Hard for Ira to walk on water

Walk On Water was imposed by so called artistic experts replacing the one chosen by the Maltese nation and the panel of judges

Singer Ira Losco addresses the press after a meeting with the Prime Minister
Singer Ira Losco addresses the press after a meeting with the Prime Minister

There is no denying, Ira Losco gave an excellent performance in representing Malta during the recently held Eurovision Song Contest. She did her best, with an impeccable voice and in spite of being five months’ pregnant, she gave a first-class rendition of a song which however was not the one chosen by the Maltese public nor by the judges especially selected for this purpose.

Walk On Water was imposed by so called artistic experts replacing the one chosen by the Maltese nation and the panel of judges during the local Song for Europe contest. This was an insult to public opinion and against the basic rules of democracy. 

Consequently, the chosen song was not tried and tested by any jury, whether it be the public or a selected panel of judges, and had to compete with songs chosen by the opinion of much larger nations. Certain so-called artistic experts thought they know best, and that the public and jury’s choice was irrelevant.

Ira Losco had therefore an insurmountable task to compete against all odds. Even Australia was expected to win first place in this song contest followed by Russia, France, Austria, and several others. Unfortunately, politics also played an important part in this contest, because the ultimate winner was the Ukrainian song which was mainly a political song referring to the Stalinist past of mass deportation of Ukranians, as a revenge for supporting Nazism during the Second World War.

Although expectations for Ira were high, expecting a top-three placing, she was not just expected to sing the song but actually walk on water. And as far as is known, only Jesus Christ has managed to achieve this task without mechanical or artificial assistance.

Raymond Sammut

Mellieha