Latterly, one could note that many people – not just Labour Party supporters – are already looking forward, beyond this mid-year, to the countdown for the coming general elections.
The EU Presidency which took up so much time and so many resources in past years, is already being considered a thing of the past, or almost. What impact it has had or will have on the local political scenario still needs to be seen. Many believe it will have minimal importance on further developments.
A friend of mine who denies he is either red or blue, and whom I tend to believe when he confesses he has occasionally voted AD, declares two topics will dominate the approaching election campaign: the economy, where he believes determining trends are in Labour’s favour; and governance where always according to him, we are in a race to the bottom, with little to choose between the two sides.
His forecast is a good Labour win.
***
Curious comments
The comments made by some media analysts, political observers, opinion setters, bloggers (you choose how to label them) have become amusing. For the past year and more, these people were plugging with assiduous delight, arguments and viewpoints regarding the Panama Papers scandal. Admittedly, they did have a meaty issue...
However the same individuals present themselves as “independent” analysts (unlike me, who make no claim to be “independent”). So, one would have expected them to latch on to the scandal of the alleged money laundering by the PN and its leader, with the same enthusiasm they showed for the Panama Papers. Not only has the new law about the financing of political parties been violated, but shady methods were deployed to launder payments.
One would have expected for instance that they would present detailed reflections about how the laundering was carried out, or regarding how similar operations are mounted,about who knew what was going on, about the extent to which such subterranean practices are prevalent in the PN, and so on. Surely that’s what they would have done had the issue been another Konrad Mizzi caper.
But no, we got nothing of all this. Instead we were regaled with cool and learned analyses about for instance, how much money gets spent per capita on election campaigns in different countries.
Such output makes for funnily entertaining comedy.
***
Gardens and plant pots
The arrival of spring is a beautiful period of the year which should encourage people to visit gardens. It is the time of year when these take on life and colour.
Unfortunately, gardens are allowed a progressively reduced space in our everyday existence, given the obsession we have as a nation to cram every square centimeter of land with flats for rent and showrooms.
Therefore, this should be the time too when the presence of more potted plants and flowers is encouraged even in the apartments and modern houses which we occupy. By enjoying and caring for them, we might recover some part at least of a sentiment that we have lost as human beings, that of being close to nature.