Get ready. Suddenly, everyone on Facebook will become economic and political experts as they regurgitate the drivel they follow religiously on party-owned television stations (which in turn are allergic to publishing their financial accounts). TVM, another jewel of fantastic journalism and broadcasting, is similarly party-driven by whoever is in Government.
In a matter of weeks, every accountant, lawyer, etc. will transform themselves into experts of global macroeconomics, human rights law, EU legislation, and so many other fields within their newly-acquired knowledge repertoire.
Prepare yourselves for the cringeworthy slogans that are essentially media soundbites and meaningless words. Oh, and don’t forget more of your favourite ‘God bless ministru’, ‘Bongu’ and ‘Watching from Australia’ comments on each minister’s/politician’s Facebook post.
Let the football match begin. Instead of collectively fighting for Malta, so to speak, we will again use phrases such as ‘irbahna’ and ‘kaxkarnikom’ to further strengthen the political divide. These people, the vast majority, prioritise their identities as Labourites (rather than socialists) or Nationalists (rather than conservatives) over their shared identity as Maltese. Congratulations on sustaining national tensions and ensuring the parties become centrist organisations without much of a philosophical drive and clear ethos.
Miraculously, the COVID pandemic will now also be forgotten as the maskless sheep huddle up to attend their Glorious Leader’s mass meetings, clapping at every word, beer in hand, blissfully unaware of their own intellectual/analytical limitations.
Of course, our religious culture incessantly plays its part as the boomers deify their favoured politicians and regard them as ‘saviours’ despite all the corruption under the sun (incidentally, why do we always need to be saved from someone/something?). This is, arguably, a symptom of postcolonialism and a poor education system.
Prepare for the evident biases of people who were given or have been promised a Government position, in a democratic country in which we must apparently knock on politicians’ doors for favours.
Meanwhile, SDM and Pulse who HaVe No LiNkS tO tHe PoLiTiCaL pArTiEs will continue to play their part in ensuring this cheap political game does not lose its hold over our (educated) youth studying at the University, MCAST, Junior College. And so may the cycle continue.
Enjoy the same old Facebook posts about the cultureless buildings being shamelessly erected around Malta and the same expressions of disdain that ‘Malta is becoming ugly … Dan il-pajjiz qed jispicca …’ But these actions did not arise suddenly. Their seeds had been sown over the past decades. Despite us all acknowledging the uglification of Malta, what is truly being done to counter it?
Writers such as Ġużè Ellul Mercer (‘Leli ta’ Ħaż-Żgħir (1938)) and Oliver Friggieri (Fil-Parlament ma Jikbrux Fjuri (1986)) had tried to warn us. But in a country of people who are allergic to reading anything that isn’t a sports column, celebrity gossip magazine, Lidl catalogue, property magazine, or political leaflet, the words of such authors fall on deaf ears.
This country’s gradual decline is a result of its own people. This argument has been made again and again and again and again (see, for example, [Dr Immanuel Mifsud’s interview on Jon Mallia’s podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_jNSQbK_T8)). Yet, nothing substantial really changes.
13 comments
accurate AF comment,
This is part of the reason why I don’t have FB.
Foreigner here, could not agree more with OP.
A small country that could be so easy to turn into a strenght has become instead a dire strait from political, economical and social standpoint.
Instead of voting to choose the best future for their country the maltese would just want to defeat their opponents, no matter what their party agenda has wrote down, so that for the next five years at least they could use the same sentences to win an argument.
Malta is such a political big joke.
I am Maltese but went to live abroad. Thing about when I was living in Malta is that religion, football and politics are constantly shoved into your throat. You hear them everywhere you go.
Three things that I don’t associate with or find interesting.
Also, I am close to deleting Facebook as you can’t express your opinion in this country because everyone will judge you or make fun of you. Nobody will agree to disagree. It’s either this or that.
Amen to this! Same thoughts as soon as I heard the election day! Get ready for billboards, endless leaflets and magazines and the dreadful “house visits”
I’m afraid this is the result of democracy. Since the leader is chosen by votes, it’s literally a popularity contest. And who is most popular? The parent that gives its child unlimited sweets and computer time, or the parent that gives it healthy veggies and a book?
Permits win votes. Jobs win votes. Letting people pollute freely, park badly, bend or break rules, all make this place collectively worse and negatively affect us all, but they all win votes.
You will have noticed that years ago the government shifted from looking out for the best interests of the Maltese to optimising everything for votes. That is why problems are treated with complete inaction until they get bad enough to cost them votes.
It also means that the most successful politicians are the ones that are best at talking, not necessarily the most skilled in the job. Listen carefully to a politician’s speech. They say a lot of words, but they are saying absolutely nothing. There is zero substance. They describe how we have to improve things, how there’s a lot of work to do, how they really love Malta, but they never state anything concrete and actionable. It’s just hot air. Yet they leave you feeling like “that guy sure knows what he’s saying” because if they speak with conviction, your emotional response will be like that. There’s a reason 80% of politicians are lawyers.
For foreigners who can’t vote, it’s just entertainment and sometimes a minor inconvenience, yes.
It is also a reminder that democracy (as a historical “vox populi”) still exists in some countries (I am from Russia, for us it is something that was forgotten many years ago).
And you have a rather interesting vote counting system!
OP – you might enjoy [this](https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/52787/1/Education3%284%29A3.pdf).
It’s a discussion amongst some of Maltese society’s foremost public intellectuals (Jeremy Bossevain, Alfred Sant, Peter Serracino Inglott, Joe Friggieri etc.) titled “Why do the Maltese ask so few questions?” published back in 1990. What’s interesting is that virtually all the points raised by each author still apply today and the social issues they highlight (construction, cronyism, corruption, political polarisation, colonialism) are all pretty much the same things that we still struggle with 32 years later.
Local here, agree 100%. Fucking overgrown children vying for the votes of sheep. I wish I could say I’ll vote for the lesser evil, but I often struggle to see the difference between the two main parties.
Cue “Madoffi kemm int bravu, ma tithajjarx tohrog ghall-politika?” if you say this out loud.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything, particularly with the first part. The problem is that nowadays everyone believes they’re an expert in everything, just to seem more intelligent than others, without educating themselves in the particular matter /subject (and NO I’m not necessarily referring to a formal education). The same thing was seen recently with the COVID pandemic when all of a sudden everyone became a doctor, scientist, health care professional etc., started spewing BS online and during protests that COVID is a hoax, masks and vaccines do not work etc.
I understand that this will always be present to a certain degree, but in Malta, a state has been reached where we cannot have an educaded political debate or voice opinions because everyone belives that they’re the only ones who are “right” and if you don’t agree you are branded ‘gahan’, ‘injorant’ or something else.
The EU turned us into this, if we were stable, we could resist them. The biggest problem is the immigrants and over population. deport them back or let them drown.
Welldone!