@ albona’s first comment about the ‘experience of the PL’s disdain of the Italians due to the PN’s Italian cultural connection.’

This is interesting because it touches on the historical-ideological development of the two political parties.

The PN’s connection with Italian/Mediterranean culture is a continuation of a long line of historical search for national identity in a context of colonial rule.

The (M)LP’s and its ancestors’ association with British ‘culture’ was one of convenience. Again, in Malta’s colonial context, the two politico-ideological questions were: Freedom or Survival?

Perpetuating the myth that the PN is pro-Italy while the (M)LP is pro-Britain is in today’s political context not only superficial but most anachronistic, especially in view of the stereotypes associated with Italians and Britons in the ‘global’ mind.

While I disagree on the way that the warders were tested for drugs, on the other hand the minister is responsible for his employees.

What if a nurse or doctor who looks after patients is found to be under the effect of drugs? Do you want to be looked after by such people?

[Daphne – The mistake you make is to start off from the point where prison warders are the employees of the Police/Prisons Minister. They are not. Ministers are there to make and implement policy. They do not administer operations. There are permanent state officials (as distinct from elected politicians) for that purpose.]

The question was raised in the European Court of Human Right as to whether random compulsory testing of crew members on board ships for drugs and alcohol, was a violation of the right to privacy.

The ECHR found the complaint by a crew member to be inadmissible. Although the testing amounted to an interference with the right to privacy, this interference was justifiable in the interests of public safety and the protection of the rights of others.

See Admissibility decision, Madsen v. Denmark, 7 November 2002.

A warder in a prison and a crew member on a ship are not in exactly the same position, but I believe the same reasoning could apply.

After all, they are in charge of his clients.

It’s something to get rid of.

Even because there’s so much to learn from their mistakes. The south, insularity, the paganistic social rituals linked to externalisation of the faith, approximation reducing verbalised thought to simple gut feeling, superbia, I could go on.

People like Mallia, Lowell and Meli make me sick. They’ll keep at it for their own suprematic instincts. The fact we don’t have a left but remnants of realsocialist axioms mixed with dogmatic method doesn’t help.

Otherwise how does one explain the misplaced ideas, allergy to simple discourse and plain bad taste? It’s a taboo that has to be broken.

Sometimes I sincerely think this preconcept keeps some form of status quo. A caricature of Italy’s cliches transposed onto us, these loonies endorsing it to play along.

I cannot count the number of times I had to explain why voting Nationalist didn’t make me some Karazic.

At this point, we need to start asking whether Manuel Mallia is carrying out a systematic attack on prison warders.

First he tried to catch them skiving and now he’s getting them tested for drugs.

Granted, warders should neither skive nor take drugs, but that doesn’t mean that their rights can be violated at will.

They should refuse to take the tests and get a lawyer or union to speak up for them if Manuel Mallia insists.

Now THAT would be interesting.

I had never noticed. Yes, I have noticed that the likes of Malta’s official far-right party admire Mussolini and indeed imitate him in speech and style, but if anything my experience of the PL is that they still retain the disdain they traditionally had for the Italians due to the PN’s Italian cultural connection and the elitism they attribute to it.

I am with Baxxter on this one where he says that the PL is similar to Nasserism. A lot of the fascists in Malta either seem BNP style or alternatively make reference to some distant Phoenician connection to which in reality there is no link.

Meanwhile, the Maltese government is emulating the tyrannical states with a purpose in mind that is not only self-defeating, but that was falsely rationalised by despots in the first place.

I may respect Dr Mallia as an acquaintance from a past era of mine, but these actions are distasteful, ineffectual and reflective of a policy that is bound not only to fail, but to perpetuate social harm and misery.

Aqraw ktieb sura, f’gieh zaqqkom, kemm bqajtu qodma.

Ahleb, Guz! Issa ghandna il-Ministru tal-Pipi Kriminuz!

[Daphne – Definitely not. Listen to him speak. In Malta, a preference for ‘Italian culture’ (Maltese interpretation of) goes hand in hand with Far Right views and an inability to understand what democracy is for.]