Thursday, 10th July 2008
TWO MINDS
I’m in something of two minds about Joseph Muscat and his approach to his job.
On the one hand, it’s refreshing to see a Labour leader appearing to be constructive and pro-active, on the other, it’s a bit disturbing to dig a tad deeper, below the shiny clean surface, as it were. I’ve no doubt that all the lil’elves will, on reading this, draw themselves up to their full height and start spluttering again, with varying degrees of coherence, but that’s what makes this blog interesting I suppose.
Let me elucidate.
On a broad brush basis, it’s positive – or seems to be – that Muscat has this fervent desire to strengthen democracy, given the Malta Labour Party’s not-so-remote pedigree in the arena of upholding democratic principles in Malta. Statements of old such as “jobs before human rights” (to mention just one such gem) and the behaviour of the institutions of State when Labour ruled the roost are blots on our democratic landscape of too recent vintage to be forgotten, for all that Muscat and his generation were still in their school uniforms when they happened.
The up-and-coming generations, at this point, will ask me, with more or less politeness, to stuff my memories and stop harking back to the past, but a glance at the comments that succeed this and other blog will confirm that many lil’elves themselves are living in the past. We might all be too old to rock and roll but it seems we’re too young, yet, to allow the past to die, especially bearing in mind that if we ignore our history, we are doomed to repeat it.
But in Malta in 2008 are slogans like “strengthening democracy” relevant any longer? Is Muscat’s use of the buzz-phrase not, then, a slightly cynical manipulation of the emotions of the two groups to which he’s trying to appeal?
The first group, his own core of supporters, is feeling hard done by and how by the fact that the Labour Party lost yet another election. People like Anglu Farrugia, now elevated to form part of the leadership troika, have been fanning the flames of their (perfectly understandable) resentment with what many see as inane remarks about vote buying and reporting Malta to the OSCE and whatever. Alfred Sant, on the few occasions he makes a return to the arena, mouths off about the power of incumbency and the heinous crimes of spin perpetrated during the campaign, for all the world as if he wasn’t a spinmeister of awesome proportions himself.
So as soon as Muscat starts talking about strengthening democracy, this lot, the first group, starts to feel all heroic and militant, muttering to itself, aloud or not, that it’s time to stand up and be counted, to show that they’re not going to be trampled over and all that good stuff.
And then there’s the second group, the one at which Muscat’s charm offensive is really aimed.
The main components of this band of brothers and sisters are members of the chattering classes. They vaguely remember when we faced real threats to democracy in this country. For some reason or another, reasons that may for instance be connected with intellectual difficulties in understanding that things don’t change that quickly, or to an undefined irritation with the Nationalists, these people choose, almost but not quite, to bury these memories.
In psycho-babble, they sublimate them but still have them.
For these people, then, Muscat’s “strengthening democracy” pose is just the trigger they need to snap closed the trap-door of their memory, burying even further, hopefully forever, the spectre of the MLP and the truck-loads of the aristocracy of the workers rampaging around the streets.
Truth be told, I’d like to see these memories buried, too, but for the right reasons. Wrapping one’s self in a democratic flag is all well and good if one is living in Zimbabwe or some other part of the world where democracy hasn’t quite taken hold, but doing it here, frankly, smacks of a foray into political opportunism and nothing more, and a pretty amateurish one at that.
Just to continue on the theme of amateurishness, some of the proposals made by Muscat as a pre-condition to discussing something that most political parties, in systems such as ours, don’t even need to discuss (pairing) were somewhat peculiar. Given that the rate of excise tax charged on fuel is fixed, what was he on about wanting to discuss capping it? Is he saying that the Government should only collect so much fuel tax, regardless of how much was consumed? Why not say the same thing about income tax or VAT? And is it ingrained in the MLP mind-frame that it insists on proposing concepts, such as Whistle Blower or Freedom of Information legislation, which are already part and parcel of Government policy? It’s lucky there’s no such thing as copyright on these things.
So there you have it: on one side of the brain, Muscat comes across as a reasonable type, making all the right noises, on the other side, questions pop up, almost unbidden, as to the real import of all this. Is this the result of youthful enthusiasm and insouciance, attributes which he has in plenty and which add to the general richness of the political tapestry or are we to conclude that there’s less to him (or more, for that matter) than meets the eye?
RSS
Comments
No matter how hard you try to alter what you explicitly wrote, your piece of advice suggested that I shouldn't acquire factual information from books, but from a lot of people OUT THERE. You have still to reveal the identity of this unknown intelligentia, the source of all knowledge, to whom scholars should resort.
For your information, De Marco devotes six whole chapters, from page 89 to 129, to describe events that occured in the 70s. I make it a point to hear both sides of the argument. Unfortunately, apart from Lino Spiteri, no other MLP stalwart has deigned to publish his/her autobiography. Lino Spiteri's memoirs are well-penned; however they are conspicuous more by their omissions rather than by their contents. Some prominent incidents that occurred during the Socialist era are not considered worth a mention.
I have never accused you of displaying arrogance. What I strongly advised is that you should refrain from writing about historical facts that you evidently don't know anything about. You'd risk making a fool of yourself in full view of all readers. On the other hand, you've openly acknowledged and owned up to your ignorance.
My friend I may be ignorant but read again , I didn’t tell you not to read comics ho! sorry books . I told don’t just read books !!
