (and I know he didn't mean to say it, but hey, perception is king)

But Chelsea are about to kick off against Blackpool and while it is certain that they will be still at the apex of the Premier League in a couple of hours, I'd like to watch.