Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/248536
24 Opinion maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JANUARY 2014 Mind the political language M Michael Falzon any have concluded that the current never ending political squabble over the Individual Investment Programme proposed by the current Labour government is, in fact, giving a boost to the two parties who will be contesting the European Parliament elections, come May. Traditional Labour supporters who had gone cold on Muscat as he did not seem to fit in with their perception of what a Labour leader should be, suddenly fell in love with him as he is playing the 'macho politics' they had come to love so much over the years: he is prepared to 'defy' Europe and continue on his resolute march, doing what is 'best' for our country! Some have turned their old guns against the EU, even suggesting that we should quit the EU because of the 'shabby' way little Malta is being treated, without realising that as soon as we get out of the EU, nobody would be interested in acquiring Subscribe to the e-paper With an annual subscription you will get a FREE copy of your choice either Saviour Balzan's 'Saying It As It Is' or 'GourmetToday 100 best recipes' worth over €20 Subscription options 1 edition: 3 months: 6 months: 12 months: €0.80 €15.00 MaltaToday and MaltaToday Midweek €28.00 MaltaToday and MaltaToday Midweek €50.00 + FREE BOOK *best value* Read the MaltaToday and MaltaToday midweek at 5am on the morning of publication on your Desktop, Tablet or Smartphone Subscribe now at www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/maltatodayepaper Maltese citizenship since the IIP can only deliver the money if we are EU members. On the other hand, the PN has found an issue in which Simon Busuttil had shown his mettle and which is uniting the traditional PN voters to rally against the ignominy that Malta is suffering under the Labour administration. Most of this is just hype, of course; but there might be something in the idea that this issue is being overblown so as to be used by both sides to galvanise the vote in the EP elections. What I find perturbing in the confrontation between the two parties about this issue, is, Why should disagreeing with something the government is proposing or doing be described as adopting a position that is essentially 'antiMaltese' – against Malta? however, the language that is being used in this battle of words. Recalling past unsavoury habits, Labour, have been accusing the PN that they are working 'against Malta', with some calling the PN leaders 'inciters' (xewwiexa). To top it all, we even had a Labour MEP telling off her European colleagues by insisting that we are no longer a colony! This language reveals an incredibly paranoid stance: it is a blast from the past that can dismantle Joseph Muscat's 'movement' in no time. In the bad old days, Dom Mintoff used to speak about 'the people': the people want this; the people are against that; the people are proud of some socalled achievement or other. In short 'the people' was his 'alter ego' and he just used the term to transmit to all and sundry what he himself wanted, what he was against and what he was proud of. And the people – the real people out in the streets – resented their being used in this way. Muscat avoids using this term but the Labour propaganda machine is now using the term