And if you said that you reading Profs De Marco biography , did you notice that the 70s are largely missing !!
It is a good book but please read and hear both sides of the story and then come to your conclusions !
I never will be so arrogant to say that I know more than someone else !
I'm non-partisan (having voted for all 3 parties throughout various elections) and am sick and tired of the "MLP are the Great Satan because of the 1980s" spiel. While I appreciate the fact that some of you can never forget that era and will always associate the MLP with the troubles of days gone by, I would expect something a bit less tired from a renowned columnist such as ABC.
Like Keith Chircop said, the MLP lost the previous election for a hell of a lot of reasons, but the 1980s wasn't one of them. And comparing Joseph Muscat to Mintoff/KMB is laughable - perhaps it tittilates the die-hard nationalists on here, but don't expect me to take such kindergarten analysis seriously.
In all sincerity, I've also been impressed by your incoherent literary style used to express so-called arguments that betray an alarming ignorance of basic historical facts.
Previously-given information about the Integration issue wasn't acquired from any meetings attended. It's readily available by consulting biographies/autobiographies and period historical studies. That is the sole, accepted method to acquire knowledge on historically-documented FACTS. Presently I'm reading De Marco's interesting biography "The Politics of Persuasion". Rest assured that when Mintoff finally decides to publish his biography/autobiography, I'll surely acquire a copy. Definitely, I won't be following your ridiculous advice not to read books but to rely on hearsay.
Who, according to you, are the people out to know all the facts? Are they perchance frequenters of party clubs who while the day away in idle prattle and useless gossip? These types are the best source of misinformation, garbled facts and myths. If you're impressed by such types, you must be really pathetic.
The best advice I can offer you is to heed well the wise, old adage that teaches that it is better to keep your mouth shut and be assumed ignorant rather than to open it and remove all doubt.
Wow ! you impressed me . did you attended to those meetings cause it seems you know better than Dom Mintoff about the facts .
Please don’t just read books , there is still lot of people out there that know all the facts just go and have a chat with them . At that point you will be impressed .
Thanks for your story it was nice :)
you write: I still fear (MLP) chaos in education and health, corruption and a government that looks after its blue-eyed boys.
Do you really believe that under a Labour Party, Malta's situation can be any worse than at present? (shaking head in resigned helplessness)
ps this is only a rhetorical question and no answer is sought or required.
Gee, didn't hear that one before.
You are perfectly entitled to try and forget what happened in 1960 and in 1970. You have ample time to acquire wisdom and learn, the hard way, what happens to those who brashly forget the lessons of history. In the meantime you may care to note the very undignified picture of an ostrich with his head stuck in the ground and his exposed posterior high in the air protected only by a cushion of decorative but ineffective feathers.
Yes, we saw positive changes but the public years for more. Adequacy is good but excellence is much better, yet the MLP continues to hug the former.
@ John Micallef
Are you insinuating that if Labour was elected the price of oil would have gone down or stayed the same? Did you expect Sant to reduce the surcharge in half, without increasing your taxes or created another monster deficit as he did in 1996-1998?
Is your IQ that low?
@ John Sciberras
Lucky you, your Genesis started 1990. So, according to you there have been no wars, no famines, no political strife because you don't remember any!
I bet you are or soon be a card carrying Labour supporter!
"I love Malta and the Maltese but like all people they have their failings just as we Brits-and no doubt Canucks"! Extremely well said.
The Nationalist Party and its succession of governments never were and never will be perfect. Not I and no sincere person will ever be believed if they proclaim a political party as perfect.
The best a political party can strive for is acceptability because we have to remember that when we say 'party' we actually mean a unit containing thousands of imperfect beings.
If I were to describe the imperfections of Canucks, 2000 words will not even suffice. Yet, nobody bitches and always look forward for a better tomorrow, better next year and a better next decade. Life goes on, election campaigns are exactly 30 days long and since coast to coast there is a three hour difference we often go to sleep and listen to the radio in the morning to find out which party has won. Within days, the subject is rarely brought up again.
So great this country is, that for a Constitution we have a patched up British North America Act and we call it 'Our Constitution'!!
Yes you are right the thread is there but not because we want it to be so. So much so they have not been elected! What's the point of clinging to something that is in effect dead? Therefore as far as I'm concerned that era is gone.
I think we have that animal inside of us, all of us … There is a danger in all of us of harming others so badly, not only through our actions but through our words. We can be so horrible to others.
We need to understand that we cannot judge [others], because in situations like the ones I experienced, any of us could do cruel things … Before I couldn't understand why things like this have happened so many times in so many places?
Merely rebutting your senseless arguments re British imperialism doesn't reflect any intellectualism. I'm guided by the wise Chinese saying - "It's better to keep silent and be assumed ignorant rather than to open your mouth and remove all doubt". It's evident that your knowledge of post-War local history is mythical.
Mintoff never requested integration within the British Empire; no such political association was possible. He requested integration with the UK in 1957. Pros included enjoying the same privilages, working conditions and Social Services as British nationals. For cons, Malta would've to become part and parcel of the UK. Due to its relatively small population, it would have 3 representative MPs at Westminster - a great disadvantage since these would've been largely outnumbered. Any laws sanctioned in Westminster (ex. Abortion) would have legal validity before Maltese Courts.
