Talk is cheap

Talk is cheap

Alex Agius Saliba is the Labour Party’s deputy leader for party affairs, while also a serving member of the European Parliament. He must jostle between his duties in Brussels and Mile End in Hamrun. 

We are probably unaware that Agius Saliba is a superman of sorts but I cannot understand how a party supposedly brimming with human talent could not afford to find a deputy leader, who is permanently domiciled in Malta.

It seems that the PL is happier with a part-time deputy leader, who can only dedicate three or two days of his week to the party, than a full-timer.

The reason I mention Agius Saliba is because of his comments in a radio interview on Saturday, during which he poured cold water over all this fuss about a possible early election. He even tried to downplay the extraordinary activity that is taking place.

Perhaps Agius Saliba is not spending enough time in Malta, because if he is, he would realise that Mile End is awash with adrenaline from campaign preparations and is like a scene from the ‘upside down’ in Stranger Things. And then there are the deserted ministries with most of the political staff out in the field working their minister’s constituency. Agius Saliba would also see how Labour election candidates are in a frenzy, working day and night, trying to meet up with as many constituents as is humanly possible.

Talk is cheap but the truth is that the election fever is not something construed and created by the media or dinner party gossiping but the Labour Party itself. 

And if Agius Saliba has any sense, he would have found the right words when asked about an impending election and not make seem like everyone else has got it wrong.

The truth is that it is now in everyone’s interest not to go back on an election. It is in the country’s interest that we get on with it and if Robert Abela suddenly decides to postpone it, the only loser is the Labour Party and the only winner is the Nationalist Party.

After this election we should consider having an amendment in the electoral law that election dates should no longer be the prerogative of the prime minister. Election dates should be set in stone, every five years.

Ideally, the government and the Opposition should co-exist for five years and then turn to the public for an endorsement or a reality check.

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If the election is to happen, we need to more clarity from both political leaders, less bragging and head bashing, and more specific reference to how they intend to tackle problems or concerns.

If it is traffic, then people want to hear about solutions and their implementation.  If it’s overpopulation, people want to know how the parties intend to tackle it. And when it comes to planning and the environment, people want to hear about serious and concrete steps that will address their immediate worries.

The last thing people want to hear are nebulous statements interspersed with buzz words such as sustainable development and balance.

And on this level, I think that many are expecting Alex Borg to be more daring and direct. 

Lack of clarity and commitment to change will benefit the incumbent party in this democratic process.

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My last words go to the US ambassador, who recently tweeted about her sterling work in Malta and her unfailing mission to transmit Donald Trump’s politics in beautiful and Catholic Malta.

I am sure that many people who meet the US ambassador sincerely express gratitude and respect for the US embassy. But many Maltese, including most parliamentarians resent the politics of Donald Trump. Some are sorry that Malta’s foreign minister nominated him for the Nobel Peace prize. Most see Trump as false and not Christian at all.

Perhaps now with Pope Leo having the gall to stand up to Trump after being called so many names by this unhinged felon, more Maltese will find the courage to express their discontent about Trump when sipping a dry Martini with Miss Madam Ambassador.

Today, this is no longer a question of being conservative or liberal. Trump is erratic and insane. He promotes policies, which are illogical and has made the world a more dangerous place, where thousands of innocent people have died because of his reckless thinking.

It is inconceivable that we remain silent or that we treat the US ambassador as someone who represents a normal country. The US was never an easy country to work with, but at least there was hope in its institutions.

Today, the only hope that exists is for Trump’s time to come to an end and for someone decent to take over.

In the meantime, it is up to everyone to see if they are willing to tolerate the sycophants such as his ambassador in Malta, who praise and embrace Trump even if they know in their heart of hearts that the man is nothing more than an impulsive and choleric conceited man living in a parallel universe with little or no understanding of what is wrong or right.

Fascist would be too kind a word to describe Donald Trump.