It’s Oh So Quiet (Prelude)

The EU regulations aimed at protecting workers from noise at the workplace are being hailed as a “quiet revolution” by the British press. It would seem that even orchestras are dramatically affected by this measure. At the Opera House it seems that musicians in the pit were exposed to 87 decibels during the performance of Sleeping Beauty, 85 being the allowable daily limit. Musicians with earplugs seem to be the new solution – and I double-checked – that’s no April fool.



Don’t talk (Gagging orders)

They’ve gone and done it again. We may all be Labourites now but the hard workers of the MLP are having a hard time adapting to the needs of the new situation. While it seems that Malta was having its fair share of April showers (good for the ful I hear – kosksu anyone?), the electoral commission overseeing the process to elect the Labour leader asked all those interested in contesting the election not to give comments to the press. Quite a thunderbolt that was and it has had quite a booming effect.

I am not sure that they quite understand the damage it has caused but caused it has been and no amount of damage limitation will erase this bumbling error. It’s there written on black and white in a letter from the Kafkaesque administration announcing the wrong type of closure to the world. As I type the Internet is rife with hesitant declarations. Di-ve.com has a piece entitled “MLP ban lifted... or not” as ever-smiling Jason and friends tiptoe around a decision that should not be so difficult to make.

For heaven’s sake have they not had enough of being compared to Stalinist apparatchiks? Do they not understand the damage this is causing their party and themselves at the end of the day? It’s the wrong sort of silence they are opting for. They are still on the defensive -– wherever a Labourite head pops up – be it Bondiplus or elsewhere you can smell the mistrust of the media. Statements are given with careful measure, and although they can produce enough sound to stitch an interview together there is not much substance to go along with it.

Which is a pity. Labour diehards might perceive Bondi’s questions last Monday as cheeky but they were valid and reasonable given the situation. People like Lou can be a useful testing ground to see which of the contestants has the right stuff that will survive in the ugly battleground that is day-to-day Maltese politics. And survival will not be enough. Having a hallowed Leader has proven to be insufficient. Some odd 1,500 votes worth of insufficient. Thanks to the MLPN accords all you need is a leader who will swing that little bit that counts.

Frankly he need not swing the whole country in his favour (or her – Coleiro has just entered the fray). It does not say much about the leaders we aspire for but Daphne is right... He or she need be more than a Labour leader... he needs to be a good visionary to woo and lead the nation. Or at least woo and lead the relative majority that slips through to governing through the backdoor.



Mum’s the word (Until...)

Then there are two issues that have been put on the collective backburner until courts or experts come out with their respective decisions or reports. JPO is a subject that cannot be discussed until all investigations are exhausted and possibly until a court pronounces a verdict on his involvement or whatever. Fact is that Ireland’s Prime Minister Bertie Ahern resigned from Taoiseach and from his party before any such investigations or cases were concluded. His reasons: “I will not allow issues related to my own person to dominate the people and the body politic.” He still protests his innocence – maybe without the journalist’s card or weeping statements – but in the meantime he has done the decent thing and stepped down.

We have taken innocent until proven guilty and conflated it beyond understanding. MaltaToday is right to call for his resignation from the party. It’s a fragile situation – especially because sans JPO the PN loses that one-man majority that it cooked up in the first place. Tant pis. Maybe it is time JPO showed his loyalty to the party by stepping aside until the storm is over. Then, once his name is cleared (if it is) he can return to politics twice as strong. In the meantime he is an anchor, firmly embedded at the bottom of the seabed.

Another report that is slowing down the progress of the party is the expert report commissioned by MLP to analyse the reasons for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It’s like Waiting for Godot and Catch-22 rolled into one. Joseph Muscat and Michael Falzon could not comment on the reasons for the loss – there’s a report and before it comes out their opinion counts for nothing – zilch. Victory has many parents but defeat is an orphan and no one is rushing to do any DNA tests.

What’s more, the report will probably be only available for the new leader to work with. Which brings me to the Catch-22 part of the situation. Wouldn’t it be best to have the so-called reasons on the table (in the open) beforehand and let the contestants battle out the race on the basis of whether they can be a solution to the problems that are outlined in that very report? In my book it would be better to allow the candidates to express their opinion regarding the content of the mysterious report and allow delegates to assess what their solutions are. Publishing the report after the battle is lost and won is as useful as buying a swimsuit in Luxembourg.