This solution would have effectively ended the Maltese dream of achieving independence.
British authorities refused Mintoff's request not due to his hard terms and conditions, for Mintoff had a veritable ally in Lord Mountbatten. The Integration referendum was inconclusive, proving that Mintoff had no clear mandate. The British realised they 'd create yet another Irish problem due Malta's strong Catholic allegiance.
two faces: before the election: finanzi fis-sod, after the elctions: iz-zejt qed joghla u irridu naghmlu tajjeb.
If ABC writes about illegal immigration he will surely say that they are coming here because of Josph Muscat, or because of Alfred Sant.
Yes, there were ugly times during Mintoff's time and there were ugly times during the PN times also.
No GBO or Mintoff or Karmenu or Eddie succeeded in eliminating violence during the elections. Only one person succeeded: Alfred Sant, the person who has never been understood by the closed mentality Maltese.
Now we even have another peaceful and cooperative person: Joseph Muscat and you know what? Your party will be studying him to learn how decent politics should be conducted.
MLP and NP were dirty in the past. Sant cleaned it up, luckily Gonzi maintained it and Joseph will open a new page - that of cooperation which will benefit all of us.
As usual you measure with different rulers. Re: 'members of other political parties free from the danger of being murdered in their clubs' your EFA pointed to who was the actual person who fired the shot before he got elected, then he suddenly had a lapsus .. just like he did about on that election eve when he lied about Alfred Sant not admitting his son to University, and was then found guilty by the courts.
Just like you forgot the alliances ta' taht l-Umbrella with the Muzew who used to go and blow whistles and ring the church bells during MLP meetings. .. remember?
And one final thing .. who is it you define as the free press? There was never a free press in Malta as far as I know.
I am aware that a handful of families controls Malta, largely through PN but corruption and nepotism is not confined to that party and is endemic in the islands. We up in the north of the EU have other problems and faults
I love Malta and the Maltese but like all people they have their failings just as we Brits-and no doubt Canucks!
It is a pity that this blog tends toward personalities in politics but that of course is Malta. It has been said of other nations that they only think of political parties at election times.
What would I write about? Well, seeing the Cyclops mood, I quote from today's leader...'It was six long years ago... (i.e.2002 under a NP Government)... that Malta experienced the darkest day in its judicial history...
my my...and what about Mr Dalli's comment that Mater Dei is a Euro600m 'part-time' hospital...well, shall we rewrite history along the way our prejudice flows?
We can always look forward to tomorrow's strike action. Major reform in the hearses department will surely contribute to a better standard of living, no? Pity we have to return onto our busses once the action subsides.
With Malta’s record in the environment, transport, education, infrastructure, health, social (one out of 5 births father unknown? Tut tut etc etc departments, it is no wonder that the blues got stuck somewhere in the twentieth century.
You are mentioning incidents whereas I am discussing official government policies. Of course I was saddened by the attack on The Times and also the ransacking of Fenech Adami's home in Birkirkara. Yet you have once again failed to answer my questions addressed to you regarding the 1960s. There was a systematic programme to offload this island from thousands of Labourites and send them packing to Australia and Canada, while Malta was stuck in a medeaval limbo. I have in front of me a Paul Boffa electoral manifesto of the 1950s regarding his approach when the War Damage Funds when these were to be exhuasted. The Labour Party, whom you hold with such alarming disdain, effected a slum clearance programme that gave some human dignity to people who never had it. I remember parents of disabled children knocking on our door, begging for alms, just like those with the ubiquitious green velvet net awaiting the odd coin as soon as one entered City Gate. It was the Labour Party that really sought to improve the lot for the impoverished or unfortunates in modern Maltese society. Just remember that.
Perhaps it is too much for you to
No one could approach, even remotely, Mintoff's MLP in its determination to create "opponents" out of thin air. It took a perverse pleasure in deliberately trying to destroy the right to hold and express a dissenting opinion and that applied to everyone whether political parties, the G.W.U. (which it subdued as a voiceless lackey), all free trade unions, the free press, the University, private schools and hospitals etc. You mention it and you will always discover that the MLP attacked them savagely and took an inordinate pleasure in subjecting them as persecuted opponents more correctly described as its "victims".
It was only after Mintoff'f MLP was rejected by the electorate, not once but twice, that Malta started to enjoy once more the luxury of courts of justice and political party clubs free from the danger of being repeatedly ransacked or sprayed with machine gun bullets, printing presses free from the fear of being burned to the ground , members of other political parties free from the danger of being murdered in their clubs or assaulted by an unholy alliance between the state police and hardened criminals.
And you have the unmitigated cheek to ask what freedom is.
@ Keith Chircop - re your second question: We don't know. If Joseph was the sole supreme Leader, the answer would probably be no, but flanked by those two, serious doubts enter one's mind. Joseph was still in his shorts at the tail-end of the Socialist rule.
@ P Prictoe: Don't sound like a typical Laburist. No innuendoes please. If you have direct knowledge of nepotism and corruption, make us a list. Bet it would be a rather short one. Then we will make our list re the MLP and we shall compare!
@ S Borg: it takes two to tango. Both sides miscalculated. Both sides were stubborn. Gonzi feared for the Church and made his proposals. Mintoff would not be dictated to and dug in. Ransacking the Curia proved Gonzi right!
