Victors and whiners

KURT SANSONE wonders whether the England football team will prove to be as bad losers as Alterra

In a few days’ time this nation will take a rest from political controversy and focus its attention on the footballing exploits of Beckham and Totti, that is if we do not get another Mintoff-style political turnover the likes of which ruined the enjoyment of the France ’98 World Cup.

It is unlikely that football fanatics will be subjected to the same political treatment experienced four years ago when Bruno Pizzul’s commentary was replaced with Mintoff’s long-winded parliamentary speeches. France ’98 was an unforgettable World Cup with people watching games while having earphones plugged into their ears listening to the parliamentary debates on Radio Malta.

But there seems to be no political omen on the horizon of Korea/Japan 2002. Soon the talking points will be England’s early exit and Italy’s clean sheet (no hiding my bias here). We will marvel at Nigeria’s exceptional performance and wonder how the tired old Germans managed to get through to the second stage. It will be a war of words and car horns. But all will be said and done in the name of the game and in a spirit of fun, unless one pint too many wreaks havoc and raises adrenaline levels beyond human control.

Forget the European Union or Switzerland in the Mediterranean for a month, or part of it for some, Union Jacks and the Tricolore will bob up and down on the roofs with the Brazilian and German flags making an occasional appearance.

In all this football frenzy we will definitely get sore losers trying to explain why their team did not make it through the first round because the referee was blind. All sorts of excuses will be made: the weather, the turf and possibly even the food.

The name of the game is football and after a gruelling month of hard tackles, finesse and goals, only one team will be uncorking the champagne. Hopefully that team will be Italy. Let the games begin.

Sour grapes

And speaking of bad losers I cannot but comment on the crusade launched by the Alterra Consortium who are grumbling about being ditched by government in the Malta International Airport privatisation process.

The controversy has gone on for too long and reached pathetic levels. Alterra lost the bid and they should accept defeat. Their behaviour is akin to that of a five-year-old child who lost a game of snakes and ladders and decided to spoil the party.

Alterra’s public relations strategy, that is if they have one, has completely backfired. Their case is one of sour grapes and roping in the US embassy in the whole affair was an uncalled-for move.

I cannot imagine a similar incident happening in the States. Just picture the treatment the Maltese ambassador to the United States would get if he publicly commented to the New York Times about the lack of transparency in George Bush’s government, just because a Maltese company lost a tendering bid. Or worse if the Maltese ambassador tried to enter a press conference given by the US Secretary of the Treasury. The ambassador would not get CNN coverage but he would be diplomatically told off and asked to stick to his job.

Similarly, the US ambassador has better things to do than getting caught up in media spin orchestrated by the lady from Bidnija.

But then again, government is partly to blame for this malaise. Throughout the privatisation process, government has been less forthcoming with information on the progress of things. News is leaked to particular journalists only allowing for gross misinterpretations that inevitably lead to speculation.

And in a country that thrives on gossip and small talk just a slight hint of mystery is enough for all sorts of theories to be bandied about.

The oft-presented official argument ‘we cannot reveal our cards because it is not in the national interest’ is downright stupid. So, no details are given out not to disrupt the process and then all hell breaks loose when the decision is announced. I personally believe that the latter is more damaging to the national interest than the revelation of details during the bidding process.

With further privatisation processes in the offing, government should re-think its communication strategy. Even if the whole process was as transparent as can be, unless the public perceived it to be so the inevitable was bound to happen.