Undecided voters can be forgiven for feeling dizzy considering all the different messages, statements and counter-statements being thrown their way.

It doesn’t help that when one party says something, the other side grabs it by the horns and spins it for all its worth.

Trying to wade and sift through all the reams of political doublespeak can be a problem… for who is one to believe? Some might go to all the trouble of reading and watching everything – no mean feat – especially in these days of blogs, YouTube and the various website forums and discussion boards. The sheer amount of information being thrown at the voter can be overwhelming and it will take someone who is genuinely interested and concerned about voting for the best party to persevere in getting to the truth.

Ah, the truth.

Not always easy to decipher because (as often happens in TV courtroom dramas) it often comes down to which side has the most credibility.

If you haven’t already switched off your TV in disgust at all the shenanigans going on right now, you might be asking yourself:

So, which is it?

A reception class for children aged four to five to improve literacy, or an evil attempt to keep kids back a year? An intention to unravel the whole EU package (and suspend EU membership even!), or an attempt to try and renegotiate a few issues?

Was Jo Said offered the MTA chairmanship post by Gonzi himself, or did he shamelessly lobby for it and is now paying the PN back out of spite because he didn’t get it? Is he simply an aggrieved, honest citizen or are the insults, insinuations and rumours both verbally and in the media, a true indication of this man?

(While we are on the subject: Lou Bondi just “happened” to have in his possession a personal e-mail from Jo Said to Prime Minister Gonzi. Now how does a TV presenter get his hands on something like this? Just asking.)

Did Nationalist MP David Agius really confess to Mr Said with tears in his eyes that his party is riddled with corruption, or is this, to put it mildly, a lie?

Has the MLP been wise to embrace people like Jo Said and Michael Woods in its rush to show how many Nationalists are fed up with the current administration, or is it being blatantly opportunistic in choosing its new bedfellows? How can Dr Sant proclaim that his party will show “zero tolerance” for corruption when Woods’ own brother is implicated in a bribery case?

Is Dr Gonzi’s campaign, which sings the praises of his own four years as Prime Minister (“GonziPN”), a calculated move to make us all forget just how long the PN has been in power? Certainly, it could be interpreted as a slap in the face to the Eddie years and long-serving Ministers who have already been put on notice that some of them will be removed from their posts.

The cult of Gonzi has truly taken hold, and in the vein of “McCain for President”, we are now being told to just focus on the Prime Minister.

(It has also been pointed out that it resembles the “David Cameron’s Conservatives” slogan being used by the Tory leader in the UK.)

So, after all, is the “good guy image” just a façade, which masks a power-hungry man whose political survival depends on this election?

These and many other niggling contradictions are disturbing to those who genuinely want to vote for the best party to govern Malta.

When words are taken out of context, manipulated and “spun”, the only result is confused and exasperated voters. When those who influence public opinion are too close for comfort to a political party, it makes voters understandably suspicious about ulterior motives and possibly lucrative rewards.

Ultimately, and unfortunately for Malta, it always comes down to the proverbial “lesser of the two evils”. As the MLP and PN scurry around for those few thousands who will decide this election, it is a question of choosing between being “better safe than sorry” and “a new beginning”.

(Unless, that is, you have really taken all this talk about change to heart and instead of voting to keep someone out, you are voting to get a third party in).

One thing is certain in this election: while the MLP is being upbeat and positive, there is no escaping the tone of panicky desperation that has crept into the PN’s publicity campaign, which has now resorted to using simple language in BIG BOLD LETTERS for all the world as if voters are morons.

* * *

The abrupt decision by the owners of the news portal di-ve.com banning their journalists from covering political events is preposterous and unheard of. Can you imagine the uproar if this had happened under Labour?

* * *

The female vote

The election date happens to fall on Women’s Day.

We are not in the same position as Americans who, for the first time in history, are faced with the real possibility of a woman becoming President. But we can still ask ourselves whether women should vote for women candidates purely because of their gender (much as black Americans are asking themselves whether they should vote for Obama simply because of his race).

Personally, I vote for women using the same criteria I do for men: on the basis of their abilities and intelligence. I won’t vote for a mediocre woman simply because we are of the same sex (although, of course, men have been voting for mediocre men for as long as I can remember). Still, I think if women are going to be in Parliament, then they should represent the best that we have to offer.

* * *

Meanwhile, (kumbinazzjoni) Dr Gonzi has just promised income tax benefits for working mothers. Sure, yes, great, they’ll take it… but why now, hmm?

Suddenly, it’s Christmas all over again with both parties falling all over themselves promising to shower us with all sorts of goodies. What the weary voter wants to know is, how much of it is real and how much of it is pre-electoral hype?

* * *

I’m still flabbergasted in this day and age, to hear stories of men who take and destroy their wives’ voting document because they support a different party. Obviously, this is illegal, but what is the woman going to do, short of taking drastic action and leaving him? Of course, if he controls her to the extent that he can take her vote, it is very likely that he dominates her in everything else as well.

Then there are those women who simply vote like their husbands or fathers do, because “I don’t understand anything about politics”, so they are happy to let someone else make the decision for them. Yes, these women still exist and you’d be surprised at how young they are.

Happy Women’s Day.

jcassar@independent.

com.mt