...forget your Muscat obsession for a while ABC, at least until he provides you with another 'gaffe' to rant about.
And who kept mum? Tal-Muzew with the blowing of whistles during MLP meetings, or the Church ringing the bells, or the priests who used to tell married women that it is legitimate to lie to your husband and tell him that you voted labour when in real case you did not.
In real fact there is only one reason why the Nationalists hate the Labour Party leaders .. and whatever the nationalists say, it is that that is at the back of their minds .. the Labour Party put up the standard of living of the lower class and these can now prove that they are at par with the Holy Nationalist Class!
Do you think Joseph Muscat would let his supporters in the police force/army fire guns upon Nationalist crowds? You think he'd let the dockyard workers ransack the Curia building?
Well said .. for the Nationalists that is distant past and 1971's are to remember. Yes I remember it all ... being sent out of church because Dad was a labourite, not allowing others at Tal-Muzew speak to me, having detergent popured on our pavement, having grand-dad buried in mizbla. I remember how many years dad was employed with the contractor, constructing trenches under the scorching sun at Lm4.50 a week because that were the only jobs available to the uneducated at the time. And what a relief it was when Mintoff came up in government and as a stop gap solution organised the AFM to train workers in the Korp tal-Pijunieri, eventually leading to my dad learning a trade and employing himself.
One sided tirades are not helpfull. I think PP said it best "MLP has a bad past, a confused present and a dubious future". Each one of those adjectives reflect different eras, one has little to do with the other.
I remember well what was going on back then and can say I was on the red side. None the less I now vote PN if I have to. That is because I have buried the past and now want to look to the future.
Granted that in those "dark days" MLP held power within the police and power was severly abused, but claims that the game by the other side was played clean like is not the truth and I know that you know. Also, in the post war/colonial years the country needed to rebuild itself from scratch. By refuting the truth no matter how small it may be, you start sounding like a spin master yourself.
My hunch is that those you deride the most here, i.e. those that remember the last bit of one era and the begining of the other are very probably the ones more apt to vote either way.
You have the right to express any opinion ...I am comfortable with any mature discussion.
Rational fears are fears based on a clear thought or reason.
Irrational fears are based on emotion.
Therefore if a fear of Institutional violence, of blue jackets, of bombs, of solitary confinment at a place of work, of mint etc is based on a real threat identified through thought or reason through real facts, that fear is a rational one.
If on the other hand the fear is based on emotion, that fear is irrational.
Those who fear irrationally would still be convinced that their fear is based on a real prognosis based on fact.
At times such fear leads to self-fulfilled consequences. If someone sows in me a fear of you, I will adopt an agressive stance in your regard that would in due course elicit a reaction from you 'proving' that my irrational fear is in fact 'rational'.
Hence, the more healers we have in our society the better is that society, the more sowers of hate/doubt the more hostile will that society be.
Regards
Well actually Joe I do not mind who rules in Malta
for though I sing for MlP on principle of being a socialist
I share that uncomfortably widespread feeling that the Nationalists are the “natural” party in Malta. They are scaley, nepotistic and corrupt but then that’s Malta.
You cannot employ the same yardstick with either Malta or Italy for instance that you wield in northern Europe. There is a Mediterranean way of doing things.
On my visits to Malta I often had occasion to toil up Strada San Giovanni in Valletta and I used to pause for breath at the house on the westward side in which the younger Mizzi died in 1950. I murmured a prayer for his soul though, like his father, he would have handed Malta to Fascist Italy.
My Italian father in law from Pisa, who was one of those that ran at Caporetto in 1917, worshipped Mussolini till 1940 when he narrowly escaped being interned or shipped off to Canada on the SS “Arandora Star” that was torpedoed and drowned several of his friends.
In my old age I grow more tolerant politically.
You mention the Malta Labour Party's political opponents, "the Church, free trade unions, free press, doctors" amongst others. Yet you have evaded my question about what your position was viz-a-viz the Labour Party when in the Sixties that were openly disciminated, having their basic human rights trampled, acute dearth of employement for them and even assured that after death, their soul might not even find respite in God. The Church and the Giunta that opposed the Labour Party proposals, hence their vilification to Dom Mintoff, acted in a medeaval manner and yet the umbrella parties found it convenient to keep mum and watch Labourites being prosecuted. What free trade unions are you referring to when in 1968 a PN MP suggested make the right to strike illegal? Interesting that you bring the 1977 doctors crisis into the debate. Pity the price that Prof. Edwin Grech had to pay for helping keep our medical service afloat. And what free press may I ask? How and who has the authority to judge and define the word 'free'?
I am not naive but you are incapable of appreciating the difference between interfering with the conduct of a case still in progress and expressing disagreement with a Court decision already taken.
In 1984 KMB introduced a motion in parliament to suspend a judge from continuing to exercise his functions in a case actually in progress. The motion also authorised the Minister of Justice to suspend a judge who was not exercising his function in accordance with the Minister's wishes. That is blatant interference. As if that were not disgraceful enough MLP ransacked the premises of the Court when they thought fit.
That goes far away and beyond criticism. It is blatant interference with the course of justice pervading the MLP from its leadership down to its street mobs.
Dear M Vella, I'm not taking sides here. I only wished to explain what I think Mr Martinelli was saying.
