Between The Godfather and Cape Fear

For all our talk of think-tanks and political academies, the underlying dynamic running through Maltese politics hasn't budged an inch since 1987.

David Friggieri 9 February 2011, 12:00am

3 min read

Ergajna bl-istess kantaliena. Here we go again. Nothing ever changes round here. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose . For all our talk of think-tanks and political academies, the underlying dynamic running through Maltese politics hasn't budged an inch since 1987.

Every few years, as yet another appointment with the ballot box approaches, a powerful and well-oiled machine is set in motion and we get to watch an adaptation of the same old film, that unmistakable local collage resembling something of a cross between The Godfather and a reel of Stalinist propaganda with its horrific black-and-white clips of unspeakable crimes and bulk buying whose central characters are called Mintoff, Karmenu and Lorry Sant. In parallel, another film production studio is busy re-inventing certain key protagonists of that by-gone era by casting them in a modern, even futuristic, new role in a movie called Metamorphosis (or The Shadow Cabinet).

The film festival creates an optical illusion that things are actually happening, that they are moving forward, progressing if you will, that there is life and vitality to be found in the interplay between these two diametrically opposed versions of reality. So although a sizable chunk of the younger audience has simply switched off completely, retreating into its protected personal niche (and the occasional sarcastic comment on facebook), thousands of others still find the spectacle captivating enough to take it seriously.

A few others attempt to design a path away from the two cinema screens and the non-choice they are faced with. The problem is, of course, that our generation has largely disengaged from politics. We have allowed other people to establish the rules of the game, to feed us their version of reality and to construct a world made in their image.

Individuals in my generation are living lives beyond their parents' wildest dreams but it seems to me that we haven't brought about anything politically innovative, choosing to retire instead into a life of personal hobbies, comforts and preoccupations.

In all this, the established 1960s Maltese politician stands victorious and triumphant like Robert De Niro's legendary character in Cape Fear. In the name of party unity, leaders whose political ideas have been soundly defeated stay on well past their sell-by date. And we are now experiencing a veritable re-writing of political history as dormant politicians are resurrected phoenix-like to deliver rousing speeches at party conferences. Politicians really do manage to outlast us and out-philosophize us in this country.

If nothing else (and in this day and age of rainbow politics you really do have to wonder), the political parties remain fine examples of the beneficial effects of community spirit, imbuing their members with a formidable sense of Three Musketeers camaraderie while guaranteeing them mutual protection from those annoying factors called common decency, political responsibility and the truth. It's no wonder that this country has not managed to obtain any sincere form of closure over the past 25 years.

Malta doesn't need a change of government or a new Prime Minister.

What it does need - desperately - is a change in dynamic. The balance of power needs to be shaken drastically. Even one hundredth of the determination and resolve shown by our Egyptian and Tunisian contemporaries would be enough to get this country out of its political stagnation. But perhaps we're a bit too bourgeois, a bit too 'middle class' to even attempt that small leap of faith.

More from David Friggieri

Albert Zammit •

At Antoine Vella: Quote: 'No, writing is not the only tool available. It's the easiest to use but not the only one.' Depends what you write. For instance, the comments you write are one thing, and when I read you I come to understand why you say that writing 'is the easiest to use'. But when I read writings such as those coming from David's pen, ... they're a different fish altogether and you need to read them once, twice and even more to understand their deep meaning.

Albert Zammit •

At Mr Saviour Balzan: You continue behaving and writing and speaking the way you are, and there will be two rags online from now on: yours and hers. Give it a break.

