Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1515420
REMEMBER that time – almost exactly 20 years ago, to the day – when Malta became one of the first countries in the world to introduce a ban on 'smoking in public places'? Well, I do… partly because I happened to be a cartoonist for the Malta Independent, at the time (not a very good one, perhaps; but there you go) and I distinctly remember, if not actually 'drawing' a cartoon about the 2004 smoking ban… at least, mapping one out in my head. This is what it would have looked like, had I possessed the artistic talent to actual- ly commit the damn thing to paper (instead of merely filing it away in my memory banks somewhere, under the head- ing: 'Unfinished Work'). In the foreground, we see a man being booked by a war- den, for 'smoking a cigarette while seated at a cafeteria ta- ble' (with the warden tut-tut- ting something like: 'Don't you know that smoking is not only bad for your health; but also, bad for the environment?!") And in the background… well, if you're old enough to remember Malta in 2004, you can probably fill out the details for yourself. Thick plumes of black smoke, emanating from the twin smokestacks of the Delima- ra power station – then still running on fuel-oil – and the obsolete plant at Marsa (then still fully operational, in all its foul-smelling, sulphuric glory). A permanent cloud of smog, rising from the thousands up- on thousands of motor-vehi- cles – cars, lorries, vans, trucks – that steadily belch out ex- haust fumes on our streets, 24 hours a day. Not to mention the Maghtab landfill, of course: which, at the time, was suspected of leaching toxic (possibly, even radio-active) substances into our aquifers… In any case, you get the point. There were (and still are) a heck of a lot of other things, in Malta, that were more far 'harmful to our health, and the environment', than the mere effects of 'passive ciga- rette-smoking'. Yet government chose to clamp down only on the lat- ter… while simultaneously dis- regarding all the other, more serious environmental hazards (if not actually encouraging them: like we did, and still do, with cars…) And in so doing, government also achieved a couple of tee- ny-weenie little advantages, for itself. For instance, the 2004 smoking ban allowed the Maltese government to create the instant illusion that it real- ly DID care about 'our health', and 'the environment'… when, quite frankly, it never lifted so much as the tiniest of fin- gers, to address any of the real threats to either. More importantly, how- ever: this strategy allowed for the creation of a whole new category of Public-Ene- my-Number-One – 'the ciga- rette-smoker' – who could be conveniently blamed for pretty much ALL the government's own failings, when it came to 'safeguarding public health'. Ingenious, huh? Small won- der, then, that the same, ul- tra-successful strategy would be resuscitated today… only not just by the government of Malta, this time; but by the en- tirety of the European Union (including, I am sorry to say, the majority of the European press). Take, for instance the ongo- ing farmers' protests, current- ly raging in various parts of the EU. For some weeks now, international press reports have come complete with lit- tle 'explainers', which helpfully answer such basic questions as, erm… 'What the heck are farmers even protesting about, to begin with?' This one is from Time Mag- azine (but pretty much all the others, from BBC to Euronews, frame it exactly the same way): "Currently, the farming sec- tor accounts for 11% of the E.U.'s greenhouse gas emis- sions, which the EU hopes to curb by revamping its existing Common Agricultural Policy, a yearly subsidy system worth nearly $60 billion. The new policies, which are part of the European green deal that aims to make the bloc climate-neu- tral by 2050, would include an obligation for farmers to de- vote at least 4% of arable land to non-productive features. They must also carry out crop rotations and reduce fertilizer use by at least 20%. "But many farmers argue these measures will make the European agricultural sector less competitive against im- ports. On Thursday, farmers union representatives told re- porters they were 'fed up in general' with 'too much ad- ministration' and rules telling them how they should farm." Got that, folks? So according to nearly all Europe's main- stream media, the EU – which, as we all know, always repre- sents 'The Greater Good of All Mankind' – is valiantly trying to protect our vulnerable plan- et, from the harmful effects of Climate Change…. … but lo and behold! Like a classic Panto villain (and in season, too!) an army of 'evil, greedy European farm- ers' comes crawling out of the woodwork, to thwart all the EU's honest, well-intentioned plans… and so selfish are these new-fangled 'villains', that they refuse to relinquish even the tiniest portion of their own farmland – a mere 4%, for cry- ing out loud! – to 'foster Euro- pean biodiversity'. And all the while, naturally, they have to be reminded (by maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 FEBRUARY 2024 10 OPINION Europe's latest magic trick: turning farmers into villains… Raphael Vassallo Like a classic Panto villain (and in season, too!) an army of 'evil, greedy European farmers' comes crawling out of the woodwork, to thwart all the EU's honest, well- intentioned plans…