General fatigue

There is little doubt that the election campaign is fizzling out, with repetitive claims and counter claims, and same assertions being made over and over again. The protagonists are looking tired and the electorate is bored. One gets the feeling that the whole country wants this electoral test to be over sooner than later. The television programmes have become boring and barring enthusiasm at the mass meetings and the comic relief at the meeting called by the independent candidate there is very limited electoral fever.

Two issues which were given little importance in this election campaign have suddenly surfaced, following answers given by the two party leaders, are spring hunting and immigration. Not surprisingly these two issues being too hot to handle were not given prominence in the electoral programmes. The perennial problem of spring hunting inevitably raises concern among the wider electorate and a defensive attitude among the hunting lobby. Neither of the two parties wanted to raise this issue to the forefront preferring to let sleeping dogs lie.

However the prime minister willingly or otherwise seems to have unsettled the waters by not excluding a referendum allowing people to decide this issue of spring hunting. In fairness, this is not a matter for referenda as it is up to the government of the day to decide such matters. However it is salutary that the issue has again been put on the political agenda. In fact year after year since two thousand and four the government of the day has asked for a deroga for spring hutting to carry on. The motive behind every request to Europe has been so as not to alienate the hunters who appear as a sacred cow and privileged lobby group, of late weakened when in the EU elections they tried to prove their electoral worth and failed miserably. In not excluding a referendum Lawrence Gonzi was in fact expressing the sentiment of the majority who would gladly vote to make spring hunting illegal.

Therefore it is surprising and strategically unwise that the PN retracted the force of the prime ministers statement by denying all allegations by the hunters that spring hunting was to be decided upon by a referendum. The future government of whatever shade and colour is going to have to bite the bullet on spring hunting and cannot carry on allowing the hunters lobby to blackmail governments.

An equally controversial issue is immigration, which both parties are also reluctant to tackle feeling that the popular sentiment is against further immigrants arriving and staying in Malta.

Proposals include concrete action in the form of diplomatic pressure on Europe, reinforcing security, an ombudsman in the centre for detentions. There is the need for a reappraisal of the centres for detention by lowering the maximum period for detainees and carrying out diplomatic pressure for them to find a new home.

MaltaToday has always seen the immigrants as an asset to our country and not a burden since their inclusion in the gainfully employed list will give added revenues to government and will further help create a multicultural society for the benefit of all. They may not have a vote but they certainly can enrich our society with their diverse cultures.

In these last eight days it is hoped that some personality or event or assertion manages to liven up the debate in what is fast becoming an extremely nauseating campaign with repetitive press conferences, lifeless under the tent discussions and photo opportunities all of which have become very predictable. Little new is being said.

A general sense of fatigue persists.