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Boycott kickstarts ‘us and them’ Labour Party campaign

The Labour party’s decision to boycott ‘Bondi +’ and Xarabank mark the latest in a long list of political boycotts which have seen PN activists stay away from Super one and MLP representatives turn down invitations from NET TV. Such behaviour, which is widely being viewed as kicking off the Labour Party’s ‘them and us’ campaign, looks likely to set the scene for more partisan politics and mud slinging and could well deteriorate into a free-for-all on the air waves.

The latest decision to boycott ‘Where’s Everybody’s’ popular programmes is bound to provide ammunition for MLP opponents, who will definitely attempt to draw comparisons with 1987’s ‘Old Labour’.

This comes as Labour party secretary general Jimmy Magro decided not to answer four questions put to him by MaltaToday in relation to the ‘Where’s Everybody?’ boycott, informing us, instead, that the questions "are irrelevant to the issue."

The Qrendi-born secretary general said that he had nothing more to add to the statement issued by the Labour party on Wednesday evening.

MaltaToday asked Mr Magro whether the MLP executive’s decision was taken following Alfred Mifsud’s participation on ‘Bondi+’ the day before. The newspaper also asked Mr Magro whether the decision binds prospective Labour candidates who have not yet submitted their official application. Mr Magro was also asked to state why ‘Where’s Everybody?’ was described as a ‘shady’ company in the press statement and whether in the past he had offered to produce Xarabank for the team on Super One TV.

But in a curt reply Mr Magro opted to brand the questions as irrelevant even though Joe (Peppi) Azzopardi confirmed that in 1998 Mr Magro had approached him and offered to produce Xarabank on Super One TV.

"Jimmy Magro had approached me during an inauguration ceremony and offered to produce Xarabank, ‘lock stock and barrel’ on Super One television,” he said.

Jimmy Magro was ready to offer remuneration that was one and a half times more than the sum PBS was paying at the time," Mr Azzopardi said.

But the popular TV presenter stopped short of blaming the whole Labour party for wanting to destroy Xarabank and ‘Where’s Everybody?’.

"It is only ‘some’ people within the party that want to destroy the programme," Mr Azzopardi emphasised. "They are afraid of investigative journalism and they have a commercial reason to destroy the most successful programme on television."

Mr Azzopardi pointed out that despite all the investment Super One is putting into its Friday evening television slot, Xarabank has maintained the top spot in the Broadcasting Authority surveys.

"The danger of this country is that television’s commercial power is vested in political parties. How can you explain that a political party with its own radio and television stations, weekly newspaper and Internet news site embarks on a war with a media company that produces just four hours of television a week?" Mr Azzopardi asked, while stressing that the attack was an attack against all independent journalists.

The MLP boycott puts to rest the denial game adopted by a number of Labour party exponents who dropped their participation from the annual charity programme Istrina last month. The decision taken on Wednesday effectively means that, this year, the charity programme cannot be produced in its present format by ‘Where’s Everybody?’.

MaltaToday also spoke to Alfred Mifsud who until recently headed Super One television and radio. When asked whether the boycott decision was taken because of his participation in Bondi+, Mr Mifsud described it as pure coincidence.

"I agree with the boycott completely. I was one of the first people to push for such a thing," Mr Mifsud explained. He then justified his participation in Bondi+ on the grounds that the boycott was not in force at the time. "If the boycott was in force I would not have gone."

Alfred Mifsud is considered by many outside observers as one of the moderates in the Labour party and his presence on the MLP ticket in the next election is expected to attract middle of the road voters. But Labour party’s war against a successful media company, something unheard of in other democratic countries, has put to doubt the Labour party’s chances of convincing moderate voters to give it a chance.

MaltaToday asked Mr Mifsud whether the boycott could put off the very same people the Labour party was trying to attract to its fold.

"Like any other decision it has its risks and benefits. At least now everybody knows where things stand," Mr Mifsud said.

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