Christmas Party Hampers (declared)

In which J’accuse provides the commentary on the annual charade of Christmas donations to the Nationalist and Labour parties.

From the Times of Malta (our highlights):

The big political parties raised a total of €621,136 in fund-raising events yesterday. The Nationalist Party raised €410,625 while the PL raised €210,511. The totals were announced by the party leaders at the end of fund-raising marathons held at their party headquarters which saw supporters making contributions on the phone or by calling personally.

During the activities PN General Secretary Paul Borg Olivier formally launched ‘Ping’ the PN’s mobile phone service, while Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat said the PL will next year celebrate the 90th anniversary of its founding in a big way. Activities will include the unveiling of a new party emblem.

The annual appointment of inexplicable funding of the already well protected PLPN has taken place. The parties take advantage of the magnanimous “giving” mode that citizens slip into during the festive season and ask them for that alimony payment – in the hope that their “conscience” reminds forgets how self-serving the whole system is. Ironically, the launching of another business venture by a political party is mentioned in the same news item as PN launches the ridiculously named “Ping” phone service.

Both parties have their own mobile phone service to add to their other business interests as they constantly try to justify the ludicrous expenses of being the gargantuan monsters they have created – the ubiquitous PLPN. Muscat’s mini-tsunami of change continues as he will probably unveil a laboured new emblem in the year that follows the return of the old Mintoffian dinosaur to the fold.

Anybody hoping for closer monitoring of the ties between PLPN and the business community as well as of the spending power of the two parties (living beyond their means) is probably hoping for too much this Christmas. For moderate nationalist-o-philes we’d advise a maduma-engraved mobile complete with a three-year subscription to Ping. For Labourites, a blank mobile with a voucher for a future engraving of the new emblem and a three-year contract with RedOne… and I don’t mean Rudolph’s nose.