The annual political party leaders rap battle staged at the University of Malta campus

What are we skinning? The annual political party leaders rap battle staged at the University of Malta campus.

Why are we skinning it? Because it dredges up a Groundhog’s Day worth of bad feeling and bad counter-reactions to said feelings, and I think we should at least try to nip some of that in the bud.

How do you mean? So we are of course talking about the debate among political party leaders staged at UoM to a baying and eager crowd…

Rent-a-crowd, surely… Yeah, we’ll get to that soon.

Time is of the essence. Get to it now! You’re right. Might as well cut through the exposition and get straight into the action.

I mean, this already feels like the shortest and most ineffectual electoral campaign in recent memory. Actually I’ve checked with my grandfather about that, and he told me that he overstocked on kalmanti in anticipation of a dangerous anxiety spike. But this election cycle has actually had a calming effect on him.

It’s good that we can rely on the stoicism of the old and the wise. Because we certainly cannot rely on the credulousness of the young participants at the KSU leaders’ debate.

I kind of tuned out when I saw the ‘best minds of our generation’ chanting disruptively. But that means you haven’t been paying attention to things over the past few years. The University debate has always served as a mini-mass meeting for the mini-sheep.

That’s kind of depressing, no? It is. You’d imagine they’d change up the format a little bit to make it better reflect the kind of sober debate you’d want to project at the country’s institution of higher learning.

But once practices get inculcated into the system, it’s hard to rub them out, right? Yeah. They’re like a wine stain you soiled your shirt with at a party you never wanted to be at in the first place.

It also explains the foibles of our electoral system. In some ways, yes. The pointlessly fragmented and porous-to-corruption districts. The stranglehold of lobbies like hunting, and industries like construction.

We really do need a proper revolution. Let’s hope the ‘silent majority’ of young people who opted out of the chanting hold the key to that.

Do say: “While the realities of political tribalism have to be accounted for and criticised accordingly, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves with the righteous indignation here. This debate has always been yet another mass meeting in all but name, and not all University students will be so keen to jump into the brainless fray.”

Don’t say: “I’m so happy that the curse of politically and environmentally aware ‘woke’ youngsters appears to have spared our fair island. Our youngsters are obedient and docile, only resorting to shouting when ordered to do so by their family’s chosen political oppressor. I couldn’t be more proud.”