A new crop of ambassadors is being appointed as we speak, and eyebrows are being raised, both actively and passively, in no small way.
Just as a small grammatical aside, the reference to “actively” and “passively” is meant to underline the fact that not only is it a fact that some observers are raising their eyebrows in the time-honoured fashion at certain of the appointments, it is also a fact that the Government has actively caused said eyebrows to be raised.
I’m sure you’re glad I explained that abstruse point: it is entirely irrelevant to the main thrust of my argument.
The eyebrows have risen from their usual resting place in reaction to the appointment of an eminent travel agent to the Court of St James, of a seeker of social exchanges (since reversed) to Washington and of someone who seems to have been asked to reprise his performance of the mid-1990s in Paris.
These are merely examples, others abound, and not only in respect of ambassadorial appointments. The common strand appears to be that the recipients of stately munificence, such as it is, are – almost to a man and woman – “poster peeps” of the jolly old MLP, instrumental, if you like, in the party having wooed enough people to give it a majority of whopping size, such that it feels justified in sailing blithely on, ignoring everyone.
The common strand appears to be that the recipients of stately munificence are – almost to a man and woman – ‘poster peeps’ of the jolly old MLP
I don’t much care about the political loyalty of people appointed to positions of trust, being a realist, but a modicum of competence would be nice to have. By means of the wonders of the Interweb Superhighway, I was able to clap my peepers on the August newsletter of the Maltese Community of Victoria, Down Under.
Not to put too fine a point on it, as the President of the MCCV did not either, the Government’s appointment of a certain Charles Muscat to Canberra has not been met with universal approbation and unstinting applause. His Excellency Mr Muscat, as he shall now be styled, presumably not while running his gents’ clothing emporium or taking out the trash-can from the house in which he’s lived (in Australia) for decades, is known in the land of koala bears and the dingo as a fervent supporter, and tireless worker in its interests, of the Labour Party.
This, clearly, is what qualified him for nomination. The Australian Government, while no doubt somewhat bemused at having one of its own residents suddenly elevated to diplomatic status, appears to have accepted without making much of a fuss but the Maltese community is distinctly not amused.
Oh well, as long as Malta is All Ours (Malta Tagħna Kollha Mhux Ilkoll, just to coin a new slogan) that’s all ok then, I suppose.
As I have pointed out consistently over the years, I am no economist but even I have to report feeling a degree of consternation as to how our Professorial Minister of Finance can square his recent remark that Malta’s employers need 70,000 employees with his party’s constant alarm-ringing about unemployment and other dire symptoms afflicting our economy. Truth be told, the word “redundancies” has been heard more than slightly recently, which is a worrying phenomenon, but with the employers looking for 70,000 employees, what’s to worry about?
No doubt, the Holders of the Nation’s Majority will blame the terrible economic policies and horrendous mismanagement of their predecessors for the skills mismatch that Prof. Scicluna will now cite to cover his back, just as the Nationalists are to blame for bendy-busses becoming barbies, the rain coming in August, the price of oil and the fact that life hasn’’t been found on Mars, yet.
Far be it from me to have anything against foreign investment pour in, the more the merrier, but do we really have to cozy up to the Middle Kingdom so, so much so, so quickly? That the Chinese want to expand their influence in the European Union sooner rather than later is a given, just as they carried on the same sort of activity in the 1970s and 1980s in Africa and Eastern Europe, so I trust I’ll be forgiven for suggesting that when someone wants something so gasping-for-it much, a long spoon should be employed when dipping into their proffered soup bowl.
You’ll have noticed that recommendations about where to nourish yourselves, intellectually and physically, have been conspicuous by their absence over the last few weeks.
This is not because we haven’t been out and about but because we haven’t been doing that little thing in Malta, having had the privilege of a decently long break away from the stifling heat and equally stifling insularity. We were in Scotland, a great and cool place to be in August, especially in Edinburgh for the Fringe, and if you have a cultural bone in your body, you have to put the Fringe at the top of your bucket list.
We saw plenty of things, as one does, but it would be remiss of me not to mention a particular show we saw with a strong Maltese connection, in the person of young soprano Francesca Aquilina, who was one of the leads in a darn good production of Cosi’ Fan Tutte, in modern dress and language which would have tickled Wolfgang’s fancy no end.
Ms Aquilina was excellent.
imbocca@gmail.com
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/author/20