There is something I haven’t fully understood about the general reaction to this week’s “spate of vandalism”. In particular, the Prime Minister’s reaction last Wednesday... when he “instructed Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg to investigate acts of vandalism seen over the past days, not only that of the Portes des Bombes, but also those on the facade of the Catholic Institute, as well as on a private building and a number of government billboards.” (“People should rebel - PM”, TMID, 6 May)
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OK, apart from the obvious (i.e., why bother instructing Dr Tonio Borg to investigate, or for that matter to do anything at all?) my question concerns only the vandalised billboards themselves. Quite frankly, I can understand that the brutal disfigurement of a historical monument would upset the Prime Minister to a great degree. I can also appreciate his concern with the vandalism of private property. But a political slogan? Spray-painted onto a government billboard? Since when is that kind of thing even against the law?
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Let me put it another way. Each morning, my drive to work takes me past the ruins of the Empire Stadium in Rue D’Argens, Gzira. In other words, for every working day of my life I have been encouraged to “Vote Tony Nicholl MLP Number One”, in a message written in large letters right across the stadium wall. Personally, I don’t know much about Tony Nicholl’s political career (although from what I gather he was a half-decent footballer in his own right). But even if I did, and was perfectly happy to comply with that little bit of friendly advice, well, I wouldn’t be able to. You see, Tony Nicholl himself hasn’t actually contested an election... since 1981.
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By my count, then, the above graffito has existed for at least 24 years. This makes it older than some of my colleagues here at the Independent, and only around 10 years younger than the present chairman of Public Broadcasting Services. It is also (no offence to Tony or anything) a bloody eyesore, as is the derelict ruin upon which it was scrawled all those years ago. And yet, I don’t recall anyone ever complaining about it, still less ordering an investigation. Do you?
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Had this been the only example of its kind, I’d say: fine. The powers that be clearly overlooked the existence of this particular graffito, which they would otherwise have removed and sanitised in the time it would take you to spray-paint “I love Gonzi” across the facade of Castille. But it’s not the only one of its kind. Not by a very, very long chalk indeed.
On my daily driving itinerary alone, there are at least four fine examples of vintage Maltese vandalism, in full view of all who drive past... yes, even those who have the letters “GM” on their number plate. The largest and most conspicuous is just before the turning that takes you up to the Regional Road Bridge. I park in the vicinity more or less every day, only to be told in great big blue letters: “CENSU No. 1 PN!”
Presumably, we are talking about the venerable Dr Vincent Tabone here... who, having been President from 1992 to 1996, must also have contested his last election in the late 1980s or early 1990s. And if any further proof were needed that some Maltese graffiti have long, long outlived their original political purpose, how about the one which urges drivers on December 13 Avenue, Marsa, to... “Vote Joe Grima... MLP”?!
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OK, before proceeding any further, let’s play a little game. I’ll give you the messages of some famous local graffiti, you tell me where, when, and on what they were originally painted. Ready? Here goes:
1) “Il Fusellu Miet Vittma Socjalista”
2) “FRATELL”
3) “Tkaxkira 13,000 – KMB mur orqod hu pacenzja”
4) “Namur jew Ntajru”
5) “Don’t Worry, Vote Lorry”
6) “Hnizer” (sic)
(Answers at the bottom of page)
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Anyhow, the above is but a small and unrepresentative selection of the wealth of wisdom that local graffiti have to offer. To get the full picture, though, you would also need to include all the “RTOs” daubed onto rocks and rubble walls (and sometimes onto medieval watch towers and Neolithic dolmens) in various parts of the countryside.
To these, you can add the myriad variations of “Privat/Tidholx”, “No Parking”, “Do not obstruct”, “Garaxx”, etc... all handpainted by skilled local craftsmen, and available for free in literally dozens of colourful and original orthographical varieties.
