Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/920426
maltatoday SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2017 24 The state of health of the leader of the Opposition, currently convalesc- ing after an operation last Thursday, now dominates the national agenda. Although matters of health are usually considered private affairs, in this case the issue is unfortunately loaded with political consequences. While wishing Dr Alfred Sant the speediest of recover- ies, it is certainly in the public domain that the health of the alternative Prime Minister be discussed in the media, just as it is natural that the matter would be the foremost topic of conversation in the country. First, the medical bulletin released last Thursday announced that Dr Sant needs a 10-day period of convalescence. This immediately raises the question as to who will be carrying the can for the La- bour Party in his absence, with the party statute naming Charles Mangion as Deputy Leader for parliamentary affairs. Such temporary responsibility at such a sensitive time places a heavy burden on Dr Mangion's shoulders. It also raises the question of whether, even if fully recovered, Alfred Sant would be in a fit state to run a campaign for an election which must be held by mid-August at the latest. Depending on Dr Sant's decision, a number of scenarios present themselves. Sant can decide to soldier on despite medical advice that a gruelling elec- tion campaign will invariably take its toll on his health. This is certainly his own prerogative. In such a scenario, it is most unlikely that any party official will openly challenge him by asking him to resign, lest they appear ruthlessly ambitious to replace a person while in ill-health. In a change of leader scenario, the chosen party leader could well find himself or herself running an election campaign to become Prime Minister within the shortest of time-frames. The question then arises whether the elected person would be up to the job. Equally shattering are the implica- tions of this latest development for the Nationalist camp. In many respects it is a hammer blow to the party in govern- ment. For one thing, it immediately dismisses any talk of an election in the first two months of the year, as no Prime Minister would want to be seen to be taking advantage of the temporary poor health of an adversary, no matter how bitter the relationship between them. It also buries any plans to conduct a negative campaign to demonise the Opposition leader… although at the same time, it might also spur the PN to run a positive campaign, highlighting instead the party's own successes over the past 18 years. This might not be such a bad thing, either for the PN or for the state of the country. Another problem is that apart from limiting further still the Prime Minis- ter's options for Election Day, the issue also eliminates altogether any element of surprise, which is traditionally a Con- stitutional trump card. The situation recalls Harold Macmillan's dictum that events are the most unpredictable thing in politics. In time, Lawrence Gonzi may regret not having taken the initiative to call the election in late 2007. Either way, this issue has created a window of opportunity for the Labour Party and a no- win situation for the Nationalist. If Sant soldiers on, his party will probably benefit from a sympathy vote. On the other hand if he steps down, he will in one stroke have demol- ished the electoral platform of the party in government, which openly affirms that Alfred Sant is its biggest electoral asset. Whatever the outcome of Dr Sant's current medical condition the politi- cal landscape will certainly change as a result. The electoral strategies of both political parties will have to be redrawn from scratch. One sincerely hopes that as a result, the political climate will take on a more tolerant tone, as in fact it has already been ignited with the correct and imme- diate words of support by the Nationalist Party following the announcement by the Labour Party of the medical condi- tion of its leader. We take this opportunity to wish Dr Sant all the best for a quick and full recovery. Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Editorial – 30 December 2007 An unexpected twist Opinion Are we a vindictive people? Clarification Throw him into prison and toss away the key. What? A suspended sentence? Away with him to the dungeons so he'll learn. Wanting people to learn makes us the most pedagogical of nations. I am surprised that we spend so much money on the courts and police. All we need are a few com- menters from different newspapers and some giustizzieri of social prob- lem-solvers, formerly represented in such films by actor Charles Bronson. And away with the nasty criminals who must be persecuted rather than prosecuted. What, they are actually given food and water from our taxes in prison? Stop immediately all nourishment so they not only learn but also starve and rot. Society must be cleansed of these so-called people. In order that nobody thinks we are vindictive, we give some money for charity as a hypocritical defence mechanism, before we proceed to snore peacefully on the legendary pillow of angelic innocence upon which we have spiritually orgas- mic dreams of being defenders of society. Why not, if fooling and lying to ourselves is not one of the commandments? Amen. The rent anarchy tragic-comedy has been the subject of a holier- than-thou