Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/661117
27 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 APRIL 2016 Editorial MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: MATTHEW VELLA Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 • Fax: (356) 21 385075 www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: maltatoday@mediatoday.com.mt Quote of the week Turn down the pressure valve "Nothing in life is guaranteed." What PN secretary-general Rosette Thake replied when asked whether the PN's loans scheme was capital-guaranteed There is an annual tradition among newspapers to run bogus news stories on April 1: this year was no exception, with stories announcing a household fast food delivery service by drone; an infrastructure consultancy signed with Azeri corporation 'Donbelivas'… and our own contribution, announcing that 'Freedom Day' would no longer be observed as a national holiday. Most, if not all, of these stories were immediately called out by readers as April Fools' jokes… laughed away as a bit of harmless fun, as happens every year. On this occasion, however, there was a noticeable lack of humour in the exercise. Regardless of whether they 'fell' for the jokes or not, many reactions – in this and other newspapers – were characterised by the same divisive aggression we associate with party politics. This newspaper, for instance, was ac- cused of using April Fools' Day as a pretext to 'kite-fly' an actual, possible controver- sial decision. The Times's Azeri story was angrily received by some as a sarcastic response to the Panamagate scandal. It seems the country is so absorbed by its national political confrontation that large parts of it can no longer think along any other lines. Given that the level of politi- cal discourse has undeniably deteriorated in recent months and years, the result is a pervasive sensation that angry confronta- tion and mudslinging is the only natural response to almost any situation. This is clearly not a healthy situation to be in, especially considering that – despite a wide gulf between the two parties in terms of political style, and over individual issues – there is actually broad political consensus on all the issues that matter the most. On education, health, economic man- agement and even energy the two parties support broadly the same aims and objec- tives… though the proposed methods may vary drastically. Yet one struggles to recall a time when the animosity between the two sides has been more venomous than today. It is happening with equal attrition on both sides. Instead of addressing the gov- ernance and transparency issues exposed by Panamagate – and which can only be achieved through the resignation of the energy minister – the Labour government resorts to 'Beppegate' as a cynical ploy to divert attention. The rationale appears to be that one par- ty's 'scandal' somehow rubs out the other's. But this is absurd… all this exchange of accusations illustrates is that neither party is in any position to take the high moral ground. All the same, the Labour government has an additional responsibility in this regard. Muscat may need reminding, that he was elected in part on the promise of a Malta which we can all call our own, regardless of political colour. For all this, we are still back with the same age-old (and ultimately self-defeating) tactic of fighting mud with mud. And to top it all, the Prime Minister's aide Glenn Bedingfield has now started up a poison-pen blog as an antidote to that of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It seems to have escaped the Office of the Prime Minis- ter's attention that this sort of strategic response renders any meaningful differ- ence between the two parties null and void. The Labour Party can hardly cry foul at the extent to which it is harassed by a single blogger… when its own leader's personal aide gets paid by the taxpayer to do the same thing. Naturally, Bedingfield is entirely free to do that in his spare time, as is anyone else. But not during work hours, in a job for which he receives a government salary. On the other hand, the opposition has of- ten extended its battlecry against the pre- sent government to bizarre limits. Simon Busuttil claims that a police decision to act on a criminal complaint by the former police commissioner, Peter Paul Zammit, against one of his own MPs, was somehow masterminded by Joseph Muscat. This marks a very consistent, repeti- tive strategy to shift the focus of virtually any public controversy onto the central character of Joseph Muscat. Apart from 'masterminding' this libel suit, the Prime Minister has also been directly linked to Konrad Mizzi's overseas assets, to the Gaf- farena scandal resulting in the resignation of Michael Falzon, to the gunshots fired by former minister Manuel Mallia's personal driver. The Nationalist Party is beginning to sound dangerously like a conspiracy theo- rist. By making its political intentions too obvious, it is also denting its own credibil- ity as a government-in-waiting. Both parties alike also have a responsi- bility towards the general well-being of the country they constantly grapple over. There is increasing evidence that their own political war is spilling over into ordinary, everyday public discourse. Last year, teachers wrote to the party leaders to warn that their confronta- tional approach was negatively influencing schoolchildren: who cannot be blamed for mimicking the antics of the country's lead- ers. Clearly, this warning went unheeded. Worst of all, this dichotomisation of all argument into an instant 'red' or 'blue' perspective is seriously stifling intellectual debate. It has become all too easy to simply hit out at each other over political affilia- tions, instead of focusing on the merits of actual issues. It is becoming a national malady. We would be best advised to turn down the pressure valve.