I know, I know. The last time I saw him he was there behind the PM’s back. The Prime Minister had just won single-handedly the last general election. In traditional Cardinal style, he appeared when the battle was won and finally over. Before that particular moment he was nowhere to be seen.
Now word has it that when Gonzi will address the press conference and declare that he has achieved a mind-blowing electoral victory over Labour, Richard – I mean, the Cardinal – will be there behind his back smiling like a cockatiel (cockatiels do not smile by the way), taking all the credit for the unexpected victory over Muscat, that very terrible man who has named his children Etoile and Soleil.
Now let us for a minute imagine that Dr Gonzi will not be celebrating a victory over the PL but declaring a defeat. I could bet my next hundred euros that Richard will be nowhere in the building. I mean, nowhere to be seen.
Richard reminds me of my pet lizard, only visible when there is a feast to be had. You see, legend has it that the Cardinal only appears when the sun is shining (sun, soleil in French, just like the name Muscat chose for his daughter to the dismay of the fascist bloggers who will be ingesting the valium big time this weekend).
Now back to the Cardinal, who as we all know is not someone who likes or admires Paul Borg Olivier, that very nice guy who is not exactly up to the posting he was elected to.
So Richard, I mean the Cardinal, who believes his rightful position and destiny is to be Commissioner in Brussels on a salary equivalent to the Liberian national deficit, has pushed Simon Busuttil to head the PN campaign team. Yes, you heard right: a candidate organising the campaign team for the PN.
Now just imagine Louis Grech or better still John Attard Montalto being chosen as campaign managers to run the campaign for the PL. It would of course be unethical, simply not on, unprofessional, unacceptable and all the other things you can imagine being wrong if you happen to be a Labourite and not GonziPN aficionado.
The Cardinal thinks that when GonziPN wins or loses, we should heap all our praise, or hand-grenades, onto Gonzi. Now that is grossly unfair. If GonziPN is to be congratulated then we have no qualms about praising the Cardinal and his sidekick little Simon, who once told me soon after EU accession he would very much like to militate in a social-democratic party!
Indeed when Gonzi faces the press on Sunday night and takes all the credit, we should expectedly show our deepest admiration for the man and his two captains, Richard and Simon. That is how it should be: where credit is due, we should be magnanimous and extend our gratitude to all those who made this great hopeful victory for GonziPN.
Since we cannot even entertain the idea that GonziPN will suffer defeat, it goes without saying that if the opposite happens, surely Richard should have absolutely no problem to face the cameras, the press and the questions, together with Simon. And like every other brave general, go down with the king.
But this hypothetical discourse is entirely discouraging and disparaging.
I also take slight offence with respect to the revelation featured in MaltaToday’s front page story. Why should it be a problem if Stefano Mallia – who by the way is only a ‘helper’ in the Simon-led PN campaign team – be probed by any newspaper because his business company has simply carried out a survey that appeared in a newspaper very well known for blowing a raspberry at Muscat?
Why should we concern ourselves about this?
After all why should we doubt Stefano Mallia’s sincere intentions of publicising the polls, and then have his firm paid by this Sunday newspaper to expose the survey results?
And what is wrong in showing that the Labour party is about to have an astonishing landslide victory? Why the fuss? Is anyone suggesting that the surveys organised by Stefano Mallia’s business company are ‘dubious’? And why should they be ‘dubious’?
I cannot believe the allegation that the stronger Labour appears in the polls, the better for the PN. Simply because according to some statistician, the fear of Labour winning hands-down will push disgruntled voters to vote for the PN. What an exaggeration.
And to prove the point that no survey will change minds, I would like to inform all my readers that I have still not changed my mind about not voting next weekend since this Saturday I will doing one of four things:
1. Off on a boat fishing; 2. In bed sleeping it off; 3. At work writing my opinion; 4. In Paris eating steak tartare.
Tomorrow in Wednesday’s election special Saviour Balzan writes why John Attard Montalto is such a great traveller, gardener, artist and last but not least a politician!
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Before that particular moment he was nowhere to be seen.
