The initiative by Manwel Cuschieri and Jason Micallef to call for support for Joseph Muscat outside the Law Courts on Tuesday brought out a sizeable crowd of Labour supporters that started thinning under the May sun almost before Muscat made his appearance.
But the whole country was watching the live feeds… and commenting. And outside Malta others were also watching and commenting.
Curiously at around the same time Donald Trump was being condemned in what is being called the Stormy Daniels affair, so he was not just arraigned but also condemned. Yet there was no crowd of supporters called out.
The opinions polls that will be out today are not expected to reveal what people feel after this momentous week but some polls in the US say that Trump’s popularity has been significantly dented in view of the November election even when faced by a mediocre and flawed opponent.
It is not everyday that a former president is arraigned and found guilty in a court of law. Nor is it everyday that a former prime minister is arraigned and charged together with his close associates and key ministers in his administration.
One can thus understand the Cuschieri-Micallef initiative in calling out the supporters and Robert Abela’s frequent snide remarks at the magistrate handling the case.
At the end, it was all for nothing. The Labour crowd was the usual rabid crowd of One News mostly pensioner viewers complete with the old Labour banners that Muscat had banned in his time and the old battle hymns likewise hidden.
It was a timewarp from 30 years ago brought out not in favour of some socialist ideals but just to defend Muscat and friends.
It did not stop them getting arraigned, nor getting their assets frozen. And the next day all the crowds of Tuesday did not create the mayhem that the armies of highly paid lawyers caused to the prosecution.
There the matter stands. The trial might take a long time and maybe some or many will be found not guilty.
This was a first for Malta but it’s not a first we can be proud of. Apart from what the crowd was feeling, one must ask what were the people watching on live feeds thinking? And what are people abroad thinking about us in general?
Calling the supporters out may have been inevitable but it may also not have been the best strategy.
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