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So far, I have limited myself only to those graffiti which offer something in the way of a written message. When it comes to other, less intelligible forms of vandalism – i.e., simply hurling a bucket of paint at a building or monument of your choice – why, examples come so thick and fast that I’d need several newspapers’ worth of space to list them all. St Dorothy’s Convent in Mdina. Castille Palace in Valletta. The Repubblika monument in Marsa. Nerik Mizzi’s bust in St John’s Square. Not to mention each and every single individual PN and MLP kazin, in each and every locality in Malta and Gozo... at least twice over. And the list goes on, and on, and on.
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All things told, then, I think we can safely conclude that vandalism of the kind that upset Dr Gonzi so much this week is not exactly what you would call a “new” phenomenon. In fact, far from an “attack against the country’s identity”, you could almost make the case that these graffiti are more part of our country’s identity, than the outrage which is supposed to accompany them... but which rarely, if ever, does.
So why all the uproar? Why is it that for decades, vandalism of this kind is widely tolerated, possibly even encouraged, and certainly never removed... until, one fine day, a handful of government billboards are targeted by some phantom aerosol critic or other, and hey presto! The whole country is suddenly urged to “rebel” against this unbridled philistinism, this shameful attack on our cultural heritage, on our Christian values, and all the rest of the usual charade?
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Hang on a second. Did I just mention “a handful of government billboards”? I did, didn’t I? And slowly, ever so slowly, realisation dawns on this columnist with all the force and vigour of an unlikely religious conversion. Of course! Why didn’t I see it straight away? It’s not the vandalism that has so clearly irked Lawrence Gonzi. How could it be, when other, more glaring acts of vandalism have been allowed to endure for a quarter of a century, and longer? No, it’s the criticism implied in their political message... that is what has clearly got our Prime Minister’s goat.
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Suddenly, viewed from this angle, everything seems to make perfect sense. In Malta, we have two distinct types of political vandalism: the first can be defined as “positive” and “educational”, as it involves generally cheerful slogans which encourage greater voter participation in the democratic process. Apart from encouraging you to vote, these slogans (always written in huge letters for the benefit of the barely literate) are also quite helpful. For one thing, they inform you in no uncertain way of the names of individual candidates... sometimes (as in the case of Fratell) supplying additional information in the form of the candidate’s nickname. Besides, they are a great help when it comes to explaining the basics of our ultra-complicated political system. For instance, looking at the Tony Nicholl graffito again, I can immediately infer from the “No. 1” bit that there must exist also subsequent votes, numbered 2, 3, 4, etc.
Never mind then, that they also look horribly shabby... especially 20 years after the advertised election is over and done with. Their propagandistic value for the individual candidates (in the short term) and for the Party (in the long term) far outweigh any concern with anachronism or even simple aesthetics.
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The same cannot be said for the second type of political vandalism, which involves graffiti of an altogether more subversive and dangerous nature: you know, slogans which express “discontent” with government decisions (as opposed to the “eternal gratitude” which our glorious political masters seem to think they deserve), and which consequently must be quashed without delay, and using any means necessary.
For these insidious messages (such as, “more taxes” on a billboard paid for by tax payers’ money) do more harm than merely spread a little sedition here and there. Potentially, they can also undo decades of hard work in the painstaking field of media manipulation. For where else can today’s political malcontent express his or her subversive views? On State television... which, in its choice of programmes and even its treatment of the news, appears increasingly controlled by a single government minister? On the other stations, which are owned by two political parties or the newspapers, where they will be instantly exposed to the wrath of Malta’s God-fearing, government-licking, Christian Democratic population?
As things stand, all they have left is the Internet, and Smash TV... which seems to have become the graveyard of all those mavericks and misfits who no longer have a party to call their own, and who are routinely denied space to air their views anywhere else.
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No, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that on this issue, Dr Gonzi is absolutely right. Of Malta’s many and various acts of vandalism, only those which are performed in veneration and praise of local politics are to be tolerated. Everything else - be it the defacement of historic building, or the debasement of a political party, or the simple expression of a controversial opinion – simply has to go.