This newspaper published a pertinent interview a few days ago that tackled, among other things, the State. Its pertinence lay not in the interviewee’s answers – they were evasive at best – but in the fact that the interview confirmed, for the umpteenth time, that the Maltese do not have a clear idea of what the State is.

It was the French historian Alain Blondy who, only a few years ago, started an essay of his with the bold assertion that there’s nothing more alien to the Maltese than the concept of “State”. I don’t think he meant to offend, even though – let’s be frank – the truth does have that effect on people. I think his assertion can actually be taken as fact. The majority of Maltese do not know what the Modern State is.

The reason is no doubt historical. Our ancestors were used to the Ancien Régime absolutist State of the Knights – ruled by the Prince Grand Master as absolute monarch with few, if any, checks and balances – and then they went out of the medieval frying pan into the conservative British fire. The British colonial administration was not modern and had no intention of allowing the Maltese to aspire to such lofty ideals. Yes, there were a few Maltese intellectuals – like the great (and underrated) Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici (il-Gross) – who understood the natural calling of the Maltese for self-determination (and therefore for a proper, modern State), but the people in general weren’t aware of the concept.

When statehood was imposed on us by an ageing British Empire (for which our geostrategic value had greatly diminished), the vast majority of the people were probably unprepared for it. Yes, it’s clear that parts of the political and intellectual classes were attuned to the underpinnings of a Modern State, but the shenanigans of Joseph Muscat and his coterie have demonstrated that the rest were not.

So when somebody argues that the Maltese State now is not the Maltese State of two/three years ago, one shakes one’s head in disbelief. Fundamental changes in the conception of the political organisation of a society result from traumatic experiences, such as the beheading of a king (consider the Glorious Revolution in England the Great Revolution in France), not from the resignation of a reckless and crooked Prime Minister.

Unless the Labour Party is trying to push the idea that Muscat’s resignation was a metaphorical beheading… If this is indeed the case, then they have to articulate this proposition and explain how Muscat’s resignation equates to a metaphorical beheading. Because, usually, such a dramatic watershed moment (the beheading of a King is nothing less than a momentous turning point in the history of a nation) is accompanied by a strong narrative that gives a context to the trauma of severing the royal head (symbolising the ruler) from the rest of the body (symbolising the nation).

There is no such narrative in Malta.

Boycott the President

The President of the Republic is the highest embodiment of the State. It’s the Office in the name of which all the branches of the State exercise their functions. The person who occupies that Office has to be beyond reproach and without blemish.

I think the call for the replacement of the incumbent by somebody who was not involved in Muscat’s shenanigans is a wise and logical request, and should be heeded to.

Statecraft is not easy but we need to apply it and apply it fast. The country needs to be and be seen as a normal, functioning State. Some people might believe that the Opposition keeps insisting on the country’s reputation because it’s the Opposition and wants to take power. Well, obviously, yes, that is one of the motivations of every Opposition. But the Opposition is also doing its duty by reminding the Government what the State needs. And the State of Malta needs to cleanse its soiled reputation.

Keeping George Vella in the highest Office in the country – when he was a powerful figure in Muscat’s cabinet, not to mention the scandals involving his son-in-law – is a huge disservice to the State of Malta.

If, as the President of the Labour Party said in the interview I referred to above, the State today is not the same State of two/three years ago, then George Vella has to go.

Otherwise, it’s just hot air.

Brexit woes

I wrote this some months ago: Brexit means that we have to realign ourselves, as a State and as a society. Brexit means that we have to outgrow our colonial past, free ourselves of our post-colonial mindset and develop into a proper, sovereign modern State.

The problems with second-hand car imports from the UK and pharmaceutical products the Press highlighted this week are only a small twig on a huge, intricate tree. The tree has to be felled and the stump burnt. In its stead a new seed has to be planted, the acorn that will grow into a modern, European oak tree: a functioning, constitutionally-mature State.

Imposing Maltese architectural grammar on new buildings

Everybody’s complaining about the horrible ugliness spreading around us like a malignant fog that engulfs all that the eye can see.