Albert Zammit •

When I read David's article and the comments that are published automatically undearneath, I realise all the more how right I am in my assimilation of what goes on in this country. If there had to be a small community which is so widely separated, it is the Maltese insular community. We fail to grow up. I have lived the evil times of Mintoff and KMB and I remember those times very vividly. They were times when you couldn't express yourself and your feelings in the open; they were times when violence was just outside your door; they were times when even the most honest and the most peace-loving of people, were arming themselves with a pistol; they were times when you were afraid of being ostracised, at best. Nobody who was on the wrong side at that time, nobody was wasn't even around at that time, has a right to comment about what took place in those times. However, I am one of those who move with the times. I am not stuck in a time-warp as certain individuals - I can mention two who are so: there's an old man who lives in Mosta who I won't mention by name because he is not present in this commentery; and there is Antoine Vella. For Antoine Vella, ever since the PN came to government, all has become rosy and there are no problems facing us at all. Like hell! To be quite honest, things started going bad for PN in government as soon as EFA got big-headed, believing that the country owed him everything under the sun. Even his walk changed, reminding you of some Western film. But anyway. Today, we are facing different problems. We are faced with a corrupt PN government that nearly competes with the corruption of yore. We are faced with a PM who is terrified of anything not going his way and who doesn't even consult with his back-benchers. Jacques Zammit says that it's the fault of our generation for 'unfinished business'. Well, Zammit can say whatever he likes (by the way, Jacques, if there's a difference between yourself and David, it's the fact that the latter knows all about politeness and style, and that has to do with the way he was brought up; in contrast, you are too arrogant for your own shoes!) but he certainly is not in a position to even kiss the shoes of those of us who were, as I said, on the wrong side of things in the 70s and 80s. Anyway, it's not that Zammit's generation are doing anything worth writing about! I wish to stop here, ... not because I don't have much more to say, but I believe that the more you write, ... the less it's probable that you will be read.

J Galea •

I wonder how many lives some of our politicians have, Antoine. Or maybe it's a question of reincarnation. I also predict a fair bit of metamorphosis kicking in over the next few years. You know, the 'I militated in a confessional party but I was a liberal European renaissance man all along' kind of thing.

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David, I've always had only one life and so have you, so you too had better use it wisely. No, writing is not the only tool available. It's the easiest to use but not the only one.

J Galea •

sustenance with an 'e' not an 'a'

J Galea •

Aim: exploding the inadequate duopoly and the media that gives it sustanance How: by writing (it's the only tool we've got) Main target audience: the young generation When it will happen: when a certain momentum is built up. I haven't given up yet. Antoine Vella - your attempt at equivalence fails miserably. If this were a video game, after your 'bored' quip and now this 'gemgem' line, you'd have one life left. So use it wisely.

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David, how about, sometime, writing a blog entry to explain what is this new system you have in mind? With all due respect, just saying we need change without explaining concretely (it's important to be specific) what one has in mind is equivalent to the traditional gemgem-style moaning.

Abdullah alhrbi •

@ David Friggieri Well said, when and how is the question. How long is it going to take until enough voters realise that the energy wasted in sustaining politics à la maltaise would be better invested in an overhaul of that same system? When will we actually do something to get ourselves out of the hole we seem compelled to dig for ourselves.

J Galea •

We need to re-boot this system big time. And fast.

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Antoine, here we go again, believing lies. I see the end justifies the means doesn't it? And since we are at it, what about Patrick Spiteri... no blurps about him eh!!! Come on Antoine. Let us see what excuses we are going to hear this time. Or is exhuming Patrick Spiteri not on the cards. As I have said, before, the hidden hand is no longer, before we were sure it was Richard Cachia Caruana and other upright gentlemen such as Charles Demicoli but now we finally have proof of the direct role of the Office of the Prime Minister. Goodnight.

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The blunder is yours Saviour, because ALL PN MPs sent the same answer to Kullħadd so Daphne could have got a copy from any one of them. . You see? I told you. You could represent Malta if they had a Jumping to Conclusions contest at the Olympics.

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Oh no, what a mess. What a mess. Antoine what a mess you are? Mela, Ganni Psaila l-Pupa died after falling down a shaft after he tried to rob a bar or club. This is fact.

Court proceedings? Ejja let us have a look at them. Oqghod attent Antoine ghax qed thawwad. And on Ganni il-Pupa I have no probs, I wrote about him several times. Zghazagh ghall-Ambjent had nothing to do with hunting but with protests against land speculation and corruption by Labourite cronies.

Patrick Spiteri, the lawyer, Antoine, who had a fund management company and was convicted of fraud, fraud and fraud and who employed guess who?? And, and .... And who was also Lino Spiteri's tax consultant when Labour did away with VAT and introduced CET.

Good morning Antoine, but for the very last time I am warning you, Julia does not take silly and unsubstantiated commentary lightly. And by the way have you heard of the latest Gordon Pisani blunder?? That links Castille spin to blog bile!! Fact not fiction.

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Of course I know about Żgħażagħ għall-Ambjent; that is what i referred to in my previous comment. I;m familiar with the other names too except that the only Patrick Spiteri I know was in charge of the ALE section of the police. I didn't know he had any employees. . Julia Farrugia's father was implicated in a court testimony and the person who mentioned him was first bombed and then found dead in mysterious circumstances. That should be reason enough for an investigative journalist to take an interest but you can't because Julia has a conflict of interest. How can she investigate her own father?

