When it comes to fruit I am not particularly finicky.   Much of it is great, but blood oranges and prickly pears are my favourites.   

For different reasons, oranges and prickly pears are most annoying to skin.   With oranges you begin by picking at their skin and get pithy peel stuck under your fingernails; then the flesh comes off in a series of tiny flakes.   Finally, you break into the fruit's soft core - squirting juice all over.   With prickly pears it is more complicated.  Peeling prickly pears can be painful.  The skin of the fruit is covered in tiny needles.  They are sharp and you do not even feel them when they enter your skin.  The problem is that they sting like crazy when you touch that area of the skin and are nearly impossible to find and pick out. 

Without an adequate intake of fruit we put our bodies at risk for certain illnesses and possibly even deficiencies.  In politics, solutions can be supplemented with proposals from various quarters not least from the Opposition.   The “us and them” tug-of-war approach has long been wiped out, with some exceptions, between employers’ organisations and trade unions.  Meaningful social dialogue substituted the “us and them” approach.  In this regard the proposal floated by Prime Minister, Dr Joseph Muscat a couple of days ago should not be disregarded unless it was a passing comment.  The proposal can come to fruition if it is supplemented and nurtured with action. Words are cheap.    

There are various issues which Government can take up straightaway action to show the real intention and motivation of such statement.  One issue which springs to my mind is the gross injustice which Mr Emanuel Camilleri has and is still suffering.  He was convicted on charges of sexually abusing his daughter.  He spent over 400 days in prison following a court case which found him guilty of abusing his daughter.  It could have served Mr Camilleri right but from what has been revealed at a later stage it transpired that his daughter had lied about the abuse.

The private member’s bill which has been put forward by Dr Jason Azzopardi, Opposition shadow minister aimed to address such exceptional cases should be brought on the House agenda without delay.  The draft bill suggests that those who would find new evidence after a judgement is delivered can seek redress.    

While quite often people may give the impression that they can't see beyond the end of their nose the truth is that many people have a bird’s eye view of the on-goings in the town.  Indeed, some have a comprehensive understanding of what is going on, maybe, more than others but in all circumstances people cannot be fooled all the time with cheap talk and promises.    

Unfortunately, as yet, those enjoying a bird’s eye view of the town seldom voice their opinion. The reasons for remaining silent may vary from one person to another.  With some stretch of the imagination some people may be justified but others have no leg to stand on.  I presuppose that the reason or reasons cited would be that they do not want to be labelled for or against on an issue which inevitably would have either the support or the opposition of the largest groupings in the House. 

The current political scandals and the negative multipliers which are a thousand fold larger have dented Malta’s reputation severely. This is exasperating well-meaning citizens irrespective of their political creed.    The current polluted political debate is not helping in any way either.  The effect of such behaviour is limiting the space for civil society to participate effectively towards the national good.  Looking at issues from a partisan political view is not helping our society to mature politically.  

But at the end of the month the Italian singer Antonello Venditti will be the guest singer for the world-renowned tenor Joseph Calleja’s summer concert.   Venditti's  songs are mostly inspired by a passionate social and political conscience.  “In Questo Mondo Di Ladri” is a fine example.  The lyrics of the song encapsulate the general feeling of law abiding citizens.  Perhaps Venditti’s passionate interpretation of the song “In Questo Mondo Di Ladri” will ignite the audience’s hearts towards clean politics. With the number of infuriated people growing, as a result of a longer list of politicians and others holding a position of trust embroiled in alleged cases of corruption Government should watch his back.   

 

[email protected]