Chinese Walls (Firewalls)

They have a funny way of silencing people in China. The poor souls are a bit like the Labour Party; they’d love to be out of the limelight but the forthcoming Olympic spectacle does not help them much. So when Ju Hai, a prominent Chinese Rights Activist was convicted of subversion and jailed for three-and-a-half years the news spread round the world like wildfire. Dissenters are not welcome in the People’s Republic – particularly when an army of journalists will descend on the land during the Olympic period. “The land” includes Tibet but not only Tibet. Ju Hai did not campaign for revolutions – he campaigned for religious freedom, the environment and the rights of people with HIV and Aids.

Too noisy, they said, and went on to clap the heaviest of gagging orders on the poor man. It’s hard to understand the impact of this kind of measure when we live in a relatively open world. Sure, we can complain about the media giving in to political party manipulation. Sure, having your article delayed or censored in a paper can anger you to the extent that you choose to move to another paper. But jail for expressing one’s opinions? Nasty stuff that. I’d go so far to stick my neck out and say that Norman Lowell’s suspended sentence for expressing his twisted opinion is one step too far. I think people are wise enough to judge him without the need to resort to these archaic methods. After all, with all his pomp and cane-swinging showmanship, he did get a beating at the election did he not?



Joe Blogs

The press is still having a hard time coming to terms with the blogging world. Journalists feel threatened by this new breed of performers in the media circus. A few articles have appeared questioning the expertise of bloggers or generalising about bloggers when it comes to one particular issue. Some even had the audacity to describe the past election as an Internet election (exaggerated methinks). That is the price one pays for the increasing popularity of the blog.

Let’s not get carried away though. We should all be aware of the blog as a tool for expressing individual opinion. There’s the blogger – the one who is writing most of the stuff – and the reader – the one who is reading and at times adding his tuppence worth of ideas in the comment section. That’s just about it. Once you understand that and take blogs for what they are worth, it is very little and very much at the same time. Very little because it is one man’s opinion. Very much because it is one man’s opinion. Uncensored, unadulterated and free. Blogs are what you make of them. Reading into them as though they are some new threat to the media or some “movement” means getting the wrong picture.

True, some blogs peppered with sarcasm, irony and a tongue in cheek arrogance (like my own navel-gazing blog) tend to fall on the radar blip more often than others. Is that healthy? Why not? Just as you are reading my opinion in print you can read my opinion on the net. It’s all about accessibility and immediacy. The more interaction with blogs the more discussion can ensue. We can only widen the agenda for debate but we cannot hijack it. Of course you can always do what some of the more recent bloggers do and act as though other blogs don’t exist (while continuing to generalise about “bloggers” as though there is some collective entity) ... it’s your choice... Tune in or cop out! One thing is certain... blogs are not easily silenced and as the hit counter has shown, their popularity is still on the rise.



You’re not singing any more

Whether it is political debate, engaging with blogs or mere football support we seem to have only one solution – the complete and utter silencing of the opposition. We want to be there at the end of a drubbing and chant, “You’re not singing anymore”. Just like the partitarji the day after victory, we relish that moment. But “Victory” in debate is not about annihilation or silencing but all about convincing the other side. Compromise is the second best – an honourable draw.

A political party like the PN cannot afford and should not waste its energy trying to paint a picture of a dismembered Labour. Its media should not be focusing on highlighting the wrong sort of tiffs that exist within the MLP. The best favour that medialink could do itself is to try and give a clear picture of all the Labour candidates – clear as in as objective as is humanly possible when there are men with blue DNA behind the camera. Personally I do not think it would be hypocritical if the PN media machine became a second or third possible forum for the MLP contenders to be examined constructively. Trying to silence the contenders before the race has even started is a disservice to Labour and to their own party.

As for blogs... well I do believe that once the turbulent honeymoon period is over, the MSM and blogs will continue to benefit off each other – especially as more and more people enter the blogging fray. Then of course it will be a matter of the cream of the crop sticking out – no worries J’accuse will be there come rain or shine (vide “tongue in cheek” supra). As far as football goes, I’ll have to be a bit more patient before treating the subject – at least until the bianconeri finish their last year of purgatory expurgating their sins.



The (sexy) Sound of Music

A little footnote about the pleasant side of sound. My superstar friend Alison and her group the Beangrowers have a new album out. I love the song “Not in a Million Lovers” (also check out the awesome YouTube video). Beanies rock – and their sound is quite frankly more than just right (even under stringent EU standards).



Jacques Rene Zammit blogs daily at http://jaccuse.wordpress.com

Comments are welcome.