The Independence Celebrations which took place last week turned out to be a fantastic showcase for our Prime Minister and his family. We were promised an occasion of unity and that is exactly what it looked like. I admit that for a moment Joseph almost won me over. Almost.

We walked into the Upper Barrakka Gardens in sweltering heat to find that we were segregated into a very confined space. There were many of us. Ambassadors, MPs, union representatives, business people, members of the civil service, journalists: all flocked together with a bar to keep us happy and cool.

None of us were allowed to go on the balcony to watch the fireworks or the spectacle. Since the huge wall adjacent to the balcony completely blocked our view, we had a big screen to watch it all.

I was tempted to complain until I spotted President Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami and former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. They were there, with us, mingling and exchanging greetings with dignity.

It was clear that this was meant to be seen as Joseph and Michelle’s party. They must have been very pleased with themselves when sending out the invitations. They chose who to invite and they chose who the VVIPs were. Perhaps the intention was to humiliate some of us and send a clear message as to who rules the country now. This was a total miscalculation on their part.

Dr Fenech Adami and Dr Gonzi once again showed themselves to be statesmen. They greeted us all, one by one. Whatever Joseph and Michelle’s intentions were it became an occasion to celebrate the dignity of these two men. Whoever gave Muscat the advice to insult them should be fired on the spot.

In his fear of being upstaged by two stalwarts of our political history, Muscat thought it best to stand alone and shine. I don’t believe his words about national unification. Many don’t. In the context of how the events took place, Muscat’s words lost their meaning. It was all a grand show on behalf of the Prince. But not all who saw it were impressed.

I have a dream

The PN celebrations had much less glitz and more sobriety. There was a very limited budget to produce a four-day event and celebrate with dignity. 

The traditional closing Mass Meeting was an unofficial launch of further changes. There were several indications of what Simon Busuttil intends doing in the near and medium term future.

For instance, the people on stage included MPs and party officials sitting with new candidates and members of the different forums recently set up to help the PN reach out further and plan new policies; old faces and new faces.

Chris Said's speech roused the crowd, the supporters and the party grassroots. Simon Busuttil walked right through the crowd towards the main stage. He gave a very different speech. It was beautifully written, almost poetic. Strongly reminiscent of the famous “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr back in August 1963. In a nutshell, the message was that the PN had always been on the right side of history and it will be on the right side of the future.

I was there but people who watched it on TV told me how moving they found it and how different it was from the usual type of speech. Simon Busuttil is turning out to be a new kind of leader for a new kind of politics.

The National Day

It was a much shorter speech, given on Sunday that gave Simon Busuttil the opportunity to unmask Muscat. After all the Prime Minister's pomp and ceremony about national unification, Simon Busuttil called his bluff and proposed Independence Day as our National Day. Muscat chickened out. So much for national unification and bluff!

Claudette Buttigieg MP – [email protected], twitter: @ButClaudette