Summer is labelled the silly season. During this season, journalists and news editors sweat to keep their readers’, listeners’ and viewers’ attention. This year, however, June provided some important news. I will touch on some of these later.
The silly season is not a local phenomenon. In other cultures, the silly season is referred to by using the image of a pickled cucumber or gherkin. In Norway, news at this time of the year is called agurknytt or agurknyhet, “cucumber news”, while the period as a whole is labelled “cucumber season” in the Czech Republic.
Of course, the silly season does not permit anyone to take silly decisions. Silly decisions carry a hefty price tag. Sooner or later, someone has to foot the bill. Against this backdrop, the challenges which emerged in the PN after the result of the last general election should be dealt with assiduously and clinically. While acknowledging that procrastinating will create unnecessary tensions, rushed decisions will only compound matters.
Well-thought decisions have to be devised after sounding various quarters, not least the grassroots. I strongly believe in the bottom-up approach for a starter. Decisions coming from the top, irrespective of how well-devised, are often rejected and remain orphans. Members’ aspirations should not be disregarded.
The approach adopted by the PN in its leadership race will create unwarranted tensions and piques, which will invariably grow in the coming weeks. Even if the aspiring contenders commit to restrain themselves to “honourable” rules, their supporters will not stop from bad-mouthing the other contenders for the most senior post of the party. This has happened in both PL and PN leadership contests in the past, and is bound to happen again.
I will now delve into some news items worth noting this June.
The PL will mark the 3 June general election and electoral victory with embossed gold gilding. It will go down in political history books as the second consecutive electoral landslide victory within four years. It is different on the other side of the political spectrum. In the past four years, the PN remained running on the spot. But this should not be projected as the end of the world. The electorate, like a pendulum, will swing back.
The President of the Republic Marie Louise Coleiro Preca addressed the House of Representatives on the occasion of the official opening of the thirteenth parliamentary legislature on 24 June. She called on politicians on both sides of the House to strive for national unity.
On 28 June, Pietru Pawl Busuttil passed away, and was laid to rest on Friday 30. In what appeared to be an effort at a reconciliatory message, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia and the Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil attended Pietru Pawl’s funeral Mass. In 1986, he was framed for the political murder of Raymond Caruana. Pietru Pawl will go down in our political history as the man who stood taller than the six-foot tall police officers who deliberately tried to manhandle him. Pietru Pawl was inches away from falling victim of corrupt police officers during one particularly dreadful night. During those politically turbulent years, the MLP harboured and sheltered politically motivated thugs. The weapon that was used to kill Raymond Caruana at the Gudja PN club was planted at Pietru Pawl’s farmhouse in Safi.
Also on 28 June, as was previously announced, the PN convened its General Council. As predicted, the dates for the leadership race proposed by the Administrative Council of the Party were approved by the attendees. In my last week piece, I had suggested that the General Council should be closed for the media to allow for councillors to freely air their views. I am informed that my suggestion was taken on board, unlike my other proposal to postpone the process until after summer.
35 years ago, on 29 June 1982, thousands of people flocked to Għadira Bay intending to send a strong message to the then MLP government led by Dom Mintoff. In December 1981, the MLP had won its third electoral consecutive victory. Nonetheless, it was a controversial electoral result. The MLP had secured the majority of seats in Parliament after carefully crafting the electoral boundaries which saw the MLP gain more seats in the House, but not the majority of votes. Due to gerrymandering, the PN obtained the highest number of votes but not the right to govern. Back then, Government’s economic plans were based on levies, nationalisation and protectionism. Privatisation was a dirty word in the MLP’s vocabulary. Workers earned low wages and conditions of employment were poor. Smuggling of basic goods and commodities was widespread.
Back to 2017, on the last day of June, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat brought to an end Malta’s EU Presidency by thanking all stakeholders participating in the process. The six-month rotating EU Presidency has now moved to Estonia. Malta, though small, has successfully completed the EU Presidency. Ironically, Dr Muscat had strongly opposed Malta’s EU membership. Time is really a pendulum.
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