Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1490058
maltatoday | SUNDAY •15 JANUARY 2023 9 INTERVIEW piss-taking' of Bugibba. There was another dimension to your comment, wasn't there? It wasn't target- ed only at River of Love, but also – correct me if I'm wrong – at the 'uglification' of Malta's urban environment (of which Bugibba is a frequently-cited example)… [Laughing] If anything, I think that – if there's a party that should feel 'aggrieved' – it's the people of Bugibba, re- ally… Honestly, though: the whole thing is so silly that, even when I was being questioned by the police, it was all just so surre- al… Out of curiosity: how did the police approach the interroga- tion, anyway? Did they give you the impression they were tak- ing the matter dead seriously? Let me put it this way: I don't think they were particularly 'happy' to be in that situation… Are you implying they may have been acting on orders? Oh, I can't answer that… it's more like just an impression I got. They're police, after all. They've got more important work to be doing… and I think they recognise that, too. Coming back to the 'freedom of speech' implications: for- mer Education Minister Evarist Bartolo noted that "democrat- ic societies are measured by the extent to which they toler- ate criticism and prickly com- ments". This resonates with a recurring theme on Bis-Serjetà: you likewise often seem to ar- gue that Malta's democracy is not 'ready', for a certain type of satire. Am I right in saying that? Well... I think one tell-tale indication of that, is that I'm the only one who does what I do, really. Obviously, there are other vehicles for satire in the country – generally in theatre, and on broadcasting media – and sometimes, I think they don't go as 'hard' [at their tar- gets] as I do, a lot of the time… But in terms of the problems of Maltese society, in relation to this: I would say that, pos- sibly, we tend to take ourselves too seriously, as a society; and certain people have an inflated sense of their own importance. I think another issue that we have in Malta, is that the con- cept of 'irony' is still not fully understood. The idea of 'saying something you don't mean'… or which actually means the opposite of what you're say- ing… is not something that everybody gets. Obviously, I don't want to generalise: Bis-Serjetà has a healthy following, after all. I have over 35,000 followers on Facebook; which is not exact- ly a 'small' audience. But it is, at the end of the day, a 'niche' audience. It certainly doesn't represent how the majority of the Maltese public thinks... You seem to be suggesting that many Maltese people just don't 'get' irony. Let me turn that around a little, though. Let's say that they DO understand irony perfectly well; but some people just don't like it, when you point your satirical fingers at things they themselves hold dear. Politics is a good example of this… Yes, it is. … so is that part of what you meant by: 'I'm the only one who does what I do?' The fact that you seem to have no hesitation whatsoever, in 'hitting out at all sides, equally?' I myself like to think of it as, 'equal opportunities piss-tak- ing'. But I've been asked this question a lot – specifically, with regard to partisan politics – and I think that: number one, this is my website… and I don't have any obligation to be 'neu- tral', or 'unbiased', or anything like that. And secondly: at the end of the day, the government and opposition don't have the same executive power. It is the government of the day that takes decisions, and passes laws, and what have you… so if, in a 100 years' time – at the rate we're going – the Nation- alists were to eventually come back into power… and, for in- stance, I would stop making fun of the government, from that point on - then obviously it would be a fair criticism, to call me 'biased'. In fact, to be honest: when, in 2013, the Labour Party came into power, after around 25 years of Nationalist govern- ments… it was a bit difficult for me to adjust, initially. I had started Bis-Serjetà in 2011: so I had a whole repertoire of jokes about certain Nationalist min- isters, and other PN personali- ties, to fall back on… But then, 2013 comes along: and suddenly, we had this to- tally new group of people in- stead. So it was like starting all over again, with a blank slate. All the tropes, and stereotypes, I had been used to: I didn't have them anymore. I had to rebuild everything from scratch.. Well, you've been given quite a lot to build on, since 2013. So out of curiosity: how do you compare the Nationalist and Labour eras, when it comes to satire? How much more (or less) is there to take the piss out of, between the two parties? It's a bit difficult to say, actu- ally: I only caught the last two years of the PN era. So I'll have to think about that, a little. One thing I can certainly say, though, is that – under the PN – one of the things that brought Bis-Serjetà into exist- ence, in the first place, was the divorce referendum. That gave me a really good 'launching pad', as it were: because that was happening, at the time as I was starting up. In terms of how 'different' those eras were, however: one thing that stands out – from my perspective – was that un- der the PN, there were no min- isters who actually 'outed' me. Under Labour, on the other hand… there was at least one, who did that [Aaron Farrugia, in 2021] There is an irony in that, though. The Labour Party often prides itself on championing 'free speech'… yet satirists like yourself are still being hauled off to court, under a Labour government. Do you feel that – despite all the 'progressive' changes, since 2013 – there are still just as many restrictions (if not even more) regarding what you can, and cannot, say in public? I don't know about that. Speaking globally - and locally as well – I don't think there's ever been a time, when you could say as much as you can say now. But obviously: context is key. You have to write stuff, within context. Even on Bis-Serjetà, I measure my words… and sometimes, I'll come up with a headline; and I'll think, 'Ooh, this might be a bit too much'. Then I'll share it with a couple of friends – whom I think of as good 'barometers': because they know my style of comedy; they do the same kind of com- edy themselves, etc – and ask them… 'too much?' And yet, despite all those 'pre- cautions': here you are, fac- ing serious criminal charges over a presumed threat to 'carpet-bomb Bugibba'. This brings us back to an issue you mentioned at the beginning: the mismatch of resources. You are, as you said, a single indi- vidual, with limited financial means: and now, you have to fight this case in court. How hopeful are you of winning, all things considered? Well; first of all I'd like to remind people that, if anyone wants to chip in with a dona- tion to help cover my legal costs: they can do so at 'bis-ser- jeta.com/donate'. Having said that: I can't be anything other than 'confident', to be hon- est… because as far as I'm concerned, the hyperbole, and exaggeration, of that comment was pretty clear, for all to see. So to me: it would be shocking indeed, if this were to 'go the other way'… One last question: will this ex- perience change the way you write, in future? Probably not. I certainly have no intention of changing the way 'Bis-Serjetà operates; but as for whether I myself will re-examine the way I commu- nicate on the Internet… that's something I could consider. But I probably won't, because: I'm incorrigible, really…