Monday evening I was listening to Parliament. Yes, if it's between Monday and Wednesday, between 6pm and 9pm, and I'm driving, I frequently happen to tune in to Parliament's transmission. I admit sometimes it's boring, sometimes it verges on the hilarious, but in any case, it's the best way you get to know what your representatives are discussing and what they really believe in. It's a much better way by which to judge them than by the way they dress and by how cute they look in their pre-election flyers.
A particular exchange which caught my attention was between the Hon. Helena Dalli and Minister George Pullicino. From what I could understand, the Hon. Dalli was asking the Minister about the costs of a leaflet printed and circulated by the Environmental Landscapes Consortium Ltd (known as ELC). The Minister replied that this was not a governmental department, but a private company which had won a public tender for landscaping. He was neither aware nor interested in the printing and circulating of this leaflet. Still, the Hon. Dalli kept insisting that since the company's projects are public, the government 'should have a say in what the company does'. The Minister rightly pointed out if that were the case, the government should for example also have a say in insurance companies which cover public properties. We should discuss the contract, its adjudication, their adherence to it, the results of their work, but not their internal matters, he added.
"But their work is in the public sphere," re-iterated the lady.
"Well then we should also have a say in what newspapers print, because that's in the public sphere as well. We're not a Soviet country," the Minister replied.
The Hon. Dalli closed off the exchange by showing her disappointment that the Minister had used "such strong and offensive language." Yes, the word Soviet seems to be a really offensive word nowadays.
What Hon. Dalli showed here is that this country is obsessed with big-governance. We want the government to take care of everything and everywhere, to sort out everything and everyone, even to have a say in private companies' leaflets it now seems. Authorities and boards for all sorts of imaginable things keep mushrooming. And the Opposition? It just keeps asking for more. You could almost see a pattern in these past months. A few examples:
- Owen Bonnici, Labour MP, asked the Public Accounts Committee to investigate how the KSU (University Students Council) is administrating its building. Yes big-brother, check out how one of Malta's oldest autonomous and financially independent bodies representing students is administering its building instead of letting students settle their matters out between themselves in their elections and fora. Let's once again have a government which meddles in student affairs, going against the very basics of what autonomous means;
- Camen Sammut, the newly-appointed chairperson of Labour's think-tank Ideat (taking over from Aaron Farrugia who is now secretary for Labour's electoral manifesto), in an otherwise interesting article on MaltaToday, ends up going the usual Labour way of blaming anything under the sun on the government. The government. That big monster who should take care and control of everything. Just when you thought this was the think-tank of ideas for a progressive party, here comes its chairperson saying that she believes that the government should intervene to replace the way University students conduct elections. Read more about this issue in a post by j'accuse;
- And the cherry-on-the-cake of it all: Evarist Bartolo (another Labour MP and possible Minister of Education), telling us on Inkontri around three weeks ago that the Prime Minister should stop "certain bloggers": "there are ways how he can stop them." Follow the logic here: if a substantial number of people don't agree with what some other people are writing, big-brother should have ways and means to stop them. A great liberal way of thinking: you can say whatever you want as long as you agree with me and I find it acceptable, otherwise you can't. Join in the chorus an editor of a leading newsportal and another MP, who've been calling for the same measures, and then don't be surprised as to why Malta dropped 44 places in the Press Freedom Index.
Hear hear !
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