Ir-Realta case: who is politically responsible?

The decision to appeal the Realta acquittal bears the stamp of political responsibility and is symptomatic of a confessional drift which is off-balancing the PN's natural equilibrium.

James Debono 30 March 2011, 12:00am

2 min read

If Malta had a sensible mainstream, albeit conservative government, the state would not have persevered in pressing charges against a writer and a political activist who were found not guilty of obscenity in a court of law. Any sensible mainstream government would have advised the attorney general to stop the crazy attempt to criminalize literature.

Even if the AG acted independently of government, I cannot fathom how government has not sent a clear message that it is not in the business of sending young people to prison for writing and publishing literature. This is surely not the European way of doing things.

The decision to appeal is symptomatic of a government which has drifted to the loony right. As amply proved by the divorce debate in parliament, the Nationalist Party has ceased to be the voice of cautious modernization and Europeanization. It has ceased to be a moderating voice which reconciles conservativism and liberalism.

The conservatives in the party have outstretched themselves, taking their party away from the middle ground to more extreme moral positions which alienate not just liberals, but also moderate elements who do not feel comfortable with ultra-conservatism.

Perhaps not much has changed within the party since Fenech Adami's time, except that Maltese society has changed making what was acceptable a decade ago intolerable now. And more fundamentally the party no longer has the EU's magic wand to keep the liberals onboard.

This overtly moralistic drive erodes the government's appeal to rational thinking in other spheres like immigration, economics and foreign affairs; three areas where the Labour opposition still appears flimsy, absent or overtly populist. But how can one take seriously a Finance Minister who speaks about God, the Holy Spirit, car manuals and Ferraris in one sentence? And how can one feel at ease with a government which still believes in censorship.

Lawrence Gonzi cannot divorce himself from this reality. If he is not part of this madness he must act swiftly as he did before the last election on the environment when he dropped golf courses and took upon a green (dis)guise not to lose middle class votes. But this time round Gonzi has already compromised himself so much that he appears to be part of the problem. Gonzi seems unable or unwilling to steer his party into becoming a modern centrist force, capable of communicating with that part of the middle class which has moved on with the times.

James Debono is MaltaToday's chief reporter on environment, planning and land use issues, ...

More from James Debono

John Mifsud •

The Constitution is clear - the AG cannot act on 'the direction or control of any other person or authority'. If he did so, he acted unconstitutionally, but how this can be proved is another matter. See Section 91 (3) In the exercise of his powers to institute, undertake and discontinue criminal proceedings and of any other powers conferred on him by any law in terms which authorise him to exercise that power in his individual judgment the Attorney General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

Christopher Briffa •

@ Observer. James has consistently criticized both parties. The fact that he has criticised the PL in the past does not make him a dyed in the wool Nationalist. If anything to me the above article seems to criticise the PN.

J Galea •

James will be in a better position to "give Labour its due" when the party decides to take a clear, unequivocal stance on this matter or when its spokespersons actually decide to engage with the content of the piece in question in an intellectually honest manner. Voting for an increase in the penalties attached to the relevant article of the Criminal Code under which this case is being prosecuted didn't exactly favour Labour's cause, right? Or should James simply applaud Labour for criticising the AG's sacrosant procedural right to lodge an appeal in this case?

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We only have your word for it, James Debono. When you begin to give the PL its due we'll start believing your contention of political independence. Till then you may continue to claim it but we can't be sure - at least not from your articles which always seem to have a PN bias however subtle you plan it to be. You see, James Debono not all of us are as gullible as you would make us out to be. We need to see proof before we believe. In the lack of that we either suspend judgment or else hold on to our perception, i.e. that you secretly (and sometimes less secretly) support the current excuse for a government.

Christopher Briffa •

My thoughts exactly James. The next time I see Tonio on a podium discussing inflation, the economy or balance of payments, I will remember his speech about car manuals, Ferraris, values, God and the holy spirit. What is his solution to the budget deficit and the economic crisis? Prayer?

Peter Cassar •

@OBSERVER...I've lived outside the two political tribes for all my adult life. so i am immune to your tribalist attacks

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Silver Surfer Id-dellirju tieghek mhux ser jaghlaqli halqi; la ghalaquli fil-passat, la issa u l-anqas fil-futur jekk Alla jrid. Jekk inti tiddependi fuq partit politiku ghall- ezitenza tieghek, jien niddependi biss fuq Alla l-imbierek. Sahha Andy Farrugia.

