Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1259447
THE other day, a one-time Nationalist aspirant for dem- ocratic representation, now a fully-fledged Labour MP, Jean Claude Micallef, felt the need to make public his views on abortion: on Facebook, to be precise. His contribution was a copy-and-paste from the pro- life playbook, calling for harsher legal penalties to be put in place against women who seek abor- tion services abroad. Incredible: why should we, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, call for a witch-hunt on women abortion abroad, giv- en that this health service is not available in Malta? Especially when most Maltese have been unable to travel recently in the first place, and are therefore doubly denied that service. And what does Micallef the Labour MP hope to do? Call for a mechanism that results in any Maltese citizen who travels abroad for the purposes of get- ting an abortion, to be tracked down and brought to justice in Malta for undergoing a proce- dure that is perfectly legal in another country? If the answer to that is yes, the daytime-TV presenter is barmy. Abortion in Malta remains a highly emotive subject, derided by the majority as some sort of 'anti-Maltese' sentiment, and Jean Claude Micallef knows as much. Much as he curates his image of TV-sofa-dandy, Micallef is simply eager to be spoken about, driven by a be- lief that once you turn into a tannoy for populist spiel, you're striking a chord with the public. Just like Labour MEP Alex Agi- us Saliba's eulogy on hunting with his heartstring-plucking plea to save the Maltese hunter, as if they were the endangered Yanomami running from Ama- zon loggers. The reaction to Micallef on Facebook could not have been more explosive. The National Book Council chairman Mark Camilleri, a Labour activist, called him out plainly: "igno- rant". The pro-choice voice smothered him. Imagine being a Labourite whose constituency is conserv- ative, xenophobic, pro-hunting, perhaps homophobic... yet hav- ing to contend with the liberal streak injected into the par- ty by its former leader Joseph Muscat. Help me out: what is the raison d'etre for people like Micallef and Ian Castaldi Par- is, one-time Nationalists who were comfortable in their mi- lieu, to become Labour MPs? I find it difficult to understand what makes them feel at home inside Labour. It is probably just a question of power and influ- ence. Micallef, after all, was not allowed to stand with the PN, seen as unfit for the job. Which obviously raises the question as to whether Labour should really start remind- ing itself about what it really stands for. Recent events and our catastrophic handling of the migrant crisis has fuelled xenophobia, when traditionally anti-racism is a hallmark of so- cial democratic values across all Europe. Instead of sending the right message, Labour MPs, as well as their Nationalist coun- terparts, are refusing to show courage and lead the way on the anti-racist and anti-fascist front, allowing the working class to be misrepresented by the far-right and pockets of fes- tering anti-migrant sentiment. Clearly, we can see the signs that the reforms once meant to embody the now-troubled lega- cy of Muscat, are no longer part of this administration's agenda. Certainly enough, there is no real interest at the top in the drive towards decriminalisation of cannabis, which I feel is be- ing allowed to be placed on the backburner. Why? The simple truth is that this government lacks the will to keep up its civil liberties drive. It is simply too conservative. And to boot, with a conservative and disjointed opposition we must resign ourselves to the fact that these reforms will not happen for the forseeable future. I want to believe that the La- bour party can find its roots, but sometimes I ask myself wheth- er those roots have gone rotten forever. Being Labour is not only about getting the best for your business or jumping the queue or getting the best contracts. The need to change course is not only up to Robert Abela. It should be Labour's outspoken and young minds who should speak up, set the agenda, make the right moves, and resist the popular streak. *** This comment should not go unnoticed, I am sure. But I need someone to explain to me why people who are being men- tioned in the testimony given by the assassination middleman Melvin Theuma are still out and about. At least, an answer as to why they have not been interrogat- ed. I cannot understand why the prosecutors are being so selec- tive in the tapes being played out in court when it is clear that these same tapes are re- vealing conversations impli- cating more people and more high-profile individuals in the Caruana Galizia murder. Beyond the veracity of what is being declared by Theuma, there are some home truths here. Why has the police not interrogated the police officers mentioned, such as the inspec- tor who was expected to arrest Theuma on money laundering charges? Or the bomb-makers being repeatedly mentioned in court? I am baffled. What am I miss- ing here? What can justify this inertia, when instead we should be seeing a blitzkrieg investiga- tion by the CID? Beyond the respect for due process and the fact that every- one is innocent before proven guilty, I ask why free men out there seem comfortable enough with the police not calling any- one in for serious questioning. If this is not serious, what is? *** Robert Abela this week said that Chris Cardona loved the Labour Party too much not to appreciate the importance of his position in the party and the implications of staying on, after his name was mentioned in court as being directly or in- directly implicated – at least by way of hearsay – in the Caruana Galizia assassination. He said this as a reaction to the media about the untenable nature of Cardona's position as deputy leader of the Labour Party after his name surfaced in the Yorgen Fenech compila- tion. Since Abela's comments to the media, we have heard nothing from Cardona. In situations like this, it falls on the Prime Min- ister to take a decision. Merely hoping that someone will see sense is wishful thinking. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JUNE 2020 OPINION Saviour Balzan @saviourbalzan Enter Jean Claude Micallef, Nationalist reject now populist clown Free hugs, apparently one of Jean Claude Micallef's campaign promises. Ladies, you have been warned...