The loony fringe has made its way to the centre
One of the best opinion pieces in the referendum aftermath is Mark-Anthony Falzon’s (Those whom the gods would destroy), published in The Sunday Times on June 5.
The more difficult people in the Nationalist Party really have to read and absorb this bit I’ve quoted below, because it has long been obvious that they are on a completely different wavelength, and it’s time they faced facts.
And for heaven’s sake, they’ve got to lock up Edwin Vassallo, slap an ankle bracelet on him, and make him sign in at the station once a day. He was on television again last night, pitted against the sharp and well-prepared Reno Bugeja on Dissett.
Vassallo should be at the loony fringe of the PN not right at its centre and flying the flag for half-assed reasoning and everything else that repels and upsets Nationalist Party supporters like me. The man even LOOKs thick, for crying out loud.
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Not that I personally care very much, but Lawrence Gonzi is still in time to save the Nationalist Party from certain defeat at the next election. That is to say, he has about five minutes left to get his folks to cut the nonsense about conscience, moral decadence and such and do their duty in Parliament instead.
People like Edwin Vassallo need to be told that they’re playing a very mad game indeed, and that we’re neither impressed nor amused by their histrionics. Well-intentioned though they may be, they’re a textbook case of political suicide. For at least two reasons.
The first is that people have had quite enough of the divorce business. The hope was that yesterday week’s vote would consign the family-values rhetoric to the unrecyclable-waste bin and render the Parliamentary bit procedural. We quite simply don’t want to hear anything more about the ‘divorcist mentality’ and so on. All we want is divorcelegislation, and fast.
I’m saying this because there’s a palpable and growing sense of irritation, anger even, at the way things are turning out. This applies especially to what we might loosely call the liberal-minded type, which also happens to be one of theelements that has kept the PN in power for as long as many of us can remember.
The second reason has to do with trust. The party built by Eddie Fenech Adami may have had its scores of failings but it was premised on an unspoken agreement that no amount of values or conservatism would ever be allowed to get in the way of practical considerations.
People knew that a Nationalist government would ultimately let them live as they chose. It would also not betray the trust they lent it so persistently at the polls.
That feeling is now beginning to collapse. A new type of party person is emerging who will never compromise on their dogma, no matter what the majority say. In other words a class of ideologues rather than politicians, and holding rather pathetic and obsolete ideologies at that.
Electorates will never trust ideologues, simply because they know that the kind is prone to riding roughshod over the popular will and causing misery in the process. Come next election, no amount of projects by Piano will do the job. Rather, the trick is to be practical and respect the people’s choice.
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As one of Mark-Anthony Falzon’s former students at Uni, I have to say he was my fave lecturer by far. His insights, passion and eloquence were second to none – he could make even dry topics very fascinating, and it was such a pleasure to attend his lectures.
Agreed, Mobi. Brilliant lecturer.
Mark-Anthony Falzon is another switched-on fellow. I was fighting off these dinosaurs at a conference once, and he was the only speaker to come to my rescue. “Jien qed nifhem dak li jrid jghid Baxxter, u naqbel….”
RESPECT to Mark-Anthony Falzon.
The PN needs 3 things:
1) to remember that they are a lay party not a religious institution;
2) a secretary-general capable of keeping shut a few big mouths within the party;
3) a few years in opposition.
A few years in opposition might do a world of good to the PN but it will do no such thing to Malta.
With all its faults the PN is still, by far, the better option. Mistaken ideologies aside, Malta has managed to weather the economic recession relatively well, with the minimum amount of casualties.
If Lawrence Gonzi had taken up Muscat’s advice of subsidising petrol, electricity, Air Malta etc. we would have ended up like Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Faith is a very powerful sentiment for those who possess it. Let’s not forget the thousands, of all faiths, who endured the most horrific deaths buoyed solely by it. It is small wonder that otherwise sane men are behaving like complete idiots when their faith is apparently being attacked.
I know which side my bread is buttered on and I will vote accordingly.
No faith is ‘being attacked’. What is under attack is everyone else’s decision to not share that faith and let it override all other considerations.
And how did you come to the conclusion that it was the PN that saved Malta from the global economic recession? Do you actually believe it is thanks to our finance minister’s economic policies and his financial prowess? U hallina. Ironically, both Italy, with all its disastrous government mis-management and France, were also slightly impacted from this global turmoil. The reason… conservative bank lending policies and not Tonio aka Angelik Fenech!
Brilliant, I could not agree more. Malta cannot afford to make the mistake of electing the MLP who is trying to please everyone while not actually having any policies about anything.
The Nationalist Party will do the right thing about divorce despite the more conservative views of some, and we can always show the JPOs what we think of them by not voting for them at all.
“A few years in opposition might do a world of good to the PN but it will do no such thing to Malta. With all its faults the PN is still, by far, the better option.”
There is no way on earth that a few years of Labour can be worse than the last few years of PN, which were – objectively speaking – utter pants.
The relevant choices Gonzi has made from the get- go, all of them, vary from plainly wrong to borderline dishonest. The sooner many hardcore Nationalists lose this ‘We are God’s gift to humanity’ attitude, the better for everyone, including, if not especially, the PN itself.
Jean sorry to tell you, but you have a distorted view of reality. Whilst certainly conservative bank policies have contributed to save the day, it was a host of micro adjustmens that made sure we had a soft landing – Italy and France are still badly bruised. Italy cannot regain momentum and France are bracing themselves for a damning Tax Reform which will be voted in next month.
Aye, nay, or absent; whichever position the PM decides to take, he’s going to end up getting screwed.
I suspect that this dogmatic approach to divorce is being pushed by Tonio Borg (and probably Austin Gatt) who is well connected within the party.
Unlike Gonzi, Tonio Borg went up the party throughout his political career. He was also responsible for ‘teaching’ ideology to young party members.
Gonzi tends to remain silent and on the fringes of the discussions, and when he speaks up, he mistakenly starts to defend the church.
I was disappointed to read that young members of the PN, like Alan Deidun (in his response to Frank Psaila’s opinion piece), think that there is nothing wrong in losing the election as long as the party remains dogmatic (politically correct word is values).
[Daphne – I read Alan Deidun’s comment and thought is was totally out of order. It’s OK if we lose as long as we keep our principles? What principle are we talking about here – divorce? Some principle. And since it’s going to be the law, there’s no point losing an election over it. That kind of talk is madly irresponsible. They talk as though they win and lose elections FOR THEMSELVES, and that if they’re happy to be saddled with Muscat and those jerks as long as they cling to their divorce principle, then the rest of us should be too.]
Miskin Deidun,
Used and abused as a token “ambjentalist” by the PN, i.e. rope him in to shut him up, and he still has not got it.
Alan, wise up, gbin, you’re a good guy but spectacularly naive in the company of those sharks.
Unfortunately, you can’t blame Alan for being naive in the company of “those sharks.” I understand he is a marine biologist.
No no, Deidun is no clueless marine biologist with green ideologies. He is actually quite right-wing.
He may be young but he certainly knows his hardcore “Christian values” and anti-immigration policies.
That will be the downfall of PN. The sheer contradiction of them all.
Don’t know if I completely agree with Mark-Anthony on his last couple of paragraphs. I think the problem is not that we have (quite) a few ideologues among our politicians, but that they have chosen the “pathetic and obsolete ideologies”. Its also interesting that very few of them made these ideologies clear before the last elections.
When I tuned in to yesterday’s Dissett, that accursed Blessed Edwin Vassallo was holding forth.
He kept referring to a silent person next to him as kollega Kevin. I couldn’t fathom who it was. When the spotlight focussed on him it turned out to be Gavin Gulia. I was disappointed in that both Reno and Gavin let Vassallo off lightly.
Hilarious! I was also wondering who this Kevin was! I was sure it wasn’t Dr Gulia’s name but I just couldn’t remember.
As regards Edwin Vassallo, honestly, what a complete disaster. He should stick to selling jeans and carrying Our Lady’s statue in Mosta.
[Daphne – He wasn’t saying ‘Kevin’ but ‘Gevin.’]
I can think of no more eloquent argument in favour of divorce than an observation of Edwin Vassallo and Joyce Cassar at work.
I mean – holy shit – can you imagine being compelled to be married to either one of them for a whole lifetime. It’s against Human Rights and all known Geneva Conventions.
Mark Anthony Falzon basically reiterated what most liberal people in Malta feel, and what has been said ad nauseum both in your blogs and in the comments.
Sure, it’s an interesting read. He’s very eloquent in his manner of speaking and he’s the only column I actively look for in The Sunday Times (while I read others whimsically), but now even this is becoming worn out.
Come next election, where I’d usually opt for supporting the PN, I’m not sure what I will do, especially since my electoral district carries loonies from both ends of the spectrum.
Mark Anthony Falzon, this blog and my own thinking is only causing a negative crisis in my head as all that lies ahead is a choice of damnations.
I honestly doubt I have viable choices.
The one point that these legislators need to keep in mind is that it is all well and good having a conscience (and principles) but one should never let a conscience prevent you from doing what is right.