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Antoine, ever heard of Lorry Sant. Ever heard of Zghazagh ghall-Ambjent? Ever heard of the campaign against Lorry Sant in 1983 until 1987. Ever heard of all that? Or were you too busy following the far right in Italy? And hey, why not talk about Patrick Spiteri and his most prized employee!! Who had no problems working with Charles Mangion, Mario Vella and Labour big heads etc etc. What goes round comes round. And yes about Raymond Caruana, yes we can talk as well. Instead of conjecture come forward with some serious talk. I am ready to publish anything you have. But do be careful because Julia Farrugia is not exactly the type who takes unjustified allegations and mud slinging lightly. Ever heard of criminal libel? Well watch out for next Tuesday afternoon. I rest my case here, Just look out for my videoblog tomorrow.

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What utter nonsense! You never get one right do you? . First: “...was the PRO of Joe Debono Grech, indeed she was a very efficient and good PRO.” . Then: “...your sister was the former secretary to Labour minister Evarist Bartolo and before that for the late Anton Buttigieg (not Joe Debono Grech ) …” . I’ll tell you what happened: you had an inkling and filled up the blanks using your imagination. Then, after I responded, you checked and found out you were wrong. À la Maltatoday: publish first and check facts later. . It’s the same with your rants about me: you heard a rumour and made up the rest. I was in Malta in the eighties, active within a PN sectional committee and never made any fascist salute. Moreover there was no sign of you anywhere. Your only claim to having fought Mintoff is that, as a teenager, you went along to a couple of anti-hunting protests which were attacked by . . excuse the word . . MLP THUGS. How come you never met Julia’s father on the battlefield? He was out there too, one of the barbarians. . You can rant all you want, Saviour. Your bluster could keep a fleet of hot-air balloons flying but it won't stop me from speaking out.

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To Antoine Vella: For the record, your sister was the former secretary to Labour minister Evarist Bartolo and before that for the late Anton Buttigieg (not Joe Debono Grech ) and your brother known as il-fuji, was a very active GWU shop steward - nothing wrong with that either. These Castille nurtured swipe attacks meant to intimidate independent journalists such as Julia Farrugia (editor of illum) by dragging family members or relatives or friends or whatever and shooting unproven allegations with no truth will get you nowhere. Regarding thuggery in the days of Labour, well Antoine Vella, just take a walk on the wild side. When you were busily saluting Italian fascists in Italy in the eighties I was speaking up, protesting and getting arrested for confronting Labour thuggery without the blessing of the PN. You have no idea what we went through. Many of these ‘violent’ individuals were later embraced by the same Nationalist administration. I have no more time for your lack of respect for history and political bigotry.

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Saviour, yes, I come from a rabidly Labour family, my mother’s kitchen was a Mintoff shrine and our house was frequented by all kinds of Labourites. I’ve seen many of them gloating over the thuggery they had committed and I’ve overheard many first-hand descriptions of the ransacking of PN clubs. Some of these people later became MPs and ministers and some are still active in the PL. So you see, Saviour, I’m in a better position than you to know what sort of bad company you’ve been keeping lately. . You’ve got the actual details about my siblings’ involvement all wrong and mixed up but, what’s new? You’re the Maltatoday editor after all, it’s traditional. . It’s also typical to put words in my mouth – what did I say against Julia Farrugia? I am convinced that Karmenu Il-Botom Farrugia was a thug. Am I to be stopped from saying this because his daughter happens to work for you? You speak against Psaila il-Pupa while not admitting that he and Farrugia were ‘brothers in arms’. . And, by the way, you’re not on the side of the “Jews”; you’re rooting for the “Nazis”.

