Saviour Balzan on Sunday • 3 November 2002

Fatigue and ‘The Inquisition’

"Passionate, obsessive, emotive, hysterical, over the top," is what we have been for decades and what we remain in everything connected with politics. The eternal neck and neck race to nowhere seems to makes us all a bit neurotic.

The EU membership issue has gutted politics of any other substance and turned us into monomaniacs. Never mind the stress, think of the mental shutdown from fatigue and overkill.

The Maltese, very much like everyone else, would like to talk about the things that really matter: the little bits of nonsense that make their life easier, more exciting and more delightful.

All day long we get horribly exposed to the radio shows on both sides of the political divide (I should say three, but it seems that Capital Radio supposedly licensed to Alternattiva relegates politics to the late late show).

The programmes are dominated by Manwel Cuschieri on one side and David Casa and Pierre Portelli on the other. If they tried their tricks on national TV or radio they would be banned.

Now after years of deliberation over the role of the political stations, the Broadcasting Authority has decided not to decide and to continue to do absolutely nothing about bias on the political stations.

The propagandists are hell-bent on getting the message or rather their message across.

The converted listen attentively, but the others who never tune in to NET or Super One have probably never heard of the Manwel Cuschieris of this world.

On state television, the level of intelligent debate is curtailed. The BA is a dinosaur, kept alive by the same politicians who lament that they are not being treated fairly.

It may be the first sign of a long overdue extinction that the former Chief Justice, Joe Said Pullicino (JSP) now BA Chairman has turning on his government and dismantled the fine balance that divided propaganda from information.

I have had recurrent flashes of someone somewhere banging his head on the wall and screaming: "Now, what I have done. Why did I appoint JSP?"

The worst part of it is that die-hard Nationalists are suggesting that the guys and gals at the BA are conditioned by Alfred Sant.

But are the BA the only people conditioned?

And is it only Dr Sant who conditions people?

I have no empathy with the BA, but then why should I rubbish the BA when it is the politicians who have converted them into the inquisition?

Who is to blame if the BA has only chosen to look at state television and ignore NET and Super One?

The answer is in the fact that the BA consists of representatives from both political parties.

That the Broadcasting Authority has regressed is not in doubt. But then regression has many facets. The political song and dance currently in motion is a repeat performance of the Integration and Independence controversies.

It is understandable that we should have such conflicts – more so in a democracy.

Yet, the fact that there is yet another debate on how to hold a debate is confirmation that our democracy has not matured enough. We discuss how to discuss, not what we discuss.

We argue over how to argue, not what to argue about.

We are obsessed with the form and not with the content.

When will it change? Perhaps it will not change.

Stupid question, no answer.