Regarding your examples, they too are not irrational fears. By irrational fears, one means fear of things one should not normally be afraid of. Your examples are definitely not irrational.
You wrote, "Not being Maltese, why should I worry? However, since I count Cottonera as my home town and consider it the soul of Malta, I would like to see the Left prevail "
May the good Lord endow you with a score more years to satisfy your pretentious desires!
Of course, I write this in jest (though I mean it) and with my tongue firmly embedded in my cheek!
You "have never seen a Labour Leader critcising our Legal System" only because you keep your eyes tightly closed or because you suffer from amnesia.
Labour had moved a motion in parliament to suspend a judge from his functions and to empower him to suspend any judge whose behaviour did not meet with his approval. Moreover all judges were forced to play a game of musical chairs so that the MLP could attain its aims.
@ James Hamilton: You bet your bottom dollar I believe that what happened in the '70s/80s can happen again. The vast majority of MLP voters who revelled in those sad times are still alive and kicking. About 3000 Maltese die per year, so that's roughly 81,000 since 1981. Split approximately 50-50 between MLP and PN supporters, that means only 40,500 out of - what 150,000? - weren't around in those days, leaving c. 110,000 who were, and let's not forget the indoctrination process that goes on in all Maltese families.
Let me put it another way: it'll take about 80 to 120 years, from 1981, to lose the influence of those times completely.
Though it's probably beyond your comprehension, I would actually LIKE to be able to vote MLP without fear of catastrophe, but it's unlikely to happen before I'm 102!
Valid point !
I was only asking to all PN intellectuals on which model of democracy did they forged their ideas . I hope that someone knows !! Or we can assume they did try to invented one of their own ?
Because the PN here in Malta is always preaching about lot of ideas of democracy and no one knows if this ever existed , the proof is that no one can explain it to me !!
Thanks for your advice to ask ABC to initiate a blog on this matter so that finally we can have an idea .
There have been some guarded references on this blog to the colonial period but that is now of academic interest-even to a Child of Empire such as myself.
Malta of today is a democracy and I see little prospect of that changing, though dark hints are made to the not-so-distant past.
Back to ABC’s last paragraph (for I have this obsession that we should take up what he writes rather than wandering down dark alleys and whoring after strange gods) where he writes of
the tapestry of Maltese history. I would call it more of a palimpsest for so many threads run across that tapestry where the web and weave cloud issues.
His present issue is whether Muscat can bang enough heads together to present a viable alternative at the next-so distant-
elections. Not being Maltese, why should I worry? However, since I count Cottonera as my home town and consider it the soul of Malta, I would like to see the Left prevail
Fear of Institutional violence, as fear of blue jackets, fear of bombs, fear of solitary confinment at a place of work, fear of political discrimination, fear of retribution by 'corrupt' officials, etc can be either rational or irrational fears. There is no one single fear that can be only rational.
The bottom line is that he opted for Integration. There are many adjectives that one could use to descreibe Dom MIntoff, predictable and rational are two that one could skip. On more than one occasion Mr. MIntoff is known htat he changed his position not because rational dictated so, but he did not have things go his way.
I too am aware of the subject of your discussion and you should not be inhibited by the presence of an Englishman.
There are so often several sides to an argument but I do not see the point in the context of this blog. Maybe if you asked ABC nicely he would initiate one on that subject
Good observation my friend and yes I am referring to the power of IMPERIALISM .
Again I agree with you cause its history that Dom MIntoff wanted to integrate Malta with it, BUT with his terms and conditions !!
I admit that I can be whatever you say , but if you know anything about Mintoff ( from I can say you know noting ) you should know his terms and conditions how hard are to please and that they were not going to be a submission to any Empire for sure and he proved himself more than once !!
Again I am inviting everyone to teach me on anything you please I m not arrogant to say I know everything
Thanks !!!
Ps ; I m still waiting from the PN Intellectuals !!
Whatever "good" Mintoff's MLP did was swamped by an institutionalised reign of terror directed at all political opponents, the Church, free trade unions, free press, doctors and just about everyone else who did not kowtow to Malta's "saviour" and "professor of democracy" and his entourage. That is what our recent history records in indelibile letters, That is why brash, callow MLP youths would have us close our eyes to our true history as if it were some fairy tale and that is why they hate to be reminded of those dark days at the hands of the arsitocratic mob of the workers' movement.
In case you are under the wrong impression that I am some blinkered NP supporter, please note that I come from a family with political roots in Boffa's Labour Party and the Constitutional Party but I never sold my soul to any demagogue and I consider myself a potential floating voter. It is Mintoff, KMB and their ilk who forced me and many others to "float" in the NP pond for one election after another
Andrew, allow me to act as a prophet:
One day in the not so distant future, you will be writing positively about our Joseph because he has shown already he's a blessing to this country.
Don't be too fast to disagree.
There are rational and irrational fears. Of course irrational fears are no less real than rational ones. However, institutional violence is not an irrational fear.
Perhaps he may need to understand that no matter how knowledgable we may think we are, our knowledge may be always be flawed. We therefore may want to be open to other points of view.
Mint is harmless and no one needs to fear it says this kind gentleman.
So are flowers, if anything even more so.
Yet there are people who actually fear flowers. The fear of flowers is known as Anthrophobia.
Fear of anything is the easiest to proposgate because the defensive nature of humanity makes it accept easily fearmongering.
