Progressive Labour, huh?
Can things get any more ridiculous? Our headlines these days are dominated by what JPO said, what the PN rebutted, what FD demands, how JM voted and how the PN re-re-rebutted.
I swear, not even an episode from Dallas or Beautiful could compete with this bunch. Drama queens, the lot of them.
The rest of Europe right now flounders under headlines on the lines of: Bailout agreed for Spanish banks; Eurozone unemployment reaches record high; Protesters rally in Ukraine; Olympics security firm looses $77M... you get the drift.
Given this climate, non-Maltesers must think we invent our headlines to keep ourselves amused in the absence of any real news. Because you would be forgiven for thinking that nothing else is happening on our islands besides this little cat-fight between politicos.
But there is – and a lot of what is going on is not being picked up by voters precisely because the attention of pretty much everyone is being taken up by questions like “Will JPO bring down the government, or will FD get in there before?”
These are questions that should never have even cropped up on our radar. In the normal course of events, our attention should be taken up by more “real” matters. Not that these aren’t real enough, heavens know, but they are so unnecessary.
Which brings me neatly to this blog’s headline. Those who follow my posts regularly know that gratuitous PL/PN bashing is not my thing. The arts, on the other hand, are very much my thing and when I realised that the censorship-censoring bill (see what I did there, eh) has not breezed through the parliamentary process I was nettled.
Remember the whole hullabaloo about a bunch of people getting to tell us which theatre productions we are not mature enough to watch? The bill in question removes this censorship scenario and replaces it with a classification system.
Everyone agreed that it’s the way to go. Everyone acknowledged that stopping adults from watching whatever the heck they please is just not on. You’d have thought there would not have been much debate about the bill.
You’d have thought wrong. Government intended to pass the bill in one sitting before parliament broke off for summer recess – incidentally: summer recess, seriously? What are they, school-kids? Ok, don’t answer that – but the plan fell through.
The reason it fell through is because the Labour whip “indicated that there were other MPs who might wish to intervene in the debate”. Presumably what he means here is other Labour MPs.
Labour make such a big deal of being progressive, hip and what-not that I’d have thought they’d be the first to want to speed up this bill. MP Owen Bonnici did have his say during the first session, but apparently this wasn’t enough for Labour and they insisted on a second sitting to continue the debate. After summer, of course.
Honestly, Labour, if you’re going to insist on labelling yourselves “progressive”, whatever that may mean, you can at least act the part. Just because you can extend the debate, it doesn’t mean you have to.
What other essential points could you possibly wish to raise about the matter that justify stopping the bill from going through in time for the new theatre season?
My guess is that this pussy-footing has more to do with ensuring that the bill doesn’t go through under the PN’s watch (which is highly probable, given all this talk of a September election) so that Labour can then scoop up all credit.
Progressive my foot.
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chrysander Agius
Jul 22nd 2012, 12:01
what Ramona said above has nothing to do with politics, but is taking the producer's side on the matter. Each time we finalise a script or before that, we come up with an idea, instead of running freely with it, we have to start thinking about censorship. I find myself running a word search in all my scripts before I actually submit it to censorship. Classification would be good for everyone, both producers and audience. it's a fair system where one would decide what type of audience is to watch his work, and the audience can also decide what to see and what not to see according to their taste and not to someone else's tastes. I was dissapointed myself to read and hear that it won't be on by october. that means that once again we as ZOO will have to re-adapt certain scenes to get the classification that we anyway want....16+. presently we pay 12euro to get that done, when we want that anyway!! The system is ridiculously old, and needs a change. On another note i would like to thank the people behind the present system who were always very helpful, never arrogant and had discussions on the phone about parts which had to be arranged or omitted! although we weren't always in agreement, i understand that someone has to do that job since the law is still there. PL or PN whoever it is, please have this top priority on your agenda since our first show will be in october, and this will save time, paper and give any writer in 2012, the freedom to write whatever he/she feels like!
