The Prime Minister is frisked at Perth airport and none of the Maltese press feel any obligation to report the incident. Instead, we receive shots of a kangaroo sort of saying hello to the Gonzis. How nice.
If anyone believes this is not news, then just imagine what would happen if Bush were accidentally frisked.
Needless to say, this is a very improbable situation.
There is no doubt in my mind that neither Bush nor for that matter any other world leader would be frisked by Australian airport security. Malta, on the other hand, is only an insignificant island in the middle of the Mediterranean, so why the fuss?
But back to why a Maltese journalist chooses to report or not report such an incident.
I have always argued that a good journalist is one that is irreverent. Yet, the fact that not even the Super One journalist present chose to report the event confirms my worst fears: when it comes to communicating the news not everyone has the same interest or obligations.
It is clear that the journalists did not wish to ruffle the feathers of the PM’s entourage. And typically, the PM’s press office thought that this kind of news item could be kept under wraps indefinitely. If Super One finds nothing of consequence in seeing Premier Gonzi getting frisked, then please do not expect the Super One to come to our rescue when we need it most.
Super One did eventually report the incident, but it chose to wait until the news story appeared in MaltaToday’s Wednesday edition.
Well, enough said about a Prime Minister made to look like a moron… but this is not the first time it has happened.
The same security measures were applied when Eddie Fenech Adami visited Australia but on that occasion Richard Cachia Caruana raised all hell and literally went ballistic. Good old Richie is not one to tolerate such things.
Defending the reputation of our great country, Dr Gonzi had to depend on his equally irritable but feeble press secretary Missus Vassallo, who has definitely more charm than RCC but needless to say less confidence and flamboyance than the man who still has bodyguards trailing behind him as if he were a wild boar with hounds in pursuit.
As the PM was being frisked, we were being told that the descendants of Maltese migrants in Canada, Australia and beyond would be eligible to become Maltese citizens. The scheme would allow tens of thousands to become Maltese. Why this should take place, I have absolutely no idea.
I have read that it has to do with the potential Malta can acquire from having a larger population when it comes to EU funds. If that is the case, then this is high price to pay.
The other argument is that Canadians or Australians with their left toe from Zebbug or their right ear from Qormi will be allowed to settle in European countries as a result of their Maltese passport. How convenient!
Maltese citizenship is not something one should dish out at will.
Most of these would-be Maltese citizens cannot utter a word in Maltese, have no idea what Malta is about and have no affinity with Malta other than their ageing or aged grandparents.
It is a shame that the Maltese government is in favour of opening the floodgates to citizenship to individuals who have no connection with Malta.
The irony is that when it comes to immigrants from war-torn countries who have been living in Malta for over 15 years, and whose children speak better Maltese than the average boy or girl from Swieqi, there is no way in hell that they will be awarded citizenship until the 20-year stipulated time period.
Citizenship has nothing to do with nationalism but a lot to do with national identity. It should be important to link the acquisition of citizenship to an appreciation of being Maltese. Or at least, to understanding what it means to be Maltese.
I guess it has not quite dawned on the Minister what this is all about.
An opinion column I penned last week about fireworks led to a deluge of emails, in support and against. I stand by what I wrote.
I will go a step further. Fireworks legislation has to be revisited and more importantly enforced. It is unacceptable that petards are set off at any time of the day and without any respect for noise levels.
There is absolutely no reason why petards which only make noise should be tolerated, and as in the case of hunting, where a minority hold the majority to ransom, firework freaks should be controlled and stopped.
Some of the electronic emails that were sent, said that there far more pressing problems that should be highlighted.
One writer said we should write about Blockrete and its dust pollution (we already have). Agreed, but I cannot remember a topic that has not been tackled in this column. And if there is a time to talk about fireworks, it is right now.
Louis Marsh, the man captaining the nursing aides in their war against the government, has decided to expand his strike directive indefinitely.
To be precise, he first informed the health authorities that the union would not be available for meeting until 27 August. Indeed the Union newspaper reported this on Saturday. On Friday evening, MaltaToday contacted Mr Tony Zarb about the fact that the extension coincided with Louis Marsh’s vacation leave (You see, even the working classes need time for a vacation)… and then something happened.
It appeared that Louis Marsh suddenly cancelled his travel plans.
Mr Marsh postponed his vacation and informed the health authorities that they, the union, were available for discussion at any time. In the meantime, the ageing and sick patients of all the state hospitals will have to do with the benevolence of those who choose to do the work of nursing aides and health assistants.
The GWU has strangely chosen this industrial dispute to show its mettle. Instead of confronting the more important issues – such as a factory opening up in Bortex and employing Chinese workers – the union decides to go on the warpath with the most vulnerable, the aged and the sick.
The next time a GWU official meets me and talks to me about solidarity, I will lift my forefinger, point it upwards and then aim it directly at the unfortunate official’s left eye.
And if the union’s cold approach is not enough to make you puke, Labour health spokesman Michael Farrugia said that he could not comment on the dispute because he was not involved in the discussions. Perhaps this is a reflection of Labour’s current mindset.
Say nothing, see nothing, do nothing!
But back to the Chinese.
If my geography is right, China is not in the European Union. How a non-EU citizen can get a work permit to run a machine beats me. China has no special bilateral agreement with Malta on exchange of workers. And as far as I know, Chinese are not the only people in the world with the ability to run an industrial machine.
As in the dockyard and other places where Chinese have replaced Maltese workers, the Maltese authorities and the GWU have looked the other way.
The only reason Chinese are employed is because they are paid ludicrously low wages and have working conditions that no Maltese worker would willingly accept.
If the GWU means business it should flex its muscles and gnash its teeth with the Chinese, and not with the ageing sick in their hospital beds who need all our help and attention.
Joe Demartino, former mayor of Mosta, has refused to resign. I do not know why we even bother asking anyone if they feel they should resign. Resigning is clearly not part of the Maltese way of doing things.
If the Nationalist party had any sense they would ask Mr Demartino to go for a long holiday. But then, the party doesn’t seem to know where it should go itself.
Hardly a week goes by, and we are graced with yet another scandal. And all I hear from the beloved PN HQ is about closed meetings discussing strategy and policy.
There is a war out there, and all the PN generals do is talk of numbers, data, plans and how awful the enemy is. It is like Rome under siege: the Vandals are at the gates, and all the Romans can do is gloat over how wonderful Rome is.
sbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt
