Breath-taking scenery and poetic inspirations: a lake at the foot of mountains with picturesque villages scattered on its shores, dense patches of greenery as far as the eye can see, a thick mist that engulfs almost everything viewed from the spectacular heights of Monte Baldo.
The summer heat is almost unbearable. Elegant houses on the shoreline, some almost looking as if protruding from the mountain facades, their reddish-brown rooftops thoroughly conspicuous and blending beautifully with the natural hues.
Bars, restaurants and hotels. Countless souvenir shops. Luxurious sea craft and ferry boats conveying tourists from one place to another across the lake, keeping intact the seemingly fragile communication lines between the idyllic towns and villages. The Roman poet Catullus and the seagulls when it is almost evening and at the break of dawn.
A whirlwind stop in Salo’, barely an hour, is almost marred by darkening skies and the sound of thunder followed by heavy rains. We walk hurriedly in a narrow winding street, alone, the name of which I can’t recall, not really knowing where we were heading to with just the relish that we were there. It took some time for us to recognise the deep voices from a what seemed a military march that were filling the void that surrounded us in that narrow street. So often in life we hear but do not listen.
I turn back trying to figure out what it was all about. A glance across an open door and our eyes immediately crossed. A poster – ghostly and ugly, in black, white and grey. Il Duce’s penetrating eyes are unmistakeable. I soon realise that history was calling in one of its typically unusual ways wanting us to stop and have a look.
We are greeted at the door by an elderly gentleman, cordially inviting us in. Passionate about the war time memorabilia he had on display, he starts to reminisce about the past. A concoction of curiosity but also dread fills the mind; long defunct fascist Italy in two small rooms while the marches play.
Siamo di Malta, sounded the obvious thing to say. The gentleman was thrilled. He spoke of his father, a wartime pilot. He was shot down over Malta not too long after Italy declared war. Our grandparents used to tell about the air raids from Sicily until it all very gravely worsened with the Nazi onslaughts. I could sense a certain ideological fondness as the gentleman showed us around the display, the vibes of which I did not like.
In preserving its identity, the Left must wisely embrace the market forces
I could not resist making the point, and clearly so, that we surely belonged to very different political creeds.
At this we embraced, more warmly on his part. Malta is such a beautiful place, he said, and we are brothers, at least in our appreciation of history. I nodded but it must have felt very unsure.
The weather was not to be trusted. We could not stay longer, the next ferry was within minutes. Tanti saluti a Malta, and that was his parting shot. Minutes later as we departed I could not help admiring the scenery of the port in Salo’, the mountains and the dark clouds as backdrop.
And that was it.
• Ruminations about the Labour Party in Britain are never ending. British Labour will never be the same again. Political observers are left wondering about its future and whether, as leadership contender Owen Smith has repeatedly stated, the party will indeed “go bust” should Jeremy Corbyn be re-elected.
This is Labour’s summer of discord but it is also a soul searching eye opener for those who genuinely believe in leftist ideals and that these are still relevant, and very much so, nowadays. Labour woes are compounded not just by Brexit but also the damning verdict of the Chilcot Inquiry on the 2003 Iraq war, the outcome of which has not only trashed the political gravitas of Tony Blair but has served to escalate the tensions between the so called ‘right’ and ‘left’ within the party.
Corbyn represents a complex political paradox. He is a serial rebel turned leader who now faces outright revolt by his own parliamentary party to such an extent that the Labour Opposition in the House of Commons has rendered itself almost completely ineffective.
Moreover, a unique situation has developed whereby Corbyn probably remains the favourite candidate for the Labour leadership among the party membership in spite of the rout the he endures amongst his own front and back bench. It ultimately depends on how about half a million Labour members shall cast their vote in the party leadership election come September.
There is one big positive with the Labour tumult: in all of its upheaval the party has devolved itself into an exemplary democratic exercise. Whether this distances the party light years away from electability into government is obviously another matter.
The fact is that rediscovering traditional Labour ideals or not and with Corbyn apparently so popular among the members, the party still severely lags behind in the polls with the Conservatives enjoying way beyond what is needed to sustain not just their present tenure but also, in all probability, the one to come.
While Labour wrestles to find its soul the Tories have closed ranks. It did not take long for Theresa May to assert herself as the new occupant in Downing Street, sending clear messages that she can be a pragmatist as much as a machiavel. Judging by her overhaul of the cabinet front bench, too much risk-taking or not, she is surely living up to the Gladstone metaphoric dictum that first of all a new prime minister needs to be a good butcher!
Her first speech upon entering office after being called upon by the Queen is remarkable for one thing: practising what she preached would render a Corbynista Labour Party totally irrelevant. But then, the distinction between Tory and Labour could not be starker than in David Cameron’s own words in his last PMQs that the Tories had moved from resignation to unification to coronation while Labour has not yet even decided about its own leadership rules.
It is not, however, a bed of roses for the Tories. For one, there is Brexit and what the ‘Brexit is Brexit’ phraseology really means both in political and practical terms. It is very unlikely that May will actually pull the trigger with the notorious Article 50 unless she feels reassured that the way forward would not compromise in any way the very existence of the UK, under its current format or otherwise.
It is very unwise to interpret the rocking of the British political establishment in isolation from the events on continental Europe and beyond. The recent terror attacks that have, yet again, brought France to its knees coupled to the grave situation that is emerging in Turkey constitute major pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle that, inevitably, cannot bode well for Europe as a whole.
Not least in terms of the ability of the European nations to work together in the best interest of national security and the fight against terrorism.
Drawing parallels is often difficult and dangerously speculative. A close look into where British Labour stands now should serve as an eye-opener: even the straight-jackets of conventional political ideology are there to be managed.
In preserving its identity the Left must wisely embrace the market forces but doing so skilfully enough to still champion the best interests of the common good and especially those who lag behind.
sapulis@gmail.com
Alan Pulis specialises in environmental management.