Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1501168
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 JUNE 2023 COMMENT The Skinny Malta, shrunk down EDITORIAL Abortion: Uncomfortably numb PAGE 2 JOSANNE CASSAR Was it Team Malta… or Team "whoever can get us the most medals"? PAGE 6 Ear cropping for cosmetic purposes is a painful procedure performed on young puppies who are still developing both physically and emotionally - Alison Bezzina PAGE 4 What are we skinning? For- mer Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's interview with former One broadcaster Manuel Cus- chieri last Friday. Why are we skinning it? Be- cause if nothing else, it stands as a crystal-clear reminder of Muscat's gift of the gab and political savvy. What did he say, then? He undermined the accusations against him in several ways, aided along by his friendly interlocutor (possibly his Num- ber One fan). Anything of note to emerge? There's not too many column inches available for us here, but Muscat's positioning as 'the underdog' in all of this bears some analysis. Why is that? Well, for someone who led the charge of a mas- sive revamp of the Malta La- bour Party into a PL that raked in a super-majority built on the back of an economic boom whose provenance turned out to possibly have been erected on somewhat shady founda- tions, his alleged 'underdog' status could be in dispute. Maybe he's a bit like Chris Rock, who in his last standup show described how he's rich, but "identifies as poor". That would at least be a self-dep- recating approach to that par- ticular brand of identity poli- tics. How did he actually frame it, though? Oh, he played the 'us and them' game by invoking the memory of Labour PMs past: "Mintoff, son of a cook, Alfred Sant, son of a civil serv- ant"... with Muscat slotting in his lucrative fireworks importer dad as a mere 'salesman'. So it's hardscrabble Labour- ites vs toga-wearing, mus- tache twirling Nationalist elite? Hey, if it works it works. Did it work, though? Histo- ry has proven time and time again that Muscat can foment a crowd. So time will tell. Could this perhaps be the start of a one-man independent candidate who could actually go places in Malta, political- ly? Yeah well, Zaren Tal-Ajkla Muscat ain't. The only question is: how much of his remain- ing political clout would be enough to power a fresh start? It speaks to the power of a strongly-asserted narrative. And, well, to the power of power: specifically, econom- ic power. Muscat's successes can't be so easily brushed off, and will remain etched into the nation's psyche for just as long as his many failures. The fact that it's all happening on Smash TV kind of under- mines it though, right? Well, he did say he's an underdog after all. Do say: "Joseph Muscat cer- tainly has a right to demand a magistrate's recusal, and he may certainly avail himself of his freedom of speech to make his case as he sees fit. Equally, however, the public at large may assess such claims with the necessary hindsight provided by Muscat's histori- cal -- and in many ways, truly historic, for better or for worse -- political trajectory." Don't say: "Underdog Consul- tancy does have a nice ring to it." No. 195 - Underdog Whistles MICHAEL FALZON A rudderless administration PAGE 7 SAVIOUR BALZAN If it is wrong, then bloody well fix it PAGE 5