Democratic socialism in Europe is in bad shape. In France, it is with its back against the wall, almost marginalised. In Germany, the government coalition led by the socialists has been blundering through internal polemics that have generated many difficulties. At the recent Dutch general elections, despite the hopes that had been built around a joint effort with the environmentalists, the results were miserable for the socialists. In the Scandinavian countries, the socialist retreat has become quite evident, even if the Danish government is led by socialists. However the latter have adopted part of the programme pushed by the populists, especially on immigration.

In the southern countries, as in Italy, the situation is hardly better. To remain in office, the Spanish socialist government has accepted the political demands of the Catalan parties, after having spent long years turning them down. In Portugal, a socialist government that in recent years had led the country with dynamism, suddenly collapsed. As for the rest, only Malta has kept backing a democratic socialist government. Unfortunately, given our small size, this success has little impact on a European scale.

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THE ABSOLUTE

We have been raised in a culture which encourages belief in the absolute. Beyond belief in a God, this is also felt in how apart from abstract concepts, we frequently assume that one side or the other is either all bad, or all good. Everything is all white or everything all black. This makes sense in football say, for as long as a game is being played. In all other cases, it hardly makes sense.

But then, to keep a sense of  proportion about this, one needs to point out that in the Maltese Parliament, compromises are frequently arrived at about bills under discussion. This rarely gets noticed. That laws are approved with agreed compromises is a good thing. That such outcomes hardly get noticed is wrong for it seems to mean that options which  make for compromise are not so welcome.

One could conclude that the rationale for what goes on is that many people find it much easier to try and conform with the rest, in order to feel they belong to a community which gives value to their participation. What feeds their sense of belonging to a part of the society, where everything is as it should be, then distances them from the other part. Most importantly, the absolute they believe in gets to be continually confirmed.

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ROAD SIGNALISATION

It is not enough to spend scores of millions of euros on wide stretches of highway that appear to be (and are) modern and constructed in a way that should get one fast to one’s destination (unless caught in huge traffc jams that have again become frequent).

Still for these highways to be properly utilised, they need to be equipped with clear signalisation, well lighted up and prominent, for them to stand out clearly from a distance. So, drivers will know how to navigate as they approach them. That’s what was done some years ago at the Marsa roadworks.

It seems as if quite soon, the finishing skills needed to wind up road projects have been forgotten. That’s what one is led to believe by works which have now been finalised (?)  in the surroundings of the airport. There, the road signalisation remains half done. Or is everything going to stay the way it is?

Indeed there might be the idea that Malta being such a small community, people will soon get to know by heart from where to proceed. If that is the calculation being made, it is misguided.