No sooner had Miriam Dalli, our intrepid Minister for Energy, been named as probably taking a stab at replacing the hapless and the gaffe-prone prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, Robert Abela, following the disastrous handling of the Jean Paul Sofia inquiry, that her leadership ‘campaign’ got off on a disastrous foot with a widespread power outage, that at the time of writing, is still ongoing, and still wreaking havoc on people’s lives and the economy.
At the vigil for Sofia, I was already feeling resentful against the government for having to cut my much awaited holiday short again, this time to stand in solidarity in the searing heat with the heroic family of this unfortunate young man, whose only fault was to earn a living of his choosing. I remember thinking, while fanning myself furiously, that we shouldn’t be always fighting for our rights to live in a decent country where one’s basic rights should be safeguarded. It is our right to live in relative comfort, not luxury, as befitting a much touted ‘progressive’ member of the European Union.
Many clutched at their pearls and took to their smelling salts when the Prime Minister was booed and jeered as he brazenly left Castille while crowds still thronged the square, thinking that the people would shower him with gratitude for performing one of the most spectacular U-turns of his political career. The arrogance of power personified. I had already left by that time, but I would have definitely added my voice to the chorus of dissent, not because I disrespect the Office of Prime Minister, but because I resent that this Office has been used and abused for a decade to pander to the necessities of the incumbent party in power, rather than to serve the common good.
This discontent in Castille Square was the harbinger of the deep malaise being experienced by a large swathe of the population living through, or rather, trying to survive the heatwave without power, and in some cases, even water services. The govermment was quick to blame the Nationalist administration that ended ten years ago for this disaster, and Dalli audaciously blamed the people for our irresponsible use of electricity. Because you know, nothing says irresponsible than trying not to get a heatstroke in your own home by switching on the fan or the AC.
The government would rather blame the previous administration and the people for its catastrophic short-term, myopic, get rich quick ‘planning’. Dalli and Abela would rather still defend the corrupt Electrogas contract and wax lyrical about hot cables and pose in the trenches with the poor Enemalta workers who have been working against the clock in the sweltering heat for more than a week now. Naturally, Dalli and Abela have not heard of the adage ‘When in a hole stop digging’. If they haven’t, I suggest they consult the other bright spark in the Cabinet, the Hon Minister Julia Portelli Farrugia. Who knows? She might recommend a book.
The government is working overtime to hoodwink the country into thinking that this situation is under control when the reality on the ground is deteriorating by the hour. Now when have we heard this expression before? Oh yes, when gambling with COVID-19 numbers. History repeating. The government keeps bleating that no essential services have been impacted by the outage. What’s more essential than trying to cling to life in the ITU after the generators failed to kick in at our last remaining hospital and the casualty doctors had to resort to pumping the ventilators manually for nearly an hour? Do you still think that the Vitals scam is still the ‘real deal’, Chris Fearne, Minister for Health?
The country is in meltdown. The government is in freefall. People are clamouring for a ‘saviour’. But this country never fared well when we were governed by saviours and kings, the elected kind.
Others are clamouring for a hero to step forward and save this country from itself. But we already had one. Her name was Daphne Caruana Galizia. She warned us for years. But she was assassinated.
It is uncanny how so many people can finally see the light in the darkness. But as long as the government refuses to properly address this national crisis, and unless we decide that we, as a people, should be the ones to save outselves, then the light is just an oncoming train.
Alessandra Dee Crespo, Vice-president, Repubblika