Yes, its innate. Only those who have strong morals and values manage to overcome it.

@ Catsrbest: “One of the main reasons Dr Gonzi lost this election was precisely because he truly opposes racism…”
Forget it please. He didn’t lose the election mainly because of immigration.

Have we all forgotten the fuss that JosephPL in opposition made (and rightly so) when a number of Somalis and Eritreans were summarily flown back to their countries. We were all shocked then because they were flown to sure torture and possibly death!

And what do we have now? The same thing except that this time NGOs acted in time to stop it. It’s no consolation for JM-PL to say “you did it too”. As a politician and now head of government he should have learnt the lesson and avoided this negative (and shameful) international on our country.

During the PN administration we have come to tolerate (if not accept) the immigrants among us. This does not mean we didn’t have the occasional bout of racist ferment (Norman Lowell’s speeches and a Labour MP suggesting ‘apartheid’ transport on the B’Bugia line, etc)

But overall the population followed the official line towards immigration. Partly because of some positive signs of burden-sharing and partly because we could see many of them interacting with us in a civilised manner (plus other economic benefits) we generally supported the PN’s handling of the situation.

With the current ‘change in direction’, when barely 4 months in office, this government has stirred the old phobias and dormant hatred of black immigrants. It is good to ask ourselves why this issue has been raised now. Of course, only time can, if ever, tell.

To me it seems so significant that only a couple of days before JM took his drastic (and risky) position, Lino Spiteri, after expounding on the humanitarian aspects of the issue, has thought fit to recall and applaud Mintoff’s stand at the Helsinki Conference on European Security.

Speculation as to the reason for JM’s action is of course rife. Some suggest that, short in delivering on his promises, this government is simply playing macho with us locals to prove his ‘worth’. Others believe that it is all made up to deflect local and international attention from the Dalligate affair. There may be other other reasons but let’s stick to the most plausible.

Talking of Dalligate: incidentally both Lino Spiteri and Dalli, though on opposite (political) sides, both hail from Qormi and they should know each other quite well, having both served as consultants to the Tumas Fenech Group (of companies).

Besides having an influential pen that has covered most ‘angles’, Lino Spiteri is also a sly (in the sense of mature, of course) politician. Having served as minister both under Mintoff and Sant, no one should be surprised if JM makes use of his ‘consultancy services’ too.

Whatever it is that pushed JM to this limit (he wouldn’t face the journalists himself after his meeting with J Dalli because he was contemplating his next bigger move), pardon me this digression. My point is I don’t believe Gonzi lost the election because of his immigration policy.

The reason for the revival of this xenophobic and racist discourse and behaviour is because, as the Maltese saying goes, “Jekk trewwaħ il-ġamar, tqabbad ħuġġieġa”.

Bradford is like being in Pakistan same as Slough. Birmingham is all Chinese. Whose fault is it? You enlighten me.

These foreigners end up doing all the work which the normal English gentleman runs away from. Same thing is happening in Malta. Kicking them out now is not the solution and never will be.

“They are suffering from greedy bankers too, especially pensioners.”

Bonnici, do you mean greedy pensioner bankers?

Also, if they’re from Essex, you can safely discount their opinion. Just an example – remember that “lion” that caused a panic in Essex last year: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-19397686

It’s the Enoch Powell “River of Blood” syndrome. (See Daphne’s earlier post this month).

In Malta we say: ‘Jekk trewwaq il-ġamar, in-nar jieħu’. It roughly translates into: if you fan smouldering coal, sure enough you’ll get a fire.

Of course Joseph Muscat represents Malta. His actions are our actions.

The way I see it, unfortunately, it is so. Xenophobia and racism are on the increase the world over.

I also sense that most people only pay lip service and are not effectively fighting these ugly monsters.

It is why Malta, at such a worrying time, needed a mature and a true statesman like Dr Gonzi and not the inept and futile JosephPL.

However, unfortunately, I also believe that one of the main reasons Dr Gonzi lost this election was precisely because he truly opposes racism and is a real man for all seasons.

I hope I am wrong, but my intuition also warns that Malta will again be facing some very difficult and violent times.