Roderick Micallef
Jul 20th 2012, 16:24
'gratuitous PL/PN bashing is not my thing' yeah right you surely sound like it. Even worse dear Ramona you are comparing the censorship bill (which even when passed will not change much) with the EU Bailouts and unemployments. What is wrong in extending the debate any ways? I guess Labour are doing it just because they can! Just like JPO and FD, they voted against because they could.
Additionally, what is wrong if Labour will scoop the credit? If you really don't gratify any party it shouln't make any difference but it seems it does to you!
Mr Joseph Carmel Chetcuti
Jul 18th 2012, 22:41
Your political colours have come through. What's wrong with MPs insisting they have their say? Should we not be encouraging this? After all, this government has to all intents and purposes lost its majority. It can no longer dictate to the parliament what parliament is to do. Many Maltese are in dire straits. Stop kidding yourself. You, not a supporter of the PN? My foot!
VINCENT WILLIAMS
Jul 18th 2012, 12:36
With out any doubt Progressive Labour is much more and more better than Gonzi Partit Negattiv.
S. Vella
Jul 18th 2012, 19:50
We can only judge that when PL formulate and make public some policies which to date we have had none. Till then, PL is no different from Old Labour with too many of the people responsible for the dark Mintoff/KMB years still very much active in its ranks.
Mr Joe Micallef
Jul 19th 2012, 09:49
Better? In what?
Mr Andrew Camilleri
Jul 18th 2012, 11:38
The headlines are a clear indictatiomn of how local politics dominates our lives. you would think, buy looking at our newspaperes, that the world had come to a stop waiting for the outcome of this farce. Even the blogs on his Paper show how obsessed we are with politics as nearly all bloggers spin their stories around the local grandees of the political parties. Sick!
Ralph Mangion
Jul 18th 2012, 11:07
This is all BULL....... the theatrical season is all programmed way before by May of the same year. Case closed.
Andy Farrugia
Jul 18th 2012, 08:46
FOUR, so far! But there will others, just you wait!
Eric Soames
Jul 18th 2012, 10:54
Andy Farrugia: So what? Everybody [on all sides] has an ax to grind - plenty to go round.
Andy Farrugia
Jul 18th 2012, 12:06
I don't.
Victor Laiviera
Jul 18th 2012, 00:38
So, just because the LP wants things to be done properly, and a law debated thoroughly before being passed, it is not progressive?
Just because you CAN write, you don't have to - especially when you don't have anything really worthwhile to say.
Julian Borg
Jul 18th 2012, 09:42
The one thing the PL does properly is tags manage all its PR in a co-ordinated manner - it is like trickery with mirrors and behind it all is a vacuum......bahh
J Farrugia
Jul 17th 2012, 16:04
Ramona, i had hoped you would be one blogger that wouldn't bore us with the already boring political situation in this country, but no, you run out of ideas and decided to join the likes of your co bloggers ABC &VC in this very oh so dull episode.
Back to reading the sun i guess at least it's funny.
Eddy Privitera
Jul 17th 2012, 15:47
Ramona. you are obviously shooting from the hip !
Francis Saliba M.D.
Jul 18th 2012, 13:58
@ Eddy Privitera, yesterday at 15:47
Just because the entry wound is situated in that region of your anatomy it does not necessarily follow that Ramona was "obviously shooting from the hip".
Mr Albert Dimech
Jul 17th 2012, 14:57
Sometimes I get the impression you bloggers are short for ideas. I for one am for a liberal state, but please waiting a few weeks isn't going to make such a difference when we've had a parliament that hasn't functioned for months, with very long recesses. Why not ask the leader of the house why such a long runner recess?
Morana Axisa
Jul 18th 2012, 08:06
Mr Albert Dimech, apparently you are not aware of Theatre schedules and the meaning of the phrase 'the Theatre season'. Theatres normally start their season in October/November, which means that they have to start rehearsals at least two months before, if not before that. So YES 'some' weeks (which translate to months) DO make a BIG difference.
Please choose the reason of your report below: