Scenes from Hades
In my newspaper column last Thursday, I wrote about the moment when, sitting at home watching Super One television at the end of the electoral campaign in March 2008, I suddenly knew that Labour was probably going to lose the election.
Super One, making the classic error of behaving as though it broadcast only to a diehard Labour audience, was right then transmitting live the biggest, loudest and most jingoistic Labour mass meeting I had ever seen in my life.
I could almost feel the Nationalist vote crystallising in seconds as thousands of people like me sat galvanised to their sofas trying to control their Pavlovian response with glasses of cold water or something stronger.
I’ve just found the footage on YouTube.
More damningly, the meeting was held at St Andrew’s Parade Ground (‘Luxol’), slap bang in the ‘we need a change’ heartland. As tens of thousands of red-clad demonstrators screeched and honked their way through We Need A Change territory, waving the Labour torca and shouting Viva l-Labour, quite a few people must have decided that they didn’t want that kind of change, after all.
And that’s why Dear Joseph has banned the old torca and replaced it with an anodyne ice-cream cone – which is a bit like putting a feather on a chimp’s bottom and calling it a peacock.
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Daphne – I fully agree that these scenes make you cringe yet as you know an election in Malta is most of the times lost or won by the votes of a small % of floating voters.
There are also a percentage who will not vote as they can’t see themselves voting Labour.
As much as a labour carcade will make me stay indoors a part of me would so much want to knock a couple of Ministers, Nationalist MPs and their appointees off their high horse that it would be worth exploring.
I might be wrong but at times I sincerely believe we need a change…. pity we don’t have a decent opposition or a strong third party.
Kif int taf, kif konna nafu allura…..
Nippreferi kif jien!
Change the candidates – keep the party.
Or putting a palm tree up an elephant’s ass and calling it Anglu.
With or without red palm weevils?
One TV has this weekend dedicated all its airtime to raise funds for ….itself.
In the process it bagged just over Eur30,000, much to the satisfaction of station chairman, Jason Micallef.
A bit of maths, Jason – what is the normal advertising revenue you would have generated in a weekend (which you forfeited) in the winter schedule? Deduct this from the Eur30,000 collected in the fundraiser, and presto, what are the incremental proceeds?
I get the feeling that the PL, as in the cliche, would make a loss even from a “bring and buy sale ” – let alone being trusted with the finances of the country .
This is like when, in the last general election campaign, they held a mammoth fundraising telethon on Super One TV….while all their supporters were far away from their television sets, waving flags at the biggest mass meeting ever on the Floriana granaries.
Poor Norman Hamilton, left to fill in the blanks between sporadic phone calls.
Dan il-“clip” meta hasbu li rebhu? Jew fhimt l-artiklu hazin?
Meeting tar-rebha qabel ir-rebha, Charles. Taf int. Bird in the bush and all that, ghax qalilhom Jason li ir-rebha hija taghhom.
Min-toff jer-ga i-kun fil-gvern. Allelujiah!
Spiccajt taghti l-pariri lil Joseph. Jew impjegawk maghhom flok Marisa?
Hekk jixtiequ, ghax jafu xi tfisser Daphne, imma jkollhom jitqannew bit-tqancic.
Tghidilhom x’jrid isir biex ma jgerrxux in-nies…. u ma jisimghux minnha.
Come Spring 2013 the last Partit Laburista pre-election mass meeting will hopefully be held in Dingli Street, Sliema. Please God it will be the greatest one ever.
All the “ma nivvutalhomx” brigade will rush to the polling booths in spite of early symptoms of inordinate bowel movements.
Imbaghad kollha jinzlu x-Xatt jiehdu kafe.
Sorry – ‘coffee l-ferris’, kif jghidu huma.
Daphne, please stop giving them sound advice on mistakes to avoid in 18 months’ time. The odds are already very much in their favour.
Funny how there wasn’t an EU flag in sight.
There was just the one – you can see it here. Oh my mistake, this meeting was at the Granaries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4dSYDsYc1k&feature=related
Qbadt nithassrek Ms. ta. Kemm int miskina.
Sixfooter, sewwa jghidu li s-sustanza fil-fliexken iz-zghar qeghda u mhux fis-6 footers!
Dabbar rasek ‘l hemm trid u hallina kwieti.
[Daphne – Sixfooter IS a flixkun zghir. He pops in with aggressive and vulgar comments (most of which I delete) only when I mention Kurt Farrugia’s size.]
You don’t just delete my comments, you’re a coward too!
…your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of ELDERBERRIES!!!
Obviously said while dressed as a knight, speaking with an outrrrrageously French accent, peering down a castle wall at an English monarch.
Actually, you are the coward. Instead of calling yourself Sixfooter, just give us your real name and surname.
“nithassrek” … why? Because she’s just showing us some video of the Labour mass meetings?
Or should you “tithassar” all those who are going to vote Labour?
You will all be surprised if i give you my name, extremely surprised. Issa anke lilek qed nithasar.
Maybe you’re an ex-Nationalist supporter and since you haven’t got what you wanted from the PN, now you are against them.
You’re so naive. No limits.
I thought PL already had a peacock…Darling Jason.
The more of these videos I watch, the more I dread the possibility that these clowns will be elected to govern.
Labour is on the decline – just look at the progression of leaders.
‘We need a change’ heartland is Sliema, not Swieqi/L-Ibragg.
[Daphne – Both.]
I just got the chills watching this video. Frightening. How can people trust their future and their children’s future in the hands of the MLP?
Much better than the crap they’re singing today.
Wasn’t that the mass meeting at which Michael Falzon led the chorus and then went on to tell us about the lions of change?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kiZ6qKKat4
I think they really need to start considering the unthinkable.
Come to think of it, some of them already are.
Does Joseph believe that those who had a problem with Alfred Sant were pacified when they chose him instead of George Abela?
There is an established group of people within Labour who will benefit enormously from the consequences of another defeat.
In the meantime they look forward to Christmas.
That video is so scary. AND it would have meant Alfred Sant as PM again. At least this time it will be doesn’t -know-what-hit-him-Joseph Muscat.
At least? I’d take Alfred Sant over Joseph Muscat any time.
Why not take both, then, and leave the way clear for someone competent?
Offerta spetakkulari. Buy one, get one free.
I only have a small waste paper basket, not a skip. Couldn’t possibly take them both, see.
The peacock comment is great.
Boris on Ed. Insightful!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/8803099/Ed-Miliband-is-one-export-that-would-scupper-our-rivals.html
Tal-biza..
Not sure you should be pointing out their mistakes Daphne. We could always hope they make the same mistakes come next election.
But we also they know they read your blog religiously, and if you tell them what they did wrong they’ll do things differently next time.