New faces, if possible young ones, are of course necessary in politics. As well as in all sectors of human activity.

However, should this mean that (at least in politics) it would be best if such new faces set out from the top? The PN seems to have swung to this belief. Its members show a willingness to put in lead position, individuals who have never given service to the party and/or the Parliament.

In this one can see too how politics is not considered as a serious activity – a point which goes beyond the popular claim that people in politics all turn out to be corrupt because they are where they are in order to line their pockets.

It seems as if in politics – indeed to run a party – one does not need to: have undergone some form of apprenticeship; be familiar with the people who have been running the party machine at the centre and the periphery; have experienced from close up how the party behaves in the context of its relationships with state authorities and civil society; have given a good show in electoral campaigns, big or small. All this is now considered to be superfluous once you’re meant to go into politics from the top.

Overall, the attitude betrays a lack of understanding about what constitutes a commitment to serious political involvement. Maltese literature is the other sector of “activity” which is subject, just as much as politics, to this misunderstanding.

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HOW EXACTLY?

There is general agreement that tourism needs to be rebooted for the future by upgrading quality and by seeking to attract visitors from outside the “mass” market. However those of us who share this idea, including the authorities, now need to explain in concrete detail exactly what they would shoot for and how to do so.

As far as I can tell, this has still not been attempted. I doubt whether it should be done by just one authority or consultant, acting on their own, until they publish their conclusions in order for them to be criticised or endorsed.

The best approach would be one by which participation is extended to all who have some interest in this vital sector of the economy which is currently under huge stress. Given the participation of all concerned, reasonable targets could be set and action programmes laid out to achieve them in the medium term.  

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MALTESE LITERATURE

If I comprehend correctly the leading guidelines of contemporary Maltese literary criticism, they follow two main lines. One evaluates modern literary production with the tools of European and American academic criticism – yesterday’s and today’s. The other places writings in their historical settings, both literary and social.

Both approaches are valid and have provided extremely interesting assessments for those who follow such issues: admittedly, they’re only a few.  Still there’s another guideline that could be used as a critical tool – that of placing local literary works in the framework of how literary ideas and writings developed in Europe. Clearly this would imply deep references to the literatures with which the Maltese have been most familiar – Italian, English and to a lesser extent, French works.