You have to admit that last weekend’s performance at the St Julian’s venue was not a disaster. It was worse. It was a catastrophe.
It would have been more ideal if all the Nationalist diehards had stayed at home and poured milk into their rice krispies and read through their copy of MaltaToday or Illum.
The PN general council, as they like to call it, started off with a chorus of eulogies. The glorification declared unto Lawrence Gonzi was far better than the Knickerbocker Glory we would dig into at the Wimpy when we were kids. All the guest speakers were apparently investing in their future and their political career by dishing out heaps of praise to Lawrence. It sounded so choreographed, that what came later came as a shock.
And of course, MEP Simon Busuttil struck me as being close to tears as he saluted his leader as the one and only who would lead the party into yet another victory.
It got more absurd as Gonzi looked on, making no secret of his glee and excitement at seeing everyone publicly state their adoration towards him. There was nothing more irritating to all the old PN veterans than having to listen to Gonzi talk about all the achievements and making it a point to say that all this happened in the last three years, unlike what he emphasised on Friday. Even a book launched on the occasion seems to have forgotten that the administration is four years old, the first year of which had Eddie Fenech Adami as Premier – as if what had happened before those three years was simply a little inconsequential event that had no reflection on how Gonzi got to where he got.
Needless to say, none of the sycophants at the council had the gall to stand up and remind Lawrence Gonzi that had it not been for his former Prime Minister and his cabinet of ministers, he would probably not be in any position to boast of any successes.
When he talks about Europe, Gonzi forgets to mention that it was not he who led Malta into the EU, but the man everyone knew as Eddie.
And more significantly, when he recounts the increased revenues for government he fails to mention that the increase in VAT from 15% to 18% which took place before he took over the finance ministry, was crucial for the dramatic increase in government revenue – which helped put together the so-called economic fundamentals in place.
It is of little significance to lesser mortals that the achievements of Fenech Adami are swept under the carpet, but at least the historians and discerning readers should take note.
Still, Gonzi’s three-year golden reign was nothing compared to Austin Gatt’s amazing session of hara-kiri. Gatt has to be congratulated for having taken the Nationalist party back to where it was before Sant’s disastrous rendition at Birzebbugia. He may have scored ample points in his unrefined Valletta constituency, but on a national level he shot himself in the foot and more crucially, wounded many of his colleagues in the process. It was a first-class case of collateral damage with shrapnel flying all over the place.
Gatt, the darling of the PN council, was pleasing to the Nationalist gladiators who clapped and laughed as he attributed, more or less, drink and pill-taking to Sant. No one seems to have reminded Gatt that before anyone talks in such party conferences, they should be aware that they are televised to the whole nation.
Gatt now faces criminal libel action from Alfred Sant. His outburst hit a raw nerve, it seems. And that, I believe, is an understatement.
It raised the issue of drink on the political agenda, an allegation that is constantly bandied around by Nationalist mavericks when talking about Sant. That Sant likes a drink is not an untruth, but the alleged drink problem has been amplified without any evidence and that is a problem.
Sant has already won one libel case on the matter and I cannot see how he can possibly lose this particular criminal libel.
Gatt, who remains the most efficient minister in Gonzi’s cabinet, has many plusses, but his biggest minus is that he is like a Ferrari that comes out of the production line without brakes – much in contrast to Nationalist Siggiewi mayor Robert Musumeci, who appealed for political critique not to be personal.
Gatt is of course in no mood to be advised by the younger bunch of Nationalists. In short, it was a sad episode which showed the state of anxiety in the political parties.
PN secretary-general Joe Saliba, who can also be credited with some tactless use of the language, said that he disagrees with what Austin Gatt has said. But this habit of saying someone is wrong and doing nothing about it is becoming a typical trait for the PN. I guess it finds its roots in the Roman Catholic tradition that you can always confess your sins and get absolved. It is a remarkable style that has been applied to rebut the excessive and unnecessary language.
But let us face it. In another country, Gatt would be made to apologise. Instead he issues a press release which does not say something like the following: “Look Dr Sant, I am sorry for what I said. I had no intention of saying what I said and what I said was not meant to indicate that you are a drunkard or on pills.”
He has not and I cannot see him apologising. But surely, saying sorry shouldn’t be that difficult.
Yet the worst sequel of this conference was definitely the spontaneous appearance of footballer Michael Mifsud seated next to Joe Saliba and of course Kate Gonzi. For anyone to have coughed up the idea that an icon such as Michael Mifsud should be dragged to a partisan conference is utterly mindless.
Michael Mifsud has told friends privately that he had been told he would be meeting the Prime Minister, and claims he did not know that he would be placed on a podium in full view of the TV cameras and in front of a crowd of Nationalist diehards. If this is true, then surely Joe Saliba should be doing some serious soul searching.
I am also informed that after this sudden publicity Michael Mifsud was completely lost for words. He could not believe that he had been netted like a ‘mosquito’ in Joe Saliba’s cobweb.
It was one of those things that would probably make anyone of Michael Mifsud’s fame reinforce their dream of not only wanting to play with a foreign soccer team, but settle forever in a foreign country.
This little country lacks icons and it hardly appreciates its heroes. For Joe Saliba to have tainted the tiny world of Maltese sports with this STUPID spin is tragic to say the least. When the dust settled, everyone must have said: “This was not a good day for us.”
It was a bad weekend and not even the glittering auditorium and well-dressed politicians flanked by young faces will wipe out this misfortune. It is a taste of what we are to experience in the next weeks before a general election.

Now if you were looking for proof that not all the silly comments are uttered by politicians, enter hunters’ lobbyist Lino Farrugia with his press release about the Church. It came after a Church commission expressed its opinion over hunting.
Lino Farrugia retaliated and reminded the Church of its part in the Inquisition and the killing of innocents in the Crusades.
Perhaps the time has come for people to simply stop taking Lino Farrugia seriously. When I see him in that white suit addressing a crowd or standing upright for a press photo I hope other readers will take him for what he is. Need I say more?

sbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt