I guess this the perfect moment to congratulate government for its unbelievably sloth-like response to the thugs who blocked our roads in the last days.
I believe this is the occasion to pay homage to all the former PN transport ministers for blocking any attempts to liberalise the transport system. A special thank you goes to Jesmond Mugliett, who had the courage of a house mouse when it came to confronting the taxis, the motor hearses and the bus drivers.
A word of gratitude goes to the warden who decided to hand out a ticket for parking my car in front of my office in San Gwann during the bus strike (the first ticket in nine years) – when the same warden would not have even dared wink at the bus drivers on St Anne’s Street... let alone issue a ticket.
Twenty points to the Prime Minister, for finally appearing on the last day of the crisis – in an attempt to give the impression that he was in the driving seat, when in reality it was Gatt who was doing all the engaging with the Orang Utans.
Of course 50 points to Austin Gatt for being the only ‘man’ in the cabinet.
And Hip Hip Hurrah to the taxpayer, for forking out 230K to the motor hearses owners as a precondition for accepting liberalisation.
And to the GRTU and its open-minded leaders, for being mute about this latest liberalisation initiative and for refusing to back Austin Gatt.
The big joke
Some years back I wrote that most local estate agents were hyping up prices and giving the wrong impression that property was doing well. They did this in the hope that they would cream off more commissions. What they have been doing in the last years is criminal.
Well, the truth is that property sales stink, and if any estate agent wishes to contest this assertion then he should avoid phoning me up because I will stick to my guns.
Property prices are inflated, and for the wrong reasons.
Property prices in Malta are far too high and must come down. The stark truth is that we have a surplus of apartments, showrooms and in some cases maisonettes.
And with George Pullicino’s stupid and retrograde decision to let MEPA allow the demolition of established homes in suburbia into clusters of flats, the situation is far worse.
Malta and Gozo are absolute building sites, and yet the estate agents hang on their prices giving the impression that the market will not drop and droop.
Sicilian dream
The last thing I would dream of doing in Sicily is spend some time in a hospital.
Yet last week, I had to accompany someone who suddenly needed to be hospitalised after severe chest pains. As I drove like a mad Sicilian over the lava stones in the narrow streets, the horrible stories about Italian healthcare suddenly hit me.
I rushed through the winding roads of Lentini – not a very nice town, but with a pretty centre – to a small state hospital, as my friend clasped for breath and fearful of the pain in her chest.
At the hospital there were no security guards, no largish halls, no marble, no plaques, no open spaces, no reception – just a small emergency bell with a photocopied note – ‘suona qui’.
We rang and in less than three minutes she was whisked off to emergency and then to the cardiology department.
It was clean, efficient, caring and fast.
Yes, at the very end there was more than an hour of paperwork to fill, and none of the so-called European harmonisation processes were in place.
But so what! Surely better than...
Eric and film reviews
There are hundred and one monopolies on the Island that have yet to be tackled and in 20-odd years under the rule of the PN, these monopolies – public and private – have been tolerated and flourished. At best, the monopolies have been thrashed by payouts. The latest give-out to the motor hearses is a case in point.
But there are other untouchables.
A sinister and unbelievable untouchable is KRS. Yes, the film distributors. They have complete control over the films that enter Malta and Gozo, and what’s more they also have control over the critics – it appears.
A case in point is Eric German, Malta’s leading film critic. Today he is MT’s film critic, but he has reviewed films for the last 35+ years with The Sunday Times.
When recently he reviewed a film with the Sunday Times and gave it the thumbs down, KRS took umbrage and to cut a long story short banned him from reviewing films.
When we asked KRS to allow Eric German to review films for MaltaToday, they refused.
Which of course does not stop Eric from reviewing films, but goes to prove how silly and petty people with monopolies can get.
Come to our newsroom
The other day, an email politely demanded that Amanda Ciappara, PRO of the social policy ministry, spend some days in our newsroom to ‘train’ and to get to know how the newsroom at MediaToday gets along.
For a moment I thought it was a joke. It was not. “Amanda in the newsroom,” I screeched, loud enough for all my colleagues to hear me. Now, someone at Castille has not quite realised what an independent newsroom looks, smells and sounds like.
For one, the explosion of expletives in a newsroom would send Amanda into a tantrum. And what’s more, the irreverence to all politicians, institutions and the establishment would leave her so bewildered that she would start wondering whether she was living in the same country or on the same planet.
But really and truly it reflects the complete detachment of the government and its officials from what any independent newspaper should be doing.
If there is something that none of the journalists should be doing, it is sleeping with government, politicians and businessmen. And if it were left to me I would even impose a No, thank you to all freebies and lunches. Most other journalists are busily feeding themselves at dinners and lunches and this makes them soft, malleable and what is worse, unable to write about people who should be written about.
But if you really believe the government could be doing better things, just read through the latest list of regulations for journalists from the government issued last week.
I am sure Josephine Vassallo, a former model and now personal secretary to the PM, is behind such frivolous 1904 regulations. Just read through:
Men are to wear
• full length trousers
• shirt and tie
• Suit/Jacket/Blazer (exempt in summer).
• Photographers and camerapersons are allowed not to wear jackets due to the nature of their work.
• During press conferences, photographers and cameraman operating from a fixed position are to wear a jacket (exempt in summer).
Women
• sleeveless shirts will not be tolerated
The following will NOT be permitted
• Shorts,
• Bermudas,
• tank tops,
• sleeveless blouses,
• t-shirts and fancy shirts,
• slacks
• jeans.
Footwear must be lace-up or loafer.
Sneakers, flip flops; running shoes, men’s sandals will NOT be tolerated.
Thankfully, the last press conference organised by the PM was a perfect example of how most journalists can or should breach these silly regulations.
And what should we do next time we are called to a press conference and find a government minister dressed in jeans and no tie? What happens if Austin Gatt decides to organise an impromptu meeting in his shorts? Surely Austin would not mind if we turn up in an elegant Armani polo shirt and Versace jeans!
Forgotten
And just in case you have forgotten, some two and half months ago two inquiries were launched into the Nicholas Azzopardi case and needless to say neither of these reports has been finalised.
The allegation, just for the record, was that the police pushed Azzopardi off the bastions at the Police HQ. Nothing serious, you know... just a man with a life.
Once again, I am sure there must be a good enough reason why the administration and the system treats normal folk like fresh cow dung.
