Labour MPs tried to appear cool by taking photos in the lobby of the Parliament building on the day they were trapped inside when protesters blocked the exits.
In doing so, they mocked democracy and everyone’s right to voice an opinion and, even worse, the reason behind the protests.
They know that there is a serious situation in the country, one that was brought about by the government they form part of when it refused to take action against those elements in the top hierarchy who thought they could do anything they liked.
They know that the Office of the Prime Minister is embroiled in the investigation into the murder of a journalist which, in itself, apart from the attack on the person, is an attack on freedom of speech.
They know that the crisis the country is facing is unprecedented – there have been occasions when the Office of the Prime Minister, whoever was occupying it, was under fire, but it is the first time that it has been implicated in a murder.
And yet, those MPs with smiling faces while Valletta was almost literally burning, attempted to belittle the gravity of what Malta is facing right now – if these MPs are happy that Malta is being labelled as the “island of corruption”, well, we are not. If they are not ready to kick the bad apples among them out, well, most of the nation wants to.
We must point out, for fairness’ sake, that not all Labour MPs were in a silly mood. There were some who must have understood that the enormity of what the country is going through, and preferred to stay away from the cameras.
But, we must also point out that while some MPs later had the temerity to boast how unafraid they were while they were held hostage by the protesters, the decisions taken by the Labour group expose how much this feeling of fearlessness they want to portray is not true.
For one thing, the protests outside the Parliament building on Monday pushed the Labour government to change the agenda – for the following two days, Parliament met in the morning, at 9am, in what was a blatant attempt to avoid further clashes with the protesters. Morning parliamentary sessions are pretty rare in Malta, and the reason behind the sudden shift from afternoon to morning was obvious.
Then came the idea to have Parliament rise for the Christmas recess a full three weeks before 25 December – and to reconvene three weeks into the New Year. This decision was taken without consulting the Opposition and, again, it was an attempt to annul the effects of the boycott the Nationalist Party has chosen to implement as a sign of disdain at the Prime Minister’s decision to resign – but postpone his moving out to January.
By doing this they also chose the interests of the party before that of the nation. Parliament will meet again when Labour will have a new leader – and Malta a new Prime Minister – and so this stretch of holidays is convenient to the needs of the PL.
Nearly seven weeks of holidays during the Christmas season must be a record. And by choosing the “easy” way out, the Labour government dealt a double blow to democracy – a blow to the right to protest and the Opposition’s right to voice its dissent.