J’accuse: Doves in hawk’s clothing

During the Vietnam War, public opinion in the United States of America was virtually split in half between two factions that came to be known as “the hawks” and “the doves”. The monikers speak for themselves − hawks were the advocates of war while the doves were those who plugged more peaceful solutions. Such a description obviously risks being an oversimplification of the issues behind the Vietnam War, but I guess you get the drift.

Food for the masses

The run up to the 21st September celebrations is always seen by the Nationalist Party camp as a great time to drum up a feel-good feeling about the nation and its government (especially when the Nats are the ones at the helm). The orchestrations of the orgy of mass celebrations are the modern daughters of Speer’s efforts in Nuremberg that were handed down through generations via Mintoff’s slapstick parades complete with songs of adulation for the great leader. The Nationalist Party is not at its most confident. Still reeling from the disastrous handling of the divorce issue and from the complete failure of its concept as a party of diversity, it is in great need of a morale booster − its been angling around for a winning theme ever since the Arriva flop took the last feeble breeze out of its sails.

Even this week it lost some (minor) pieces of its organisational puzzle, as Pierre Portelli first (rumour has it that his Watermelon productions did not get all it wanted on NET) and Castaldi Paris later (will he do a Cyrus and switch sides before the big day?) ditched their roles within the party infrastructure. The Nationalist world does not begin and end with Portelli and Castaldi Paris and the government members of the PN would do better to focus on the economy than on the bickering among the growing club of prima donnas within the party’s fold. The euro debt crisis needs quick, clear thinking and the PN focus should not be distracted by the tantrums of its disaffected members or by the loud and empty noises being made by the Man Without a Plan.

Still. A theatrical drum roll is always needed before Gonzi of GonziPN can bark about achievements and order his minions to build their next year on hope. Selling hope is hard these times even if you are Obama, let alone Gonzi with his crumbling party. So what do you hang onto? Well the formula has always been “Religio et Patria”. The religio bit is not that sellable right now, what with the divorce setback and the Church’s woes, so Gonzi had best keep a wide berth of the spiritual infusions of pride right now. Which leaves him with patria.

Clout

This week’s news has been carpet bombed with info about Malta’s role in the Libyan Revolution. After six months of fence-sitting silence, we first got the shameless finger pointing about whose nights were best spent whoring away with the former Libyan tyrant.

Now we have suddenly become the pro-active nurse of the Mediterranean ready to pounce back into Libyan territory with a major role. So while the modern day Nelson and Napoleon were committing themselves to more assistance (such as they have been providing from day 1) in Tripoli and Benghazi, we were regaled without little narrative of heroism: Malta was to care for Aline, Gaddafi’s ex-nanny. We can be heroes too.

We got a full Times of Malta report with AFM in full regalia and Malta’s very known “Head of Defence” in the OPM speaking to the press about a “collective effort” to bring back two wounded Libyans and to ensure that our embassy and consulates would be bomb-free. It wasn’t exactly Obama speaking from the stairs of Air Force One, but you got the nagging feeling that this was an effort to conjure up memories of valiant Maltese battling it out again so close to Victory Day. It was very Hollywoodian. All that we needed was a Maltese Will Smith complete with cigar and smile celebrating his valiant escape from the clutches of the alien. You know the scene I’m referring to: Independence Day is the movie and it includes a stirring speech by a Hollywood Leader of a Nation.

The Nationalist Party may have lost its media wizard who is now busy with Watermelon, but they still seem to be fixated with directing real life Hollywood sagas. The Floriana Fosos will be the stage for narrating the latest step in the PLPN construction of Maltese history, featuring once again one of the comic protagonists. Let’s hope that Lou Bondi does not get to write part of the script. Writing in his blog (Shweyga, you are welcome here) to the tune of this latest theme of pride in the patria he prepares to welcome Shweyga (the ex-nanny) with open arms and concludes: “And we should be proud that the first civilised land that she should set foot on is ours”.

We are Maltese

Shweyga is Ethiopian and moved to Libya for work. That makes it at least two other countries that she set foot on before ending up in Malta’s hospital facilities. Two other countries before she reached “civilised” Malta. I wonder if Lou really thinks that Ethiopia and Libya do not qualify as “civilised” countries or whether he just got carried away with his enthusiasm about the fact that finally, seven months after the Libyan revolution began, Malta is actually committing itself to something.

There was a Maltese film some time ago that looked like a spoof of Hollywood-style movies such as “Independence Day”. The catch line for the film was “We are Maltese, we don’t take no shit”. Sure we don’t. Once the battle is practically won. Once it is practically sure that Gaddafi is but a squeaking mouse in a corner. Once the rest of the international community has moved on. And above all once we realise that our inertia might cause us to miss any “business opportunities”. Then. Only then. We don’t take no shit. We are, after all, a pretty civilised country.

Down Under

So the Nationalists are busy building the new narrative that will hopefully sell packets of pride along with the imqaret and fenek on the stands. Merkel and Sarkozy are still trying to solve the euro debt crisis. For some real time distraction there’s nothing better than the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. I’ve just watched Ireland defeat the Wallabies in a great encounter. I don’t normally watch rugby outside World Cup season but there are some aspects of the sport (apart from the get-up of the Australians) that are fascinating.

For example, I love the way that the penalties are taken. The penalty taker strides with the confidence of a Beckham-Ronaldo hybrid before performing a dance that seems to be inspired by a combination of a lovesick matador and a llama readying to spit in the eye of its next target. There is a silent moment − a dance on the spot in true tap dance style then the run to the ball and the kick… up, up and beyond. It’s these sporting moments that make life worth living.

www.akkuza.com is in sports viewing mode and is contemplating adopting Finnish side Inter Turku as a new underdog to follow. www.re-vu.org has a new book review up for discussion.