Double vision – The Malta Independent
Sunday, March 27, 2022, 8:00 p.m.
Last updated: about a day ago
The winner is the country that really needs to win.
Polls have been suggesting a major Labor victory for the past few weeks. As long as there is no black swan activity, Robert Abela will be re-appointed Prime Minister in the next few hours.
While the diehards and (those Desmond Zammit Marmarà described more or less cleverly) the chicken brain will be celebrating, does the country as a whole have anything really to celebrate?
Not exactly. It will not be so much a continuation of the spree that we have witnessed in recent months – a spree quite obviously designed to defeat a gullible electorate in order to legitimize the rise of the Chief for power – as a painful alignment with reality, with a world. redefined by the Covid pandemic and the Russian military attack on Ukraine.
The pandemic has had an impact on supply chains, tourism, education, and God knows how many other sectors are not visible to the naked eye. The war in Ukraine also had an impact (directly or indirectly) on trade and other aspects of the economy. Labor has long given assurances that the state will protect the population from all hardship, while investing more in everything and even reducing taxes. How this will be possible is anyone’s guess. Not all promises are made to be broken, but these particular ones certainly have all the qualities to be therefore eligible.
In addition to the economic consequences, the war in Ukraine has also unleashed long-dormant forces in Europe. Germany’s military spirit is reviving; other countries are being moved by the idea of a European army; others are rethinking their neutrality; and so on. I wonder how the uninspired and uninspired Prime Minister of our tiny country will be able to navigate these unharmed waters and avoid shipwreck. If it really is Robert Abela who will be wearing the mantle of the prime minister again, how will he be taken seriously when, despite using a private jet, he arrives late for meetings with his European counterparts and when, despite having an army of advisers, he will not be able to defend himself[u minn akku]i serious that g[andhom x’jaqsmu ma]- How long did you serve as a lawyer with the Planning Authority?
The fact is that I am completely bewildered by his little vision that Robert Abela was reluctant to share with us during the campaign. It seems to me a vision intended for the hungry and for greed. People who advise Robert Abela seem to believe that for the vast majority of the population, the first priority is to put food on the table. It is true that there are more than 100,000 people in Malta (ie 1 in 5) who either live in poverty or have Lady Poverty knocking on their door. But Labor has not revealed an appropriate strategy to tackle poverty (possibly because it would have meant admitting that it has failed miserably to keep Joseph Muscat’s 2012 promise of drastically reducing poverty drastically). Thus, while during the campaign, Labor made no serious effort to define (if and how) it plans to reduce poverty in the country, it still employed a language that speaks to a drunken electorate with a poverty mentality. .
The progressive element within the Nationalist Party did not capture this, as it comes from the upper-middle class and the middle classes and thus is not very sensitive to the situation of those who are economically disadvantaged. But about that, some other time. Let’s focus on Labor for now.
When Labor talks about the country that wants to leave our children, it is thinking in terms of support and survival. In a sense, the mentality of the poor, of those who expect government handouts to be able to survive until the end of the month, continues. Labor has shown no awareness of the role that education, self-help, and other truly progressive tools play in instigating in the poor the impetus to improve their station. It also seems either ignoring or callously nonchalant about the possibility that does not perceive poverty as an intractable problem and that there are ways to respond to it except by throwing pieces at those members of society whom Edward Zammit Lewis referred to as “the Labor Labour”. That phrase piqued everyone’s imagination because it captured the essence of the image of the stupid and the parasitic. He betrayed much of how Labor views many of his own supporters, and how he thinks he should treat them.
But this is not what the country needs.
The country needs a “double vision”: an internal vision and an external vision.
Internally, the country needs to upgrade the services it provides to its citizens. Professionalization of the public service is needed. Citizens must be treated not only with efficiency but also with rationality and courtesy. Skill and skill should be the basis for appointment to management, rather than boot-licking.
Not only that, but the country is fast becoming a weird place, under the guise of authoritarianism. I note that different departments or agencies ask for the citizen’s ID card number. I recently went to pay for the road license, for example, and was asked for my name and ID card number not by the clerk at the window, but by a gentleman in the waiting area who was collecting ID card names and numbers. What game is the Government playing? But more on that in the coming weeks, when the election dust has set.