Propogating love is much more challenging. Because love may suggest giving.
If we rationalise our fears we will be a much happier people.
My answer is: "LUCKY" - that how they feel.
The reason why the MLP stays in opposition is because many of those who were Mintoff's buddies are still very much around and conditioning the younger prospects to the same way of thinking. No thanks - that's what the voters say - election after election!
N. Vella wrote a gem. One can call his comment 'The fear of mint'.
He argues that if a child is raised with a fear of mint - he should be rid of this fear.
Now, it's only a guess but this could be in reference to the often repeated stories of the 70s and 80s(?) That being the case N. Vella is way off base, unless he had mint(off) in mind.
Mint is harmless and no one needs to fear it.
The 70s and 80s experiences, on the other hand were nasty, violent and corrupt and only reminders of what took place then can prevent us from letting the same authors give us an unwanted rerun.
Please inspire us with what happened in the 70s? Do you seem to forget that it was the people that voted the Labour Party into power? Where were you when Labourites were being discriminated in all ways in the 1960s, when one needed a letter of commendation from the parish priest to find employment, even in the most mundane and lowly paid ones? Both parties have contributed to Malta's progress, albeit in different ways and spheres of life, but to have such a die-hard stance against anything related to the Labour Party reduced the credibility and essence of your comments.
I am obliged for your bringing that matter to my attention and have duly taken action.
You wrote; "or from the one that tried to suck all natural resources and when they saw trouble they ran away leaving a mess like in India with Pakistan."
Just a reminder, I believe the power you make reference to is the same one that the MLP and Dom MIntoff wanted to integrate Malta with. How Ironic, and here you are defending the MLP. Talking of short sightedness?
Assume that someone in childhood was filled with fear of mint. Mint will continue to elicit strong emotions like fear, hurt, etc. throughout adult life. The person needs to rid itself of a fear of mint.
This emotional charge stored in memory is a vibrating energy and by force of resonance renders one’s past to become the future. To be free from the hold of our past, we have to cleanse the fear.
When he was a child, the father of a friend lost all his money in gambling. My friend was told that his father lost his money because of mint. His hatred of mint grew to an extreme that he started to blame mint for anything that went wrong in his life.
Once fear starts responding to our life, we loose our own choice and everything starts to feel old and bored.
When he realized that his fears were irrational, (realizing that one has a problem is half-way to a solution) he went to a professional person who cleansed him of his fears and his life is today wonderfully serene.
The NP does not need Jos Muscat's assistance to pass its bills in parliament - the NP has an elected majority of seats, remember? Pairing would enable constructive debate before a vote is taken and it would enable NP members of parliament to attend overseas meeting where Malta's representation would be desirable.
All the NP has to do is not to repeat Sant's stupendous mistake of calling a confidence vote, unnecessarily when he should have strongly suspected that he would lose that vote and consign the MLP prematurely to the opposition benches.
From the long succession of MLP electoral defeats one must conclude that it is the electorate as a whole, not just ABC blog contributors, who fear that the MLP "leopard can never change its spots". It is essential that the new leadership (not just James Hamilton) first of all, admits unequivocally that there were leopard spots in the 70s and 80s that require changing. I do not know of any instances when Alfred Sant or Joseph Muscat expressed a clear regret for "what happened in the 70s and 80s" or of any instances when they promised that there would be no recurrence if re-elected.
The brash claim of callow contributors that what happened in the 70s and 80s does not influence the younger generation of voters is belied by the long sequence of the MLP's defeats at the polls.
With all humility I wrote that I am ready to learn so if you can teach me that would be very nice !!
Again Thanks in advance PROF !!
Has anyone noticed it’s the same ones who keep repeating (ad-nauseam) how bad the MLP are?
Their argument is that a leopard can never change its spots; in their minds what happened in the 70’s and 80’s can easily happen again. As Mr Tim Rippard thinks.
Reading C.Bartolo’s post I think that s/he sums up the MLP achievements admirably,. Also one should not forget the setting up of Air Malta, Sea Malta, and the China Dock. Just to mention a few of the many projects that were carried out during that time.
Although I personally feel that one of the most important things achieved was the eradication of poverty.
How many remember the nuns who together with a few orphans used to sit at the city gate every day begging for money.?
That is one of the things that Mintoff wanted to get rid off and he did.
I think that it will always be the same with ABC's blogs:-
MLP = evil.
PN = good.
Everyone to their own opinion I suppose. What else could he write about?
" Free education" - including the destruction of many University courses. Call than an education?
"..well managed health care system ... to be proud of.." - and so praiseworthy that patients could not understand their foreign doctors and which which depended on the closure of all private hospitals before it could take off the ground.
By contrast, the Mater Dei Hospital's main criticism is that it is so outstandingly popular, in competition with many other excellent private hospitals, that it cannot cope with the phenomenal demand for its services.
Whereas there's no doubt that making fun of Joseph Muscat's balding head and the colour of his ties is stupid, it is at least contemporary. So I'd rather read about that than see the "aristokrazija tal-haddiem" phrase being mentioned again.
The number of political parties elected to parliament is irrelevant to the isue of democracy. Nowadays It is the democratically expressed wish of the Maltese people that only two political parties should represent it in Parliament and this is being done. Admittedly a more strictly correct proportionality is desirable and the NP did its best to secure it. It is not its fault if it was obstructed by the MLP whose co-operation was essential to obtain agreement by at least 60% of the members of parliament.
