I can hardly believe my eyes. Whenever they accuse Labour of being ruthless, they should really and truly take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror.

I am sick and tired of all this sermonising by the PN aimed at portraying themselves as holier than thou. All political parties are ruthless. But for us to be asked to believe that the PN is the less callous of the two just no longer sticks.
The latest news story is the precision missile attack on Justice Farrugia Sacco and Magistrate Antonio Mizzi. Their active presence in sporting agencies has been questioned and the Commission for the Administration of Justice has written to the two men, raising the question of ethics.
Now to be precise, the original correspondence between the Commission and these two members of the judiciary took place in August. But the press only got to know about it now. Why now?
For a moment I could be led to believe that this was one instance where the commission chaired by President Eddie Fenech Adami was doing its job dutifully. But I need some convincing.
One hopes that the Commission for the Administration of Justice will apply the same enthusiasm if it receives complaints about Tonio Azzopardi, the lawyer. He stands accused by a client of having taken money when he was paid by the State to offer free legal aid.
I could be fooled.
Later that day, after the press releases were issued, NET news – which operates specifically under the careful guidance and control of the PN secretary general Joe Saliba – dug up footage of Labour leader Alfred Sant next to Farrugia Sacco. It was repeated deliberately and ad nauseam and in slow motion on NET TV.
It was as if the two were best buddies.
The message was clear: Farrugia Sacco is a Sant aficionado. It was intentional and of course, no one asked why film footage of Farrugia Sacco, Chairman of the MOC, was not screened with either Lawrence Gonzi or Louis Galea.
The political leanings of Farrugia Sacco and Antonio Mizzi are well known but none of them are active in politics or pronounce themselves politically. And this is the crux of the matter. It is of course unacceptable to the whole wide world to adhere to any political creed other than Nationalist.
NET has given the game away. I guess when their whispering campaigns fall flat on their face, they go full frontal instead.

And just in case you have not realised, it is undeniably a mortal sin to have been born a Labourite. If you are born Nationalist, please do not worry.
Only yesterday I was told by a prominent Nationalist diehard lawyer that Labourites are essentially unsightly people – really, I told him? The other day I was reminded that Lance Price – a former Tony Blair spin doctor who came to lecture the young socialists – was a raging homosexual. Wow!

Last week, Marlene Mizzi’s – Antonio Mizzi’s wife – was on Super One plucking feathers out of Gonzi’s budget 2008. Mizzi’s contribution was of course noted with gusto at Pieta and the usual whispering campaign was unleashed.
One should not underestimate the impact of the whispering campaign. When they want to demolish someone, they will do it.
The latest whispering campaign refers to a Super One journalist’s alleged sexual adventures near Tiger Bar in Albert Town. It could be a leaf out of the Azzjoni Kattolika’s manual: how to fry the infidel and not get caught.
Today’s PN is run by a new brand of Nationalists, the hard core Catholics who find no difficulty in imposing their regime of warped hypocritical standards on the rest of us.
Today’s front-page story reports Farrugia Sacco as pointing an accusing finger at Minister Louis Galea. Interesting to say the least, more so when the question of ethics is raised by none other than Dr Galea.
Perhaps someone could ask the Siggiewi minister about the question of ethics with regards to the auxiliary workers’ scheme, the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools and the many other stories that have stuck to Dr Galea.

I have just received a notice that I will be having a tax refund for the years 1989 and 1990. It was 17 years ago, I believe, and I do not even remember if I had a claim. Hundreds if not thousands have received the same kind of notice.
I wonder what should we do: ask the government to pay interest?
Or should we thank the government and promise the PN our vote?
Lawrence Gonzi states that there is nothing political in the actions of government. And nothing is linked to this frenzy to catch as many votes as is possible.
Well, knowing Joe Saliba’s zealous insistence that he cannot bear to see Lawrence Gonzi in the Opposition benches, this is just a taste of how panicky things are turning out to be.

The Broadcasting Authority have told Smash TV that they cannot carry more than a hour of exclusive Azzjoni Nazzjonali in a week. I am no fan of AN and I guess the feeling is entirely mutual. But this is a ludicrous decision.
If the BA want to draw up any guidelines on how political parties get covered in their media, they had better start looking at NET and Super One. Especially at the programmes on radio and TV, where Labour or Nationalist propagandists talk to themselves without ever being questioned or challenged.
And please, let us not hear the BA state that both NET and Super One cancel each other’s excesses.

It is perhaps appropriate to acknowledge the sterling work of colleague Laurence Grech, the Sunday Times editor, who, together with his deputy editor Malcolm Naudi, the President of the Press Club, has been asked to step down from his post.
A few words about Laurence. Surely he was an editor who toiled endlessly to put together The Sunday Times and turn it into a giant Sunday compendium of information. A bastion no one thought of assailing, but in his long years at the helm, everyone recognised Laurence as the gentleman and more importantly as someone who was more balanced in his political judgment than was expected of him.
True, his political leanings were clear, but not to the extent that would cause him to keel over and capsize to the right of politics.
Unfortunately in the last years he was badly let down by the journalists from The Times newsroom, who more often than not churned out political spin rather than news.
His editorials, which he wrote himself, revealed his strong credentials as a democrat – typified by his leaders harping on the need for electoral reform.
The fact that he was well read, together with his deep understanding of Maltese political history and a special understanding of Italian politics, and together with his respect for the political roots of The Sunday Times with the Strickland party, surely had a reflection on his thinking process. It will be difficult to find a replacement.
His newspaper was neither radical nor avant-garde, but it was thorough, holistic, stable and consistent.
Above all, it was in complete synch with the hinterland of Maltese society.
In every country, one finds a printed medium such as the Sunday Times.
In commercial print jargon, the Sunday Times serves as the glorified parish newsletter. In most scenarios, they are the most commercially successful of all. However, when they start wrestling with the real news, they start to suffer because they are not formalised to rock the boat.
The young Turks replacing Laurence and Malcolm will be giving the newspaper a facelift.
When MaltaToday started off eight years ago in November 1999, the people at The Times, including good Laurence, said that this newspaper would not last. It did, simply because we offered a different product.
Next Sunday, The Sunday Times will apply a good deal of foundation, mascara, eye shadow and dazzling lipstick to create a new cosmetic look, like an ageing lady of the night in the side streets at Albert Town.
For 70 years The Sunday Times has been a bulwark for the conservative core of Maltese society. Being conservative may not be sexy, but it is there to stay. And if the Sunday Times abandons their readers, someone will move in to cater for them.
At age seventy the old lady followed the Mabel Strickland ethos exemplified by that air of décor and respect. That old lady is now being asked to don stilettos, do away with the bra and display a speckled and wart-infested cleavage to all and sundry.
When the London Sunday Times did just that, it lost its readers to other London newspapers.
So, farewell Laurence and Malcolm; the two hardworking journalist colleagues at The Sunday Times. I am convinced that when we do bump into each other, the steamship they captained patiently through the maze of Maltese readers will be the topic of our conversation.
And I look forward to that big smile on their faces!

sbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt