[WATCH] Tal-Ajkla puts party back into politics

Despite his own predictions, Nazzareno Bonnici's much anticipated Zabbar mass meeting yesterday was not quite the 'biggest ever in Maltese political history' in the end. But it may well turn out to have been the happiest.

And the turn-out wasn't half bad, either. Many in the crowd openly speculated how many actually materialised for what was easily the single most colourful campaign event of the election so far. Was it 3,000? 4,000? 5,000? Hard to say with any certainty, though the assumption of a four-digit figure was clearly no exaggeration.

Judging by the traffic on the way into Zabbar yesterday afternoon, people turned up from quite literally all over the country, too. There were even mini-vans dropping off entire families outside Hompesch Gate.

And a jolly gathering it was, too. Newcomers to the Zaren Bonnici fan club (myself included) were immediately struck by the sheer diversity of the crowd. As expected, many fell within the young and predominantly male bracket that tends to enjoy a good mick-take when the occasion arises (basically, the same category that would regularly harangue Spiridione Sant at his corner meetings in Hamrun some 20 years ago).

But there was no booing or jeering this time round... still less pelting with tomatoes. And while the 'support' for L-Ajkla was obviously put on for its sheer entertainment value, it was done with all the good-natured enthusiasm you'd associate with a Carnival street party. 'Supporters' turned up armed with papier-mache eagles, banners, posters, slogans, foghorns... all the paraphernalia you'd associate with political fandom of the more traditional variety.

Intermingled among the mick-takers were other categories one wouldn't normally associate with such events: an older generation, both male and female, who were clearly enjoying every moment of this entirely welcome break from the serious drudgery of campaigning.

And there were children, too - lots and lots of children, ranging from tiny tots in push-chairs, to infants carried on their parents' shoulders, to small cliques of young teenagers enjoying a different Saturday afternoon out of doors.

In brief, it was gloriously entertaining street party: and in the words of one 60-something year old man to his wife as we all walked back to our cars at the end of the show: 'Alla baghtu dan, insomma..." (literally, Nazzarenu Bonnici aka 'L-Ajkla' was a Godsend against an otherwise unspeakably boring and unpleasant backdrop).

In at one least one respect, however, the crowd would be disappointed. Despite the otherwise impressive organisation of Ajkla's canvassers, it proved beyond their abilities to furnish their candidate a sound system to match the posters, the slogans and the balloons.

As a result, the crowd was treated to pretty every auditory experience known to man - from foghorns to cheers to chants of 'Zaren, Zaren' to spontaneous choruses of football anthems - except that of Zaren's own voice, which simply couldn't be heard at all above the hubbub.

There were however isolated moments when he would raise his voice enough for a single word to make itself heard above the rest. From where I was standing, this is what it sounded like:

Zaren: 'Blah blah blah blah.. police!' [Crowds burst into applause]

Zaren: 'Blah blah blah blah... corruption!' [Huge response from the crowd: clapping cheering, chants of 'Irriduh, irriduh...!]

Zaren: 'Blah blah blah blah... AND NOBODY EVER RESIGNS!' [The crowd goes absolutely ballistic, and the rest of the speech is drowned out by cries of 'Za-ren, Zae-ren, Za-ren...']

Naturally, no mass meeting is quite complete before the star of the show is carried off shoulder high through the crowd. And in Ajkla's case, not only did his canvassers wheel him around the party faithful... they also tried (to the consternation of the police) to carry him directly into the Zabbar police station, too. But again, there was no real tension involved. Even the police (who were subject of so much of l'Ajkla's passionate speech just a few minutes before) seemed content to go along for the ride.

If there was any sobering aspect to proceedings, it was the subliminal message that the crowd so clearly imparted with their mere presence at yesterday's event. At the risk of ruining a good party by trying to squeeze too much meaning out of it... people are clearly tired of the deadpan seriousness of the rest of the campaign, and simply jumped at the occasion to let their hair down and just have a little fun.

As for how much of this festive spirit will translate into actual political support for Nazzareno Bonnici when it matters the most... well, that's not for me to say. But if he gets a vote for each smile he put onto people's faces yesterday... who knows? L-Ajkla might make political history yet...