Externally, the country needs to understand its role in the world. Robert Abela cannot act as if he were the mayor of a medium-sized city; he needs to understand that he is the Prime Minister of a sovereign state. Will Robert Abela really overcome the trapping of sovereignty and the thinness of international politics? Does that give you the impression that you have what it takes? The Maltese are accustomed to giving their country more than its weight. It seems to me that, ironically, the former weight-lifter who became Prime Minister who believes in continuation will not be able to continue this tradition.
Let’s wait and see.
The Nationalists
If the poll predicts, the Nationalists will be relegated to the opposition for another five years. They will have their own double vision, caused by trauma. But they need to get out of it as soon as possible, and recalibrate their philosophy.
The PN needs to reassemble its intellectuals, describing what it represents.
It is clear that the issue of corruption is not winning; the Party needs another narrative.
Nationalists want to rediscover their Christian Democrat roots. It may be true that these are post-Christian times. But the mere knowledge of “post-Christian” precludes the use of Christian principles to guide politics.
The Nationalists need to create a strong brand, leaving the progressive ideas so dear to the ideologies of the upper middle class and instead embracing the solutions suggested by Christian thought. If the Nationalists listen to silly geese or lowly people who uncritically embrace the current ideology, they will get nowhere. There is not much to say about silly geese; but as for the cynics who uncritically embrace the current ideology, one must keep in mind that their predecessors believed that slavery was natural, the Amerindians had no soul, the blacks were only five to eight. people, women should not vote, and petty thieves. should be hung. Maintaining a proper historical perspective helps us to understand the current incarnations of conformist mentalities.
The Nationalists are proud to have achieved independence and EU membership for the country, and rightly so. But, one should not rest on their laurels. Independence was sixty years ago; EU membership, twenty. Two, those two achievements were formal: they were achievements on paper. Tangible achievements now need to be made in the real world. Now the country needs to embrace Europe. Can Labor do it? No – she lacks vision. Can this PN do that? Possibly – but only if it goes back to being a real Christian Democrat party, embracing the Christian roots of Europe.
Otherwise, he can only hope that enough voters die, that “old” ideas die with them and that the demographics become more progressive. This could take another decade. Minimum.
Black Swan event
If a black swan event happens and the Nationalists win, then ignore this article and stop for a moment to gather. It could be an important moment for the country.
My Personal Video Library (30)
A recent movie called Marilyn has black eyes (2021) it was so much fun to see that I was sincerely sad when I finished; I wanted it to be longer, to further develop not only the characters but also their interactions.
This Italian film, directed by Simone Godano and starring Stefano Accorsi (as the neurotic chef, Diego) and the beautiful Miriam Leone (winner of the 2008 Miss Italy pageant – in this The film plays the pathological liar Clara), about a group of psychiatric outpatients who suffer from a variety of conditions – ranging from Tourette’s syndrome to paranoia – and decide to open a restaurant in the canteen of the out-patients.
The most striking aspect of the film is the opening romance between Diego and Clara, who first fall in love with each other and then finally let themselves be loved, and in the process discover how to find the love helps to overcome mental problems.
On many levels, it is very similar to fairy tales, as one has to wonder if in real life love can replace therapy and medication. But in our day and age, when loneliness defines the existence of many, believing that love can break through the walls of social isolation is in itself cathartic.
But while the characterization is excellent, there are a few issues with the film plot. Diego’s father recalls that his condition had made him an exceptionally unbearable teenager. So, if Diego was so upset all his life, how come Diego’s distant wife not only loved him but also had a child with him? The film does not suggest that the distant woman is also mentally disturbed.
Another flaw in the plot is that the supervising psychiatrist is aware of his patients’ restaurant project and, despite knowing full well what their mental problems consist of, he simply assumes that they have requested and been granted all necessary permits. and are the payment of VAT, etc. When the police eventually closed the scene, there seemed to be no repercussions for the doctor – a bit hard to believe, unless we accept that Italy is such a dysfunctional country that one can get away with it.
Despite the not-so-indifferent demands on our suspension of disbelief, this is a must-see film.