The best piece of advice I ever read concerning politicians still reeling from the shock of a massive defeat and in the inevitable process of reinventing themselves and their parties came from Denis Healey, ex-Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, who at the time, the early 80s, was himself reeling from Hurricane Thatcher.
It was a time when the UK Labour Party simply could not find a good enough leader to match the Iron Lady, what with the unions making a whole mess of it despite the fact they were perfectly right in protesting. Healey wrote: “It is a good thing to follow the First Law of Holes; if you are in one, stop digging.”
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil would do well to take heed. His performance since his appointment to the party’s leadership has not only shown he is surrounded with holes, financial or otherwise, but he has also been digging some of his own. There may even already be those in his own backyard who are hoping one of the metaphorical holes actually takes the shape of a political grave.
In 1992, Labour was more or less in the same throes. The slim defeat in 1987 had given a lot of false hope to both leadership and followers, only to be severely quashed in 1992. The Nationalists’ wafer-thin victory in 2008 gave them the idea they could get away with it every time they wanted. More by the immensity of the margin of defeat rather than the actual defeat itself, 2013 fell on them like a thousand Niagara Falls.
Situations like this not unnecessarily warrant a reality check, that is “an assessment to determine if one's circumstances or expectations conform to reality; or an occasion or opportunity to consider a matter realistically or honestly; or a corrective confronting of reality, in order to counteract one's expectations, prejudices, or the like”. Thank you, Wikipedia.
Without such reality check, Busuttil is bound to go on acting like Don Quixote, chasing energy windmills everywhere but in China and riding his donkey as if it were a Royal Ascot or Cheltenham thoroughbred... to nowhere.
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... and talking of horses
Has anyone noticed how frequently we are hearing of incidents involving horses suddenly bolting and going berserk while supposedly being “walked” on the road? The poor animals have become a danger to themselves and to the public at large, whether driving or just happening to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Horses are the sweetest of animals, but beware if you are caught in a car next to them when they bolt. Ask the 59-year-old Opel Corsa driver who was recently caught in this situation in downtown Valletta, crashing into another car as he tried to avoid the fury of the animal and eventually involving three other cars.
The monstrous traffic must drive the horses crazy, let alone the insistence of some of their owners who seem to expect everyone to let them through, although the mediaeval law does dictate so. This is not to say the “karozzin” should be prohibited, but yes indeed, let’s declare where and at what time of the day these traditional means of transport should be allowed to attract custom.
As for the other horses on the road, a complete ban would be in order. Racing horses have no place on a busy road and the animal itself would be the most thankful. Our roads are no longer safe for horses.
Sorry. That’s another much-needed reality check.
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The Constitution is no bible
The recent bloodbath in a US Navy Sea Systems Command where a former Navy reservist walked into the base, killed 12 people and injured 14 others, re-ignited the eternal American debate on the carrying of licensed guns. How many people have to die for these people to realise only harm can come from allowing citizens, certainly not all of them law-abiding, to carry guns as if the greatest super-power on earth is still a remnant of the old Wild West?
Suffice to say that the 34-year-old killer, Aaron Alexis, had a history of gun crime and mental health problems. Why anyone with that criminal record and ill health should still be allowed to carry guns is beyond me. Alexis had been arrested for gun-related incidents in both 2004 and 2010 and was discharged from the Navy after a number of incidents of insubordination. Inside the naval yard, where he was inexplicably given a job, Alexis was carrying a legally obtained shotgun.
Of course Americans who insist on their right to carry arms always cite the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. I consider that resorting to what a Constitution says as just a way of trying to retain the status quo by those who would otherwise feel they are being denied something they believe in or prefer to have. But the Constitution is no bible, wherever you live.
Constitutions are man-made and often drafted out, approved and later amended according to the prevailing customs and aspirations. They can be changed and rewritten to fit new centuries and new public mentalities. If 21st century society feels threatened, and rightly so, by the use of readily available guns, then it has every right to change that part of the Constitution, which is often conveniently quoted by the leftover cowboys and Indians.
Our very own Constitution is due for a rethink. There are clauses in it which reek of the putrid smell of old age. Of course there will always disagreement when it comes to identifying these clauses, but the exercise itself is a must. There will be those who question the “neutrality” clause, just as much as there will be others who insist the Constitution should not impose a “religion” on what is nationally recognised as a secular State, as well as others who believe the reference to English as an “official” language is obsolete. While the whole world is speaking English anyway, Maltese as the national language deserves its constitutional protection.
Oops, that’s another reality check for you.
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Commercial benevolence
Readers must by now be highly aware of my pet hate – billboards. The more you complain about them the more they mushroom all over the place. The PR people know only too well that we all take a look at them every now and then, alas.
One billboard headline this week was offering potential clients “a FREE loyalty card.” Now isn’t that kind? A free loyalty card for you to keep on shopping from that place. Not for free, of course. Commercial benevolence at its best. Or worst?