Would you honestly like to go back to what life was like in the 70s and 80s ?
Sure the Nationalists made mistakes, like every one who does anything at all. But sweeping mistakes under the carpet and promptly forgotten? Must have been minor mistakes otherwise people of the same ilk as you would certainly remind us.
Since you are so well versed about both sides of the story, why don't you tell us the other half?
Only because the other half (the Nationalist governments side) contains milestones such as Independence, joining the EU which the MLP did everything under the sun to screw up, joining the eurozone (which the MLP told us that it was too soon) improved infrastructure, employment, and the list is too long since the limit here is 200 words.
Yet, being an uncultured commoner with intellectual difficulties,I could not refrain from asking him to cease the chattering.
Change does not happen overnight–agreed.Otherwise,the Nationalist Party would have done way better in the previous elections.It seems as though not enough change has been carried out by the Nationalist government throughout its ruling.To mention a couple:We have waited long enough for something to be done about inheritance tax,for example. Also,the unjust and outdated rent laws were meant to be dealt with-appropriately-many years back.Indeed the past is still with us.I wonder who has buried some memories here.
It’s a known fact that resistance to any change is natural and inevitable.However,this does not necessarily imply that the Reds,Blues and Greens are currently living in the past. If it were so,I presume that this blogger would be behaving(and believing)as though he’s entitled to more than one vote.
As for this democracy which has been mentioned-I find it inappropriate to apply this term to our country;over the years,none of the political parties seem to have really practiced what they preached.Pity.
Free education for all? Labour tried to deny me education by closing down my school, forcing me to attend classes underground!
ABC is not an intellectual. Intellectuals use their minds to form arguments not take sides. I hope he realises that people can see his bias. Clearly gifted when it comes to writing skills but I still would say he is witty and cunning at best. Don’t flatter him since this could make him lazy. Come on ABC! If you want people to respect you as an intellectual you need to strive harder (and be willing to disappoint some people).
If, as you stated, you really admire ABC's writing style, you might as well learn to imitate him in totality when you decide to regale bloggers with two contributions written in your own, inimitable, unique literary style.
That way, readers would be able to understand what you're trying to say in what you think is English !
History lessons we are tired of hearing. You think people around the age of 30 don't know what went on 20-30 years ago?
We didn't vote for Sant for various reasons. The Mintoff/KMB era wasn't one of them.
How about YOU get some lessons on how young people feel when you bang on and on about these age-old horror stories?
Recently past historically-documented facts that the over 40s have lived through can only be described as "campfire tales" and "stejjer tan-nanna" by immature and foolhardy minds - in the same vein as others who declare that the Holocaust is a figment of the imagination. The dictum that history repeats itself has been proved to be true in several cases.
It is advisable for you to take Mr Martinelli's excellent piece of advice on this matter. To ignore one's history is simply inviting to be doomed to repeat it.
The MLP must necessarily undergo a radical change, first and foremost, with regard to an outdated mentality. It has to purge the firmly-embedded ideologically radical-Socialist faction still very much in control, to be substituted by capable, forward-looking , non-ideologic politicians with a modern outlook on how modern democracies function. As rightly stated, the MLP is still a mere clone of the 70s and 80s Socialist Party (with the mob element removed) and seems unwilling to change. In my opinion, they missed the opportunity by just, for had George Abela been elected Party leader, this dream would have been possible to realise.
This means that both parties have made their mistakes in the past. The only difference is that the MLP's mistakes keep on being repeated, whereas those of the PN get sweeped by and forgotten. So if you want to say a story, say it all and don't tell one side of it. The issues implemented by the MLP are still affecting us all today, the least you can do is say thank you!
you say: "Our parliamentary system is not some unique aberration of democracy."
I ask: In how many, of all the countries in Europe, are there only 2 parties in parliament? (hint: answer may be found on www.onlyinmalta.com).
Quite unique I'd say.
No need to answer your inane comment. Peter Prictoe and Franco Farrugia were quicker on the draw and responded in excellent fashion.
Now go and get a (Maltese) history lesson, will you?
@ Peter Prictoe
Did you take a look at the blog next door by Alfred Grixti? Your name and mine came up in one of the comments.
I don't think that this is a good model of democracy !!
Is it Plutocracy with a little dash of arrogance here and there??
Tell us your greatness intellectuals of the PN so we can learn, what do you mean by Democracy cause we are all baffled from your bla bla bla !
Always the same rhetoric speeches and always victimising .
And can someone tell us who supported Robert Gabriel Mugabe in Zimbabwe on the first place and if is so a threat to democracy why didn’t the freedom from tyrants alliance don’t attack and free all of Africa cause they all need a helping hand there! And to be clear I m not supporting any Dictator, never was and never will !
Please I am ready to learn especially from you A.B.C cause I really admire your style of writing .
Thanks in advance !
Can please all you PN Intellectuals tell us which model of democracy have you forged your idea ? Did you took example from that nation that just for fun and some land exterminated all natives or from the one that tried to suck all natural resources and when they saw trouble they ran away leaving a mess like in India with Pakistan
We are still waiting for proof of your famous DEMOCRACY , because all we can see from this so great PN is either their way or no way . And in every sense NO WAY . They are ready to do everything for power !!!
