Carnival, the streets are rife with caped crusaders and princesses, children and adults alike. Neon-coloured floats tractor up Republic Street in a procession of loud thumping remixes and a sea of twirling, sutured dancers. The tiny village of Nadur is overrun by ghouls and gimps, sniffing and chortling under hoods and behind masks.
I will be dressed as a white rabbit, forcibly late for something or other.
The festivities are held over a four-day period before Lent, yet on this island nation it feels like carnival all year round. At times, charming and quirky, at others, a macabre, free-for-all, masqueraded orgy in Palace – Kubric style.
With all that is being reported, it isn’t hard to think of the current administration performing the latter. . More so when you doubt the truth or the nature of the information you receive, be it coming from the media or politicians.
Cardona’s garnishee order, car bombs, the Pana Committee, the Press Law, the PN’s demonstration against parts of said law, JM’s strange sun burn, Sai’s extended contract, gay marriage, blacked out contracts, Lord Kascomort’s letter, the temporary returning of de Valette’s dagger, all under the spotlight of the European Presidency. It is a bit much to digest when all we want to do is have a good time.
Joseph Muscat’s government is in some form of and while in Castille. The Police Commissioner PR the blogger will pay.
After the backlash from Chris Cardona’s garnishee order against DCG, Minister for Justice and Culture Owen Bonnici and Minister for Education and Employment Varist Bartolo announce a bill to update the Press Law. With such a quick reaction time by the government it is clear that the bill was already being drafted. Recent events must have forced the government’s hand resulting in its early release.
The reform is both good and XXX. Finally, criminal libel will be dropped, as will the possibility of freezing a journalist’s assets through a precautionary warrant. Cardona agrees with these changes, yet has not withdrawn his own warrant against DCG. .
The raising of the maximum fine in a libel case means that if not resolved through mediation the case will be heard in the court of judges, .
The Media Act registering of “any web-based news service or other web-based service relating to news or current affairs that operates from Malta or in respect of which editorial decisions are taken in Malta”. freedom of the internet.
Like a government PR agent at table, she managed to divert people’s minds from tales of alleged corruption to stories of social reform
media and journalists What journalism in Malta needs is an independent regulatory body and its own ombudsman. Why should the DOI issue press cards and accreditation?
At a recent dinner a friend in his early 60s asked me, why did young people not attend the PN’s demonstration in favour of democracy? He assumed I had gone. I didn’t, I was sat at lunch just around the corner from the event. I told him so. Thank God Simon’s voice doesn’t carry, because it would have ruined my grappa.
The simple answer to his question, even though I am no longer part of the “young”, is that we are both lazy and not really into the PN.
He didn’t seem impressed. “The government they’re great,” he said.
I couldn’t help but agree with him, but again because we never seem to get to know the full story, there is always room for doubt.
After a few more glasses, conversation at table turned to the Pana Committee and Panama Papers. . Nexia BT admitted after all this time that the third Panama company, Egrant belonged to them. What a load of .
The Minister for Konrad Mizzi sat for the grilling by the committee of MEPs, where he revealed that Nexia BT confused his company’s dealings with Lord Kascomort’s. . All he was doing was consolidating his family fortune. Even though freshly leaked e-mails seem to indicate otherwise, in which Mizzi’s financial advisers refer to the minister’s past waste management expertise.
Lord Kascomort himself declined to sit before the committee. Questioning their mandate, .
Before anyone could properly get into that debate, someone else raised the subject of gay marriage. Like a government PR agent at table, she managed to divert people’s minds from tales of alleged corruption to stories of social reform.
Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties Helena Dalli dropped the microphone by uttering the workings of a gay marriage bill. Frankly they should have done it straight away instead of that civil union malarkey. But I guess in politics it is better to stretch out social reforms just in case you need a quick PR fix. . Whatever the reason, finally gay marriage.
We are being propelled into what is shaping out to be a protracted and painful election campaign. The cogs of which had already been set in motion a while back. The government , while the opposition gains a certain momentum. It is still early to know if their two-stroke party machine can withstand the might of Labour’s almost militant PR machine.
Carnival’s mask imbues its wearer with anonymity and freedom. Two qualities that when mixed with human nature may easily lead to debauchery and self interest. Any government that rules through a veil of opacity, no matter how well intentioned, sows seeds of doubt and where doubt grows, no man is at peace.
Standing Rock burns.