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Antoine Vella is missing the whole point. He is part of the bile brigade who fail to see what others see in the mirror. We call this bigotry. He goes on by mentioning Julia's daddy. If he has anything to say, other than allegations and no substance, then let him come forward and I will be he first one to publish them. But he touches on a very crucial point. Let us for argument sake state that Julia's father is as guilty as hell. Let us for one moment believe the rumours and repeat conjecture and allegations and believe them. Does this mean that his brother or sister, daughters and nieces and nephews are to suffer the brunt of all this hate. Are we following some bible talk here? If this was the case then Antoine Vella should start looking to his own brothers and sisters. I have nothing against them, but one of them was a very ardent and militant labourite with the GWU and the other was the PRO of Joe Debono Grech, indeed she was a very efficient and good PRO. What is this all about? Does this mean I should attack Antoine Vella because of his brothers or sisters. If Antoine Vella wants to perpetuate this hate campaign, he has every right to do so. This website affords him the freedom to make a fool of himself. By extending 'inherited sin' or 'genetic trait' to others who are related (even though this is all based on allegations), he is emulating what the Nazis did when they perpetuated the 'Jew' argumentation. To such an extent that even those who were remotely 'Jewish' by birth were sent to the gas chambers. But then why should I be so surprised. Antoine Vella is after all consistent in his ideology and roots. A fascist always a fascist!

Abdullah alhrbi •

@ Antoine Vella Yes you left me gob smacked particularly your take on the state media and reconciliation. Very keen on logic too I see. So skewed state funded media is legitimate because in the political dark ages it was even more skewed. Thank you for pointing out that enlightening regime of democratic practice. So national reconciliation was never on the books was it? I seem to have been labouring under a misapprehension then, browsing through in-Nazzjon and Mument of 1988 - 1992. I am sure I counted the words Rikonciljazzjoni Nazzjonali dozens and dozens and dozens of times as I did in the numerous recordings of Mass meetings for the same period. I can now better understand Fr. Peter Serracino Inglott's lament re his not doing enough for that process to happen. Why should we bother, who needs to work for closure when division organises the political day so much better. As it is we are lumped with unfinished business and keep side lining reconciliation. We must be a nation of cowards. Nonetheless, Thank you for making an opaque window quite clear again. RE " It’s not what we’d like but what we can do"!! Please speak for yourself if this is the best Maltese Utopia you think you can have than your expectations have either plummeted since 1987 or else the bar was never set too high in the first place.

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Saviour, just a little correction: one cannot speak openly about something and be latent at the same time. Your impulsiveness sometimes carries you away and logic suffers. Anyway, I’ll try respond to your points even though you weren’t actually talking to me but about me. . The MSI has long ceased to exist. Thirty-five years ago it evolved first into MSI-DN, then DN, followed by AN before morphing into the PdL and, finally emerging as Futuro e Liberta. People move on and the national expert on political transformism surely knows what it means. . For that matter, you know who were, and still are, the real fascists in Malta, the real squadristi. Ask Julia’s daddy. . Regarding hunting, we are in the mess you personally helped to create when you negotiated the environment chapter with the EU. You’ll remember how hard you worked to mediate between Birdlife and the FKNK and to persuade BirdLife to accept the principle of spring hunting and autumn trapping. . Because of my hard-line position against hunting you were worried I’d oppose any agreement but I readily accepted. Not having yet honed your people skills to their present keenness you hadn’t realised that, for me, joining the EU was far more important than any single issue. Moreover, I knew that membership was the only way we could ever rid - albeit gradually - ourselves of bird-killing for sport. . Accepting the concept of spring hunting cost BirdLife in terms of membership and public criticism (to me personally and the NGO) but it lowered tension between hunters and environmentalists and perhaps garnered a few more Yes votes. --------------------------- . David in your original entry i had taken issue only with your saying we need some kind of Egyptian-style revolt to change things. It's important to look at the larger picture and understand where we’re coming from. Otherwise, one risks making a Katrina out of a thimble storm (Maltatoday comes to mind). ----------------------- . Gpp, I take it you have no replies toi my arguments so, if sarcasm offers you a face-saving way out, by all means use it. You unwittingly inserted a key-phrase in your comment: “possible worlds”. It’s not what we’d like but what we can do.

Abdullah alhrbi •

@ Antoine Vella Ok, is this the point where I have to take your word that we live in the best of all possible worlds ?

J Galea •

In brief, my desire is to convince people of my generation that they should take an active interest in politics because it is the best way to change things. And I also believe that our generation should create something politically new which actually represents them. This is the only way that a generation can respect itself. We need to take over the woeful, mediocre media, we need to write, express ourselves, show up the hackneyed and incompetent for what they are, we need to boycott those who insult our intelligence, we need to break the vicious circle of non-choice that we are presented with every five years. A non-choice which has got worse as the PN has hardened its confessional and clique-based stance and the PL has regrouped in the most cynical of ways. But this can only happen when our generation convinces itself that looking beyond the enetertainment industry coupled with short-term political/career-gain is important. We need a small revolution of thought, unhampered by the usual depressing 'pragmatic' calculations which, in the end, are simply a devilish way of maintaining the status quo.