Everyone with some brains knows what I am talking about !!
Every time the PN was in opposition was always trying to sabotage every policy of the Government !!!
That is how the PN used to work from the opposition in the 50s, 70s, 80s and 90s . Just look in the history books !!
The least to help for sure and now that the Leader of the MLP is offering to help them and to really do things together they are telling him to shove it up !!
Wow, how intelligent of you to advocate that Dr Muscat should immediately agree to pairing .. did you hear the commentary on the day the votes were being counted on NET television when it was thought that the Labour party will win by a small margin .. it would be difficult to govern becoause PN will never agree to pairing? Maybe the next thing Dr Muscat should do to bring about democracy (of course the nationalist way) is to convince the MLP side to vote on all motions in Parliament .. and a final thing Dr Muscat should do is praise Gonzi .. he is working so hard (especially in increasing taxes).
At last, we have a leader of one of the main political parties who considers it important to discuss divorce. This in stark contrast to so many parliamentarians who think it one way and speak differently. A fresh of frank openess ... at long last!
It is amazing how you always find fault with anyone who is Labour. I have never seen a Labour Leader criticisng our Legal System any time they are proved wrong, like say, Zeppi l'Hafi's horrendous case. like the NP leader did. Now do you share this opinion of EFA? I challenge you to reply!
And by the way, for the old man, computers were anathema, because they took jobs away! Pffft!
Notwithstanding that I am a great admirer of Germany and the Germans though i would not care to live with their history.
If a little of German discipline was installed into the Maltese, and the British I must admit, then both our countries would be improved. I have lived in Germany in the town of Erding of Bavaria and the cleanliness of the place compared to Barnsley
or say Paceville is humbling.
The main reason for bringing up the "mistakes" of the past is that these were not sporadic incidents but an imposed way of life. So far no MLP leader has denounced them or made an unequivocal apology for that criminal violence and there has been no committment that the party will not return to those methods. At best there are lame excuses and attempts to sweep them under the carpet. This raises legitimate fears that the memory of those harsh lessons from our recent history is being deliberately suppressed and those "mistakes" could very well be repeated by any MLP survivors from the Mintoff-KMB era.
Nothing is being done to allay those fears.
In a democracy, the elected government, to use the term, 'takes all', which means - it governs. The Opposition's role in such a democracy is to oppose when necessary by advocating a better way to execute a programme put forward by the government. Engaging in positive debate is healthy but opposing to obstruct is anti democratic.
Is taking a year to approve an Audit General recommended by the Prime Minister over a year ago, democratic? Is damning every government initiative only to agree with later, democratic?
@ Keith Chircop
Simply because you are too young to have experienced that Socialist era does not mean that what some people who experienced the nastiness and deprivation of those times are narrating "stejjer tan-nannu" or "campfire tales'.
Those stories are real and documented and no Joseph will make them go away. The problem with the MLP is that they can never have a true 'new beginning' because to do so is to dissolve the party, purge the radical old timers, rename the new party and start fresh with young capable people with modern ideas.
Present day MLP is a mere clone of the old party and unwilling to change.
On one hand, you never fail to point out that PN won the election, and in this country, the winner takes all. To illustrate better, a fellow collumnist even likened our demcratic system to a football match, using it as an argument why MLP should stop talking about a right to be heard - a point which you have also made.
On the other hand, you point out that labour is resisting a pairing agreement and that this would be a mere formality in other democracies.
True, but this is not other democracies. The PN cannot have the cake and eat it. Either you have a 2 party all-out-war system where the winner takes all, or you have an inclusive democracy with dialogue, pairing and other niceties - which is it gonna be?
I hasten to add, that I do not have any particular MLP sympaties.
By the next elections we'll be in our mid-thirties and your generation will be in your fifties, if not sixties. To the new voters, these stories will seem like "stejjer tan-nannu". So please criticize Joseph Muscat and his party all you want, but all this talk about MLP being undemocratic based on incidents which took place in 1979 or 1981 or whenever don't help your cause any. Ask anyone of your students, bocca.
The same goes to those labourites who still mention the interdett. Enough is enough.
There must be a general consensus that JM's choice of buzz phrase " Talks requested with government for strengthening democracy " is totally irrelevant and meaningless at least to those aged over 40.
Is it possible that this request forms part of an overall, well-planned strategy designed to keep the eventual pairing agreement ( which must be finalised by the end of the summer recess ) on the back burner in order that this would then become the final cherry on the cake ?
Concerning TWO MINDS, the tragedy of Hamlet was that the Prince of Denmark could not make up his mind.
I am the first to admit that MLP has a bad past, a confused present and a dubious future but ABC takes no less than 905 words to say just that.-(though it is ostensibly about Muscat. Maybe he should be restricted to 200 words same as we plebs.
The foremost requirement for "strengthening the democratic process" if to facilitate the parliamentary process by a straightforward agreement on pairing. This is an absolute prerequisite but it is being used to blackmail the government party. It is an echo of the previous MLP blackmail conceding government by the majority of the electorate but only at the expense of a neutrality agreement which in the absence of two superpowers has become meaningless but which is still being invoked to obstruct the PFP on doctrinaire grounds only.
The claim of improvement of the democratic process will only become credible after a true agreement on pairing. The rest is just a smokescreen.