Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508764
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 OCTOBER 2023 COMMENT The Skinny Malta, shrunk down EDITORIAL Sant's telenovelas and the great dissonance PAGE 2 JOSANNE CASSAR Literally, biting the hand that feeds them PAGE 6 Dancefloors in Malta embody a parallel cultural space of dedicated artists and loyal followers, changing, innovating and adapting over time, whilst directly contributing to an estimated 7.9% of Malta's GDP PAGE 6 What are we skinning? The Transport Malta CEO suggesting that we should help schooltime traffic flows along by avoiding peak-hours driving. Why are we skinning it? Be- cause much like telling an irate female partner to 'just calm down', or turning to a chron- ically depressed person and suggeting they just 'smile and take it easy', it's the kind of statement that can only have a single outcome. I'm not a Sith, so I don't deal in absolutes. Are you sure there can be a single outcome here? First of all, that's a really niche reference. Is it? Star Wars remains one of the most universally beloved franchises of our time, and the DisneyPlus shows are doing a great job of resuscitating the reputation of the prequels, where that quote is from. Wow, you're doing a lot of pop culture catch-up. How do you find the time? Well, I'm stuck in traffic for most of the time. Peak hours? Them pesky peak hours, my man. They get you evey time, don't they? The thing is, the solutions were right in front of us. But the problems are behind us, next to us and yes, in front of us too. They're called cars. Yes, they are right now. But what I mean is... What DO you mean? Well. You know. We could dis- courage people from actually using cars. We could improve public transport and give bus- es their due on the roads. We could stop using e-scooters as scapegoats for each and every one of society's ills... But scapegoats are soooo handy! Very handy. And to be fair, our beleaguered CEO was only try- ing. Trying to piss us off, you mean. No but... I mean he's working with what he's got, at the end of the day, isn't he? A car-ob- sessed nation with an infra- structure reluctant to try out any alternatives. It's no wonder the Fast & Fu- rious movies top our local box office each time they squeeze yet another sequel out. Cars, steroids and family. Isn't that Malta in a nutshell? Do say: "Assuming enough of us even have the option to go out during non-peak hours, the CEO's suggestion rankles because it's yet another su- perficial quick-fix solution for a sector which requires deep systemic change." Don't say: "Who decides which hours constitue 'peaks' any- way? It's all a perception." No. 211 - Skidding Off the Peak RAPHAEL VASSALLO Can we stop pretending that this 'New Migration and Asylum Policy' actually exists? PAGES 10 - 11 MICHAEL FALZON Is it a case of organised crime? PAGE 7