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The one positive thing about Antoine Vella is that he signs with his name. The bad thing is that most people do not know that he is a latent fascist who would always boast of his admiration for the MSI. A person who openly speaks of his sympathy for fascism. His arguments makes sense at times, but he continues to excuse the mistakes of today by referring to the past. As if none of us played our small part in the past. The excesses of yesterday can never excuse the mistakes of this administration ... an administration detached from the pains and ills of the people. This has nothing to do with Labour or PN, it has to do with bad governance and Antoine Vella knows it.

And by the way what does the ex-Birdlife President have to say about the constant lack of resolve on the hunting issue?

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Gpp, your writing is full of hyperboles and you jump from one point to another without apparent order. I honestly have no idea what you mean by referring to Spain, time standing still, and other mysterious statements. Whatever happened to the good old custom of speaking plainly? . At any rate I’m responding to the points I’ve managed to understand. . In spite of difficulties, setbacks and the occasional flop, the checks and balances put in place by successive PN governments are, on the whole, working. . Media is free from government interference and that, by itself, is already a huge improvement. All sorts of people, from the most credible to the most ‘picturesque’, are allowed to contribute freely and say what they want, purely at the discretion of the editors and webmasters. . Yes, there are media people who are biased. So? Being free means being free to be biased, too. You cannot force people to be impartial if they don’t want to. As for an “abysmally skewed” PBS, that’s one of the hyperboles I mentioned in my opening sentence. I’m guessing you’re too young to remember the Dark Ages of Democracy so, when it comes to broadcasting, you can’t really make comparisons or, rather, you can but they’re worth what they’re worth. . We have two parties in parliament because that’s how people vote and thank God for it. If our political system has had nothing good to offer, it has at least given us stability while maintaining democracy, at least since 1987. . I've never heard of a formal process called National Reconciliation so I don’t know what you mean by it being shelved. Let me tell you a little anecdote, however. Soon after the 1987 elections, thousands of illegally employed persons – mostly Labourites – were afraid that the new government would investigate how they had been employed (some had won their job in a lottery) and eventually sack them. The GWU organised a big Good Friday-type procession (I believe in Hamrun, but not sure about this). Everybody was dressed in those peculiar KKK costumes worn on Good Friday and some even carried big crosses and posters. They were “The Martyrs of Fenech Adami” on their way to be crucified by the cruel Nationalists. It was really funny. Well, anyway, they needn’t have feared – not a single illegally-employed worker was sacked and some are still employed to this day. A little tessera in the reconciliation mosaic. . Do you want another example? Prior to 1987, if you wanted to buy a colour television set you had to book it with a dealer. The booking lists were then forwarded to the MLP club of your town and the MLP committee would vet them and decide who was to be allowed to buy a telly. This was obviously illegal, a blatant abuse of power and gave rise to widespread grafting; it was what the PN meant by “institutionalised corruption”. And yet, not one single MLP official – not one - was ever charged with racketeering; the PN government preferred to forgive and forget. Just another little tessera.

Abdullah alhrbi •

@ Antoine Vella The Maltese haven't given up on the s'arrangiarsi mentality, one would have hoped that post 1987 and with the accession to Europe that culture would have been overhauled. Please don't say that the various measures and structures to balance and check the power of the authorities have curbed that. My point being that the dominant political party culture is refusing to eschew the model. Something worth keeping all this time must be paying dividends wouldn't you say? There is still a tendency to try and suppress opposition that belies any real subscription to a European model of democracy. I would for instance like to hear your views on the state of the media in Malta. Why do we keep insisting on party funded media and an abysmally skewed state funded TV station? I would also like to hear your views on why we keep insisting on a duopoly and refuse to move forward with electoral reform. I am also very keen to hear your view on why the process of National Reconciliation was shelved and never dealt with. Do we have to go the Spanish way? Lip service is indecorous and no closure doesn’t augur well! I doubt we can ever move forward it seems some would like time to stand still.

