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One of the little privileges of being a newspaper editor is that I receive immediate briefs of what is written where and when.
It saves me from reading The Times, which anyway somehow managed to do a Houdini and not report Michael Falzon’s (MLP) hysterical outburst on Sunday, in which the deputy Labour leader attacked me, this newspaper and his own colleagues in the party. But I’ll get to Dr Falzon later.
So, Saturday I received an SMS that prolific writer and bon vivant Andrew Borg Cardona, alias il-Bocca, who writes a weekly column in The Times, lambasted MaltaToday for revealing that John Cassar White, chairman of the Malta Shipyards, was one of Alfred Sant’s entourage of personal advisors.
Now I have tried very hard not to lock horns with Bocca, but this one comment has gone too far. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but if one had to flip to page 12 of the same issue of The Times, there for all to see, one could see that… hoorah! Andrew Borg Cardona serves as lawyer to the Malta Shipyards and its officials. Now, if Bocca needed any warning regarding conflicts of interest, then surely now is the time.
The last time Bocca castigated MaltaToday was when this newspaper revealed that Charles Mangion served as notary for Pender Place, and at the same time had criticised Pender Place as MLP deputy leader.
Bocca, the traditional die-hard Nationalist, was obviously making parallels with his own conflicts of interest when he said that he saw nothing wrong with Charles Mangion’s situation. Bocca, who has thrived off several government retainers, was the first to state that he did not saw nothing wrong.
It is obvious that we live on different planets.
Which is not a bad thing after all, because the planet I live on is sparsely populated, and home to far better restaurants.
Which brings me straight to deputy PM Michael Falzon.
Dr Falzon, who is Labour’s deputy leader, is obviously incapable of handling stories which tackle what he has said, done and commented upon. He says that we have lied. I would welcome any indication to where and when we have lied. He is also very touchy when we mention his personal assistant. I find this strange.
That Falzon is sensitive is clearly an indisputable fact. Last Wednesday, when I made reference to his Sunday speech in MaltaToday Midweek – in particular his emotional words on his 30 year-old holy picture of the Madonna – Falzon flipped. He stood by his holy picture and denounced my criticism as blasphemous.
He obviously thinks that I am taking the Virgin Mary for a ride, completely oblivious to the fact that the use of religion to attract sympathy is not only anachronistic in 2007, but it is more specifically out of synch with the Labour party’s psyche.
To me, Michael Falzon sounded like a 1962 Nationalist in the poltico-religious war. No, I did not take the Virgin Mary for a ride, but only Falzon for using a religious icon to score a point.
This is 2007, Malta is in Europe, and Europe in the Western World, and I believe it has been 219 years since the French revolution.
Yesterday I tuned in to Super One to listen to what he had to say, after rumours in the Labour corridors that Falzon was to about to retract his Sunday outburst (listen to this on www.maltatoday.com.mt). He has, and I have to admit it was definitely slightly toned down.
Labour’s official statement toned down even further his rhetoric and gave the impression of a Falzon who had repented. This was a different Michael Falzon, certainly more acceptable and less aggressive.
I can understand Falzon’s frustration. But he has to start understanding the free press. MaltaToday has no agenda other than the news. He will find this difficult to fathom, but the truth is I could not give a hoot who leads the Labour party: whether it is Alfred Sant, Michael Falzon or Scaramouche.
There is clearly a problem in the Labour party, but then, it is definitely not my fault. If there people who want to shaft each other, if there is incompatibility between one group and another, if there are people who want to undermine one group to advantage another, then please understand that it is the story that is exciting, nothing else.
I do not feel comfortable with Falzon’s behaviour, but then neither does Falzon feel comfortable with mine. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt and argue that Falzon’s outburst was simply a freak event.
Hard to believe, but sometimes even I can be a nice guy.
“Green government” is what this government is trying very hard to be. It is more than obvious that the Valletta pedestrian project is a welcome project. But as one unkind minister pointed out to me, it is not a case of Gatt going green, but rather, Austin thinking primarily about his constituency. A nasty comment, but there you go.
Now if we are talking about constituency, the one constituency that needs to be tackled is the middle class green conscious vote. The PN is very conscious of this, and in the last few days has scored two big brownie 9or should that be greenie?) points with this electorate. After this, the PN will be embarking on the 8,000 or so problematic lower middle class Nationalists who live on a salary of Lm5,000. So expect some surprises.
In the meantime, the PN has closed the spring hunting season. Environment minister George Pullicino’s announcement coincided with a mass slaughter of honey buzzards, and came a day after the destruction of thousands of trees at Mellieha: a vandal act which many attribute to renegade hunters, even though there is little proof they did it.
That one had to wait for hundreds of honey buzzards to be slaughtered to convince this government that Maltese and Gozitan hunters are a bunch of indiscriminate bird killers, kills me.
But then, the decision by Pullicino to cut short a season that he introduced himself was applauded by all. Evidently, Pullicino has recouped some lost ground.
More surprises were in store. Yesterday, the Prime Minister, in the presence of Pullicino, announced that the proposed golf course at Xaghra l-Hamra was being shelved, and that the whole area would be converted into a Heritage Park.
He meant to say ecological park, since Xaghra l-Hamra is home to minute plants and animals that only naturalists can really appreciate. But that is beside the point.
Now, this is damn good news, but it would be appropriate to rewind to the beginning of the saga, when Dr Gonzi announced with much pomp and naiveté that he had indicated Xaghra l-Hamra as a site for a golf course.
When the PM made this announcement. he was warned that Xaghra l-Hamra was an area of ecological importance. The scientists who looked at the area have confirmed this, and the PM, knowing all too well that there is no money to construct a golf course, has turned a negative into a positive.
Good for him.
It is clear that the intention is more political than ecological, but what the heck. The most important thing is that politicians are reacting to the green lobby, and the PM knows that a good solid middle class base remain covert green.
Well, it appears that the PN is gearing up for something. With the Michael Falzon saga, the 3,000 decimated trees and the decision to shelve the golf course, all in the space of a few days, the PN is definitely warming up for a big event. What could it be?
Labour shadow minister for the environment, Roderick Galdes, has said that he will fight in the European Courts to see that we keep Spring Hunting in Malta. Come on, Roderick, grow up and understand that we need to move forward not backwards.
And finally, a big thank you to our wonderful branding exercise in France, sponsored by a French billionaire from Brittany. Thank God for Sarko.
sbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt
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