Last month’s European Parliament (EP) election result – its meaning for Europe – has often been interpreted wrongly. One consequence: failing to understand just why Joseph Muscat only has a very long shot at one of the top posts, while not having a bad chance of being voted in as EU Commissioner, despite the EP’s […] More
The construction industry disaster has briefly opened a dark window. Collapsing blocks of apartments, and building site injuries or deaths, are terrifying. Safety procedures are now hastily being rewritten, papering over the cracks. The government is scrambling to shut that dark window. A beast lies inside, an ugly monster with a long tail. These tragic […] More
Most European political leaders campaign in poetry, then govern in prose. Not so Joseph Muscat. He campaigns in prose – permits, promotions, jobs, giveaways – and then governs in poetry. Take, for example, a widely reported remark he made at the mini-summit of south EU leaders a few days ago. Protestors outside Castille had been […] More
For most people, Sette Giugno is a holiday. It was a hot day this year. Some headed off for their first swim. The beaches were full of people. Others went to Gozo and met crowds there. Some opted for a quiet day at home, but were disturbed by the noise of building works nearby. This […] More
Every so often, we get an arresting view of what a government reigning supreme over constitutional principles might do to rights we still take for granted. One such view was offered when Minister Konrad Mizzi’s lawyer argued in court that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s sources were not protected by the press law since her blog did […] More
Adrian Delia is quite right to say that the problems of the Nationalist Party did not begin with him. His leadership began just after the Party’s major defeat in the 2017 general election. He inherited enormous problems, but they have not improved. The rifts are still there, and the voters are not. Different beliefs and […] More
These days, it seems the Maltese public is doing the equivalent of driving and texting. It just can’t take away its attention from the entertaining series of texts reporting on the Nationalist Party’s meltdown. But reading these texts is taking attention away from the road, where a truck is approaching head-on. Pieter Omtzigt has a […] More
Before the European Parliament elections, Joseph Muscat said: ‘after 25 May, there will be 26 May’. The inner circle of the Nationalist Party also now hope that things will carry on as before, but they are wrong. The clock is ticking and cannot be turned back. Adrian Delia has grabbed this ‘it’s back to business […] More
Electoral results matter more than billboards, which in any case are only one minor part of a campaign. But billboards reveal more than just the message a political party wants to give. Behind the billboards lie the human resources of a Party: the collective ability to strategise and articulate a raison d’être; the capacity to […] More
These are never isolated incidents, but always connected to “normalised behaviour of hatred”. This was the disquieting response from the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE), to the arraignment of the two AFM soldiers suspected of randomly shooting at three African immigrants in Birzebbuga. One of the three victims, the Ivorian Lassana Cisse, […] More
Many people are wondering how to vote on Saturday. They are clear in their mind about which MEP candidates they prefer. But they would also like their vote to be an additional message, an unambiguous statement of their disillusionment with the current state of Maltese politics and the leadership in both main political parties. In […] More
The Eurovision song contest may soon be grabbing more attention than the European elections. People are growing tired of hearing the campaign talk of political parties. The polls indicate that the PL will win more MEP seats than the PN, while small parties and independents can expect no seats at all. Amid all the rhetoric […] More
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