Many moderate conservatives and real social democrats cried rivers when they heard conservative social democrats exclaim, in almost so many words, that a party that does not accept and celebrate their fundamentalism may count them out in the general election of two and a half years' time. For what can the nation do without them? One, thus, took their warnings as promises of total disaster in the absence of their solemn presence in exciting political life in Malta.
This statement was followed by loud patriotic boohoohoos and only some hahahas. The latter belong to those who have only superficial knowledge of the requirements of a modern, progressive state constructed with a strong pair of hands to withstand the hurricanes of western decadence - as may be shockingly seen in strangely emancipated Maltese non-conservative literature replete with vulgar expressions transforming medical terms into rough, comic ones. This reminds me of the story I heard about foreign-language lecturers teaching rural language.
Also those who rubbed their hands at the prospect of getting rid of the strange mixture of social democracy and fundamentalism clearly betrayed their hostility to modern cohabitation between different mentalities (with some state intervention in the bedroom).
The hamburger and the vegetarian club
Indeed, fundamentalism may be enticed to a jolly co-existence with social democratic politics. It may be tolerated by conservative politics but it really belongs to ultra-conservatism as foundation pillar to all patriotic politics. A fundamentalist social democrat only looks sillier than a theocratic Christian democrat as s/he behaves like a hamburger eater who is a member of a vegetarian society at the same time. Intellectual academy, however, proves that links between disciplines are quite common nowadays. And, even to the dismay of some, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev did munch unpolished hamburgers while solving the world's problems.
Other examples may be taken from Turkish politics to dispel scepticism on traditionalism.
The Felicity Party
One of the religious parties in Turkey is the Felicity Party. I am not familiar with the electoral manifesto of this party but I think that a similar party could exist in Malta. It would attract all those who are against progressive measures introduced by the EU and some other fundamentalists who think they are also social democrats. Why felicity? This is because they are rigid and felicitous at the same time. Another expression sometimes used for these people is "ferħan għax baħnan" (happy to be intellectually profound - the expression is slightly longer in English).
The Happiness Party
No, no, nooo! Happiness and felicity are not the same, for heaven's sake! This party is for individuals who are impressed by political strategy as explained only a few weeks before an election but which has been ignored and trampled upon for ages. For, let's face it, euphoric politics is extremely exciting and jumping, blowing horns and waving flags is very good, free entertainment.
The True Path Party
This is not a party that promotes country paths - which are often invaded by developers who believe in personal politics or collective sacrifices for the individual. This party attracts mathematical persons who like to cross out on their calendar each day that goes by as an election approaches. They have no ideology or backbone and their strategy is to adore an electoral victor to be able to eat with 10 mouths. When a half-way period between two elections arrives, they start attending the victor party's activities less and their adoration of the victor calms down while they write letters, e-mails, articles etc against him using a pen-name. Some victor parties do not even know that individuals they have promoted are indeed saboteurs with an inky sword or a pen without a name. These naïve, trusting politicians should belong to the Happiness Party while the saboteurs have adopted a True Path political science, that is, a smiling, wait-and-see ideological philosophy, while they pull the carpet hoping it will one day fly for them.
Turkish delight
All this indicates that ultra-conservatism in Malta exits and is thriving in more than one party. Major party dividing lines may even themselves be just traditional. In these parties, there are indeed persons who belong to the party by party-name and family tradition. In reality, there is so much in common between them across party lines that I would not be surprised to see them form a party named Turco-Maltese Delight.
Targets
Cohabitation between social democracy and fundamentalism is alive and well and living in Malta.
It has set targets related to cooperation between traditionally distinct and opposite phenomena.
It strives to allow the priest to swear, the policeman to break the law and the teacher to promote ignorance.
Dr Licari is reading for a second doctorate (political science) in Paris. His first was in psychosociological analysis of literature.