Opinion • 16 February 2003

Shot in the back

There is this eerie feeling.
As you walk the streets, the Maltese sun shines on but never seems to warm you up. It has not been this cold for a very long time.
Everyone complains about the cold – thankfully it serves as a reprieve from the unexciting debate over Europe.
As the cold continues to shake our bones, one episode cannot but strike a cold shiver down our spine: The San Gwann shooting that left a man dead. When it happened I remember following the story and thinking ‘this was cold blooded murder.’
The man who pulled the trigger was not kept in prison. He lived the life of a free man out on bail.
Only a few days ago he was acquitted and by George the verdict was unanimous
Acquitted!! Yes!! You heard right.
The court ruled that the man who pulled the trigger, shot someone in the back and killed him was free to go.
That a man can lift a gun that he is not licensed to keep and kill someone in cold blood in the confines of a bakery shop is ok by the jury.
It also failed to shock the jury that someone should feel the need to keep a shotgun in his shop.
In the privacy of our homes, we could only express revulsion and disapproval at the verdict.
At Kordin, people are in for much less. And yet shooting and killing in alleged self defence with an unlicensed shotgun was considered OK by this jury.
The decision does, if nothing else, send a message that you can, if I can be spared the pun; literally get away with murder.
It is yet another message that if you want settle scores, or even out a difference, then pulling the trigger is the solution.
This is not the first time this has happened in Malta and more often than not we get treated to silly comments such as: "Ghamillu sew ghax kien kiesah (He - the dead man - deserved it as he was so arrogant)."
The decision gives those lobbying for an end to the jury system some kick and confirms that if you have an argument or a difference, the safest bet is to avoid any form of trouble.
No one can guarantee your life let alone a safe future.
The future for the Labour party
As we approach March 8, the campaign for and against Europe Union accession has turned from boring, to very boring. The charade is given some occasional spice and colour with the unwarranted and banal talk by Alfred Sant who never ceases to surprise us with his ‘comments.’
Many in his circle hope that, after the election, they will have no more of the man.
As things stand they are convinced that their only way of survival is to keep mum. Say nothing.
This is perfectly reasonable, considering that many Nationalist dissidents do exactly the same.Politics is about survival after all so why should anyone expect Chris Cardona, Karmenu Vella, John Attard Montalto or Louis Buhagiar to speak their minds.
The danger with Alfred Sant’s legacy is the spoke in the wheels he has contributed which is stifling differing opinion within the MLP camp after the next election.
This Labour Party needs to change radically. It needs to position itself for the role of a future alternative government.
This country needs a social democratic party to tackle the issues that the Nationalist party is either unwilling or unable to confront.
The future is theirs.