Abdullah alhrbi •

@ David Friggieri So what would your preferred scenario be? A spanking brand new liberal party, a trans divide coalition of whatevers? We can safely say that the entrenched PN has burnt its bridge towards anything less than confessional, the PL is apparently still unelectable and AD further unelectable since we refuse to change the electoral system. So it seems we enjoy sabotaging ourselves to the point that we delude ourselves into thinking that 'poor we' have no choice but to keep our old habits. I think we should have the courage to look ourselves in the mirror in 2011.

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hello antoine, Perhaps the bloger will answer your questions when he expands on his quote 'The balance of power needs to be shaken drastically'... p.s. thank goodness Mubarak is out...let us now hope that this will lead to a democracy that will give a representative voice to the egyptians.

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Danny Attard, no offence but I'll wait for David Friggieri to tell me the thrust of his post. . As far as I know he's not blaming the PN for the lack of a credible alternative. The party has, more than once regenerated itself in the past decades. With the exception of Gonzi himself, Tonio Borg and Giovanna Debono, no Minister or Parl. Secretary held any cabinet post prior to 2003. Compare this to the Shadow Cabinet selected by Muscat. . I'm not sure what you mean by "go the whole hog". I would dearly have loved to see Mintoff, KMB and the rest of their clique end up like Mubarak but, sadly, it wasn't possible. Is this what you meant by your comment? Should the PN have taken on itself the task of cleansing the MLP?

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@ antoine vella May i suggest that the main trust of the post may have escaped your grasp. I understand the message to be that after decades of a glorious nationalist party in government that now seeks to retain power (probably in the interest of the common good or for whatever reason that may take your fancy) we do not have a proper alternative government because your glorious revolution did not go the full hog. The spirit of the glorious revolution ust therefore now organise for our common good an alternative government to finish the work of the great revolution of 1987. Now even the current Egyptian regime would dearly live to resign but will not do so and will continue to do sacrifices in the national interest for lack of an alternative. So we should perhaps do an 'only in Malta' revolution by revolting against the opposition (get it?). After all, this should be our unique selling point being also the only nation in the world without divorce.

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Salgister, very little can be done to make me change my opinion of the PN but a lot can be done to make me change my opinion of the PL. . Alfred Sant used to react angrily when people said – rightly or wrongly – that the MLP had not changed from the time of Mintoff. Joseph Muscat can certainly not react in the same manner. His Labour IS the party of the past. And proud of it, as well.

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In order to understand the present we have to look at the recent past. We have to remember that In 1981, less than 2 years after The Times was burnt down and Fenech Adami’s family was attacked, the PN obtained only 51% of the votes. Then after 6 years of further turmoil, after the incidents at Tal-Barrani and the death of Raymond Caruana, the party hardly managed to reach the same percentage. This meant – and it’s important to keep in mind - that some 49% of Maltese were fanatically refusing to acknowledge the dangerous situation staring them in the face. They were opposing change and there were thousands who would have resisted with all means ; more mob violence could not be excluded. I agree that more should have been done to resolve certain issues but, when you think about it, no government – PN or MLP – since 1987 has had a completely free hand to carry out its polices. In previous decades Mintoff had more or less succeeded but only at the cost of suppressing all opposition, internal and external, and, in the long run, this proved to be extremely harmful to the country. Inevitably, like previous Labour governments, Nationalist ones have also had – and still have - their hangers-on and parasites. The difference is that through the years, the PN has introduced various measures and structures to balance and check the power of the authorities, including its own. While these structures are not always effective, they do explain why, at the moment, we don’t really need a Tahrir Square. At present we don’t have to acquire democracy, only to strengthen it. To change the dynamic of Maltese society and politics we need patience and perseverance rather than the kind of steely resolve shown by protesters in Tunis and Cairo. We can only wait and see for the future but, unfortunately, the omens are not very reassuring.

J Galea •

Salgister, it's not a question of opinion. It's a question of fact, a question of key personnel, the men waiting around to lead the show all over again. It doesn't necessarily mean that it will be absolutely identical. You'll have noted, I guess, that Mubarak HIMSELF promised 'a new dawn for Egypt' yesterday and you saw what the demonstrators' reaction was: anger and indignation that he was even attempting to take them for a ride. But that we even have to debate the obvious is crazy. By the way, if this democracy of ours is so healthy, why do so many people feel they need to hide behind aliases? What are we so damn scared about? Payback? Discrimination? Li ma nehdux promotion? You tell me.

