Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1489264
TRUTH IS OF NO COLOUR WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY • 25 DECEMBER 2022 • ISSUE 1208 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY maltatoday WOMEN ROSE TO THE FORE THE YEAR 2022 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 DECEMBER 2022 COMMENT 'Should I stay or should I go?' JOSANNE CASSAR PAGE 6 The Skinny Malta, shrunk down MICHAEL FALZON Bah... humbug! PAGE 7 RAPHAEL VASSALLO 'The true meaning of Christmas…' PAGE 6 EDITORIAL Women making history PAGE 2 SAVIOUR BALZAN 2022 showed us Malta is undergoing radical change yet again PAGE 5 If you wake up every morning cursing this country and can't find one redeemable quality in living here then leave, even if What are we skinning? Our attempts at scraping together some Christmas cheer after we emerge charred & scarred from the post-pandemic year and a bit. Why are we skinning it? Be- cause a nation's health and hygiene can be determined by the state in which slouches through Christmas and emerges from L-Istrina on the other end. THIS nation's, specifically, you mean? Be honest: is there any other nation worth considering? Our utterly unjustified sense of narcissistic self-regard will never cease to amaze me. It's a gift that keeps on giving, and lands all the more sweetly during the festive season. Thing is, you've alluded to L-Istrina... can it even happen this year? Why do you say that? Well, the president always seems to be looking for reasons to leave the coun- try... That's true. IVF one day, abortion the next... Malta is also a nation forced to remain on tenterhooks because its highest (albeit symbolic) func- tionary is prone to get mortally offended at the drop of a hat, resulting in him booking the nearest flight out for as long as the Bad Thing Du Jour falls his office's jurisdiction. a few recessions, a pandemic, the pall of the Donald Trump presidency and the rise of TikTok. They're antiseptic to shock, at this point. We've deviated away from Christmas... Well, you did mention snowflakes... Hardly the most 'Maltese' of seasonal features... With climate change, anything's possible. Look, this really isn't how I was expecting to welcome the first bona fide Yuletide after Covid's done its worst. Nei- ther did I, but here we are! A country torn apart by its last remaining taboo finally being put to scrutiny; an Opposi- tion digging an even deeper grave than we ever thought imaginable (they will reach the Earth's core and finally singe themselves out of existence, I suspect), the construction industry simply refusing to shake the country loose out of its vice-like grip, and – once again – a president perpetually on the very of a heel-turning hissy. Ah well, at least Santa's still real. That's true. We'll ask him to scrub off at least one of Malta's many blemishes next year. Do say: "Merry Christmas and a joyous new year to all of our readers. The Skinny may represent the snarkiest bit of weekly column inches you're likely to find, but its heart blood-pumping No. 171 - A Post-Apocalyptic Yuletide maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 DECEMBER 2022 CLASSIFIEDS & COMMERCIALS ARTS • TV • WHAT'S ON Yandrick Agius West End performer maltatoday Get the critical perspective on politics, culture and society Be the first to enjoy our print newspaper with a subscription When you need to decode what politicians are saying, when you want to understand why Malta's crazy construction industry is impacting upon your life, when you need to step out of the social media and understand the world from a different perspective, our journalists and columnists will provide you with expert reporting, analysis and commentary. Order now at maltatoday.uberflip.com