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@Afar3... You are clearly living in your own little world buddy. Grow a foot and live and let live. Imagine this case happening during Labour days...Kemm knot taqbez fuq saqajk ta' wara u xxejjer idejk u tghajjat..."Dawn ghadhom jghixu fil Medju Evu??" "Dawn ma jafux bihom il Libertajiet tal Bniedem?!!"" Izda ghax dawn l-affarjiet tal biki graw fi zmienkom, zmien il gang ta'Gonzi, zmien li kollox marbut mal knisja, allura qed tiggustifika dan l-att bla sens li qed jaghmel hafna hsara. Ma nahsibx li int xi professur ta' L-istorja Ta' Malta ghax li kieku kont taghlaq halqek, bil moqzizati li ghamlet il Knisja kontra il libertajiet fundamentali tal bniedem u kontra L-Laburisti!!! Hallina siehbi ghax waqajtu fil hama bl-attegament medjokri taghkom.

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James Debono, when are you going to own up and admit that you're a dyed-in-the-wool PN member? You have every right to be so, but you should be man enough to admit it. Either way you cannot save your party from the mighty fall awaiting it. You may spend the rest of your life under the PL and some future coalition as well, but brace yourself for the worst scenario. The PN is doomed. Gonzi and Co cannot do one thing right. And you're proving to be as headstrong as that twerp Antoine Vella. At least Vella does not mind showing his support for the Bidnija Witch. It's only you who try to come over as an independent journalist. Bah!

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What is a cardinal issue for you Mr James Debono? Don't make me laugh! And please spare us your obnoxious epithets! In normal circumstances, lodging an appeal on a court decision is part and parcel of any democratic process - eg. the Crucifix in the classroom case. This piece of drivel penned by an amateur should never have ended up in court; it should have been binned, just like we bin something rotten which our cat drags in. Period. But we have some unusual ways of going about things here; i bet AVG and MC are laughing their heads off as a result of the free publicity they're getting. Andy Farrugia

Peter Cassar •

The invocation of God in the AG's appeal is even more damning than the appeal itself. It goes a long way to prove that Gonzi's Malta is becoming more of a Taliban country. And for me this is not a side issue but a cardinal issue.

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I think the PN apologists are politically responsible for the present state of affairs in the censorship of art,media etc. The apologist legitimise the censorship of GonziPN. These never challange or engage the direction of PN, but simply suggest a slight deviation in this or that subject to make them look' liberal' but in fact they are simply closet Nationalist of the tribal type!

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@ D.Borg...Now you want a coalition Government, when its time for a Labour Party to take power?...So we will have a coalition and that coalition can be manipulated by the Wealthy Lords of Malta and put down the government at any time which suit fit. Why didnt you made this claim a couple of decades ago Sur Borg... Now its time for a Labour Government my friend. Solely and Purely for a revamp of a social system in favour of the minorities and those in need. Those who were voting the PN in government election after election are now understanding what a huge mistake they were making! The PN is just made by a small class of wealthy families which fund the party to keep manipulating the weak, the poor and the ignorant...Such fake christian values!!!!

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"Any sensible mainstream government would have advised the attorney general to stop the crazy attempt to criminalize literature. " Any sensible individual should have followed my advice not to provide mediocre scribblers with free publicity and the opportunity of presenting themselves as victims of some dastardly plot to silence freedom of expression. You, on the other hand, should know better than to describe this drivel as literature. Andy Farrugia alias

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@ Silver At this stage Joseph Muscat as prime minister seems a safe bet. The CHANGE however needs to be through at least 3 parties in parliament and a COALITION government - that ensures that strategies and policies are set and implemented objectively - and steering away from petty bi-partisan politics.

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James, I pity you my friend. In your heart you know that ""YOUR FAVORITE PARTY""" is totally out-of-touch and is prooving to be also outdated. However, you're still trying to hide that simpity and comfortabity of them accupying the seats of power instead of Labour. You are not really independent my friend. You are just hiding behind your true conservative feelings in a worls which has clearly changed and doea NOT WANT to livein a Conservative World any longer. The post nationalistic-doctrine still haunts you, like it does Labour heading to power. You want a change but you dont want Labour in Power. So what exactly do you want? Do you want us to stay hostage to a government which has clearly lost it! When you are writing for an independent newspaper...say it as it is and not how you would like it to be, dear James. We need a Change. The Change we need at this moment in time only Labour can guarantee it. Period.