Micheal Bonanno •

And what makes you think that it will be a HOsni Mubarak again? I really would like to know. Mr. Antoine Vella is a known dyed-in-the-wool PNner and nothing can change his one way mind! Just follow his posts on of the most hated woman in Malta website, and you'll know what I mean!

J Galea •

Antoine, I sense that you might be the type of guy with whom one can have a decent conversation, unlike so many other absolute blockheads commenting on this site (check out the blockhead reaction to my colleague James Debono's piece the other day). So here goes. Your last comment contains a contradiction of sorts, in the sense that your 1987 Tahrir Square has, somewhat tragically, left us at square one. It's like Mubarak hung around waiting to make a comeback. Fact is, come next election it's going to be a choice between a 25-year old incumbent government (with its crystal-clear ideological slant) and Hosni Mubarak all over again. I'm not happy with that non-choice and urge my generation to do something at least semi-radical about it. Because I still believe that politics matters over and above people's hobbies, careers, bank accounts, travel plans and what not.

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David, political struggle never ends: there is always something to change. But there is struggle and struggle. You mentioned Tunisia and Egypt as examples and, yes, I confirm that the need for that type of struggle ended in 1987. You'll be excited to know, however, that such times might well come again, judging by the fossils "making a come-back". I'm curious to see how you'll show your determination and resolve then.

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The comfy, well-heeled, erudite oracles in Bruluxlandia have spoken! Andy Farrugia alias

Charles Gauci •

@antoine vella David's too kind and polite for my taste. Allow me to thank you for your attempt at fighting for our rights and to ever so humbly prostatrate myaelf in awe at your valiant efforts. Only, judging by what your favourite read has to say, your epic battles were not exactly successful were they? It was more of a case of sweeping under the carpet no? How else do you explain the unsolved crimes and delayed justice that have become so topical on the runs? didn't any of your freedom fighters take care of that business? it's not boredom antoine. It is, as David pointed out, unfinished business. We're facing the shit your generation failed to clean up. now go ahead and bore me with a reply.

J Galea •

Antoine Vella, your comment actually proves my point rather well. You - and you are clearly not alone in this - assume that all political struggles to make this island a better place ended some time around 1987. I've got news for you: that was only part of the process, we've still got quite a long way to go. But I'll have to agree with gpp that, for a number of reasons, the prospects appear rather bleak at the moment. Incidentally, Martin Amis has some very interesting things to say about boredom in a piece called Terror and Boredom: The Dependent Mind in which he approaches the dangers of religious fundamentalism from an original angle. You may wish to check it out.

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Edward Fenech, I think you should read my comment again. Please make an extra effort to understand properly what you're reading. Read slowly and carefully and, above all, when you do write, make sure you know what you're responding to. However, should my comment still be too complicated for you to comprehend, do tell me and I'll re-write it using one- or two-syllable words. Purely as a sign of goodwill.

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Antoine is fighting for rights boredom. Thank god your ancestors did not think like you, othewise you'll still be a serf working your butt off for a load of stale bread!

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David, d'you what's wrong with you? You're bored. You're bored with your easy, humdrum life and want some excitement, some Tunisian/Egyptian flavour. Well, I've lived through times that were as bad as those that Egyptians lived under Mubarak and i can tell you that, thank you very much, I'd rather do without any more mass meetings, tear gas, mobs and Fosos filled with heaving masses of protesters. Perhaps my generation robbed you of the excitement of fighting for your rights but you must forgive us because we were in good faith. We honestly thought that you might enjoy having your human and civil rights guaranteed. We imagined you might be thankful that you don't go through hell to acquire them.

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cryptic or what...drastic shift in balance of power? as in banish the opposition and have the power mongers organise themselves a pseudo opposition in whatever grren/pink/violet hues? is this some call for a klypocratic state? Hope i'm totally off the mark but post needs to be more detailed in key places i think.

Abdullah alhrbi •

Perhaps, but what you have not factored in is that disengagement is really a way of preserving the status quo. Very early on in life the Maltese come to a conclusion that nothing can be changed they become disheartened till self preservation kicks in and they then disengage. They can reanimate themselves once they look outwards abroad or in cyberspace but not on the rock. On the rock they follow old paths and ways. You assume that there are thousands who want to perturb the system, I doubt that very much, there is strong resistance to that sort of system change it hasn't come about and won't for some time. Preserving the status quo has its perks wouldn't you say?