The St Peter and St Paul festa (l-Imnarja) could serve to test whether the old traditions of this country still retain their popular appeal. The official programmes being carried out to give them the necessary backing deserve praise. In a good number of sectors, they're being successful. By themselves though, they cannot be enough, not least when (as is to be expected) efforts also need to be made to renew traditional celebrations.

Effectively for such renewal to succeed, it has to be spontaneous. It must arise from among  aficionados who will themselves be adapting their own personal behaviour to the "modern" circumstances that will have arisen. Almost without being aware of what they're doing, they fit such adaptation into the festas and other traditions that they're interested in.

But then, the major test facing any traditional celebration remains the depth of the popular enthusiasm and participation it still attracts. I suspect that by this measure, the appeal of the Imnarja has weakened. For in order to keep a tradition alive, modernising the ways by which it gets organised to the extent that it ends up too distant from its original roots, is not a valid solution. Is the St Peter and St Paul public holiday at risk of this happening?

***

TVM AND THE WORLD CUP

The service that TVM has been providing to Maltese televiewers, with their programming of football World Cup games (practically round the clock), is impressive. Just as impressive are the commentaries that are delivered during and following matches: they're well researched and presented clearly, without fanfare. There must have been some great work done... still is... on this project. I wonder whether there are any TV stations anywhere with size comparable to TVM's, which are carrying out the same continuous follow-ups as TVM. It all must be, I assume, a priceless service for Malta's many football devotees.

One could make the point that this kind of all-out programming only happened because it found extensive commercial sponsorships. If so, should that be a problem? The role of the national broadcaster is also  to deliver worthwhile entertainment to the public.

***

LABOUR IN THE UK

I always felt great sympathy towards the British Labour Party and wasn't at all pleased to see how its fortunes dipped in recent years. I also felt great sympathy towards its former leader Jeremy Corbyn. Even so, when Keir Starmer succeeded him and two years ago, Labour won the British election, I was glad. But Starmer's government hit a succession of mines. Labour members themselves decided they needed to again replace their leader.

What is worrisome however is that British Labour seems to be about to crown a successor whom they see as their saviour, who will ensure that as of the moment of his accession, matters will pan out satisfactorily. If this is indeed the expectation, can it really work?

The problems and hard choices that face the UK will not change. They relate to their longstanding closeness to the US which seems to have curdled. They also arise from the state of their relations with the EU and from the need to find a balance between funding for the welfare state and defence... plus migration issues... A saviour will not guide them out of these difficulties unless tough decisions are adopted and supported by one and all, with the determination to carry them through to the very end.