But everybody keeps forgetting that the State has the power to impose beauty. Yes! Through regulations and other laws, the State can impose the use of a particular aesthetic, expressed through a certain architectural grammar. Granted, this could take away the expressive freedom of architects; yet – and, again, let’s be frank – how many architects care to exercise their right to express their artistic freedom? Many of them keep churning out zombie buildings, edifices to a philosophy of the living dead. And this sprawling ugliness is transforming us too into zombies.

What are the authorities waiting for? Why don’t they impose an architectural grammar? Why not legislate that in certain areas only traditional Maltese architecture will be allowed? Why not codify Maltese architectural grammar and impose it?

This has been done with the Maltese language through the Maltese Language Council. Why not something similar for Maltese architecture?

Since we can’t contain the urge for more buildings, let’s at least make them palatable.

The anti-vaxxers

The anti-vaxxers remind me of the First World War pacifists.

Between 1914 and 1918, there was a vociferous movement that opposed the war. One of their battle cries was that mothers were voluntarily sending their sons to the slaughter. Objectively speaking, they were right. But in the real world, they were manifestly wrong. It was a war and there was no choice: one had to fight.

The same applies to the anti-vaxxers. Yes, the State might be eroding the rights of the individual – the imposition of a certificate as a pre-requisite to travel or enter public places does reduce your right to move freely. But, as French President Emanuel Macron rightly said, this is a war. It follows that the logic of war applies. In wartime, your rights are reduced: you have to observe curfews, you have to avoid no-go zones, and you have to respect a myriad other restrictions that would be unthinkable in peacetime.

So the anti-vaxxers are right to argue about the State’s erosion of individual rights, but are wrong to argue that this is not acceptable. It is acceptable because this is a war.

What won’t be acceptable will be the continuation of wartime practices in post-war times. This is what we will have be on the lookout for. But while the war wages on, we have to behave according to the rules of war.

Digitising theses

The University of Malta has embarked on a possibly controversial project: the digitisation of its graduates’ theses and dissertations. I won’t enter into the merits of this project, as I can see both sides of the argument and am not entirely convinced by either side.

That said, University authorities might want to keep in mind what happened in the monasteries of the Middle Ages where monks spent their entire lives making copies of the Bible. Despite all their good intentions and hard work, monks made mistakes, some of which have even had theological implications, like the case involving the Greek letters theta and omega.

The University has to ensure there are proper mechanisms for quality assurance – to make sure that no pages are left out when the documents are being scanned. It’s very easy when you’re doing a repetitive job such as scanning to skip a page or to scan the same page twice.

My Personal Video Library (19)

Two movies today.

Why is Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) one of the most important films you will ever watch? Reasons there are many but I’ll focus just on four, that transpire from as many scenes. This movie is a study in how to deal with idiots in your life.

One: the Black Knight scene teaches you that you’ll encounter puffed-up, self-important idiots who’ll do their utmost to keep you from reaching your goals. You’ll have no choice but to dismember them before you can resume your quest.

Two: the Knights Who Say Nee scene teaches you that you’ll encounter pretentious idiots who’ll ask you to do absurd things for them “or you shall never pass through these woods... alive”. You’ll try to appease them, but to no avail. These idiots you’ll have to ignore and continue with your quest.

Three: the Holy Hand-Grenade of Antioch scene teaches you that you’ll encounter well-meaning idiots who’ll complicate your quest. You’ll need to ensure they follow your instructions to the letter if you really want to reach your goal.

Four: the Witch Trial scene teaches you that you’ll encounter ignorant idiots who are unaware of the extent of their ignorance. You’ll need to cajole them to avoid their ignorance derailing your quest.

The “Holy Grail” is whatever goal you set for yourself in life. The “quest” is the totality of idiots you’ll encounter on your way who could prevent you from attaining your goal.

Somebody who has clearly set out on a quest is Inez Kristina Baldacchino whose very short movie Cut It Out was published earlier this year (you can watch it on YouTube). It’s a sci-fi animated feature film, slightly longer than 7 minutes, that narrates the apparently simple story of a technician sent to “repair” a living creature, ends up being swallowed by the creature and turned into a foetus, and then escapes from within the creature to return as an adult into the outside world.

The story could be a good metaphor of the employee who escapes from a System that aims to reduce him/her to a state of perpetual dependence. But, more importantly, the movie showcases Ms Baldacchino’s tremendous talent and creativity. One can easily foresee a brilliant career in the making here.