general expression of good intentions to come to grips with. We admit it is there; we declare that we are not ostriches with our heads in the sand, as we are fully aware of it. However, we are also fully determined to express determined intentions to do some- thing about it, as this is better than stating that we do not really wish to do anything about it. Thus I am a good person because I tell you that some day I will help you. Mean- while I indulge in extreme capital- ism to prove that I am versatile and flexible, thus politically mature and progressive. The Inquisition is alive and well and living within our impecca- ble Christianity. Indeed, Christ's promotion of forgiveness was just a parable, an example for the simple populace who take long to un- derstand. So we give advice to the police to hound and arrest anyone who sneezes. We push the police to issue charges based on gossip and paranoid, hysterical suspicion. The pointing of fingers in witch- hunting times is not a laughable legend that is no longer relevant. For correct people must point fin- gers before society is entrapped into anarchy and disaster. We ridicule the police for investigating instead of grabbing and manhandling at the least twitch of a moustache. Police rationality is not acceptable. It is not on! How dare street cops practise rationality? It is not robotic enough. So they must bring down the baton on the vulnerable, erratic citizen who will face the terminal end of the correct citizen's moralistic witch-hunt. So there! We want to dismiss judges who have some humanity 'coz they are too soft'. We try to push them to punish suspects to the maximum – not for the sake of the protection of a society which delighted observers of pain and punishment do not care about – but for the sadistic pleasure that was obtained in the past from 'correct' citizens supporting the 're-organisation of society' by buy- ing the best tickets at the front row adjacent to the torture ring and exclaiming 'Hallelujah' for society has been saved! The basically self-righteous ex officio pantomime has been with us for tired ages. It was created by the conservative establishment as an exercise in self-satisfaction. A few people did a favour to their consciences and concocted this bizarrerie to save society from itself. This saving of society is a massive cliché, but it does a lot of good to those who believe it. Thus, after long years of thinking they pulled society away from the ominous cliff edge, they decided to declare that the monster they gave birth to, was actually created by society for its own good. So suddenly, from a handful of people, they have become society! Ergo they can legislate in the name of society instead of their own name. How many sins have been committed in the name of society after we decided that society is re- ally me, my family and my friends! Perhaps we could be more guided by our President's Christmas speech: 'Values guided us since our ancestors time'... 'what makes us Maltese... is the fact that we still care about each other'. This is tearfully impressive. Let us put this into practice. Two simple examples: let all officials solemnly declaring to be 'close to the people' reflect on the definition of 'close'. Let them also listen to valid suggestions in favour of the vulnerable. Let not the vulnerable be treated coldly and insensitively by citing the pretext of 'procedure'. Let us remember that our society that declares to care must create procedure and not the other way round. And this also because it is the duty of the Deputy Prime Minister to radically reduce bureaucracy. For, if not, we are just beating our chests in holiness, declaring that we are definitely Christian but behaving vindictively and placing the blame on procedure – as was conveniently done during the Inquisition. But we like to say that, in spite of its horrors, the Inquisition was also for the good of society. Now don't ask me what 'good' means as long as it sounds like a positive word while semantics sounds too pedantic. I proclaim the notion of 'good' to lead my correctness; to organise my morals while I strut around tut- tutting at less moralistic creatures We are definitely Christian and, at the same time, capable of being nonchalantly, nay enthusiastically, vindictive. Dr Anthony Licari Ta' Xbiex This newspaper refers to an article published on 13 Septem- ber 2017 entitled 'Azerbaijani Laundromat includes two Malta firms' wherein it was stated that the company Wise Hold- ing Limited owned by Artur Lukasiewicz, was involved in money laundering activities and part of a network through which money from an Azerbaijani slush fund passed; the newspa- per also alleged that on the 23rd August 2013, the sum of US $11,391 was paid by Metastar Invest to a bank account of Wise Holdings Limited. After a protest by Wise Hold- ing Limited and Artur Lukasie- wicz, MaltaToday carried out further investigations and it has resulted that: 1. Wise Holdings Limited was incorporated with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) in May 2014 and hence in 2013 no monies could have been paid to or by a non-existent company nor money received in or transferred from a non-exist- ent bank account; 2. No indication, and even less any evidence, could be found that Wise Holdings Lim- ited and/or Artur Lukasiewicz ever received or transferred any amount in any currency from or to Metastar Invest or any other Azerbaijani company or corporation.