The riot acts

It’s all happening in Rabat it seems. At is-Serkin to be exact. Rabat pastizzi and tea places have long been the rage for an after hours sobering up. There was a time when you would throw in the Tarxien doughnut guy – that was when the guy would go to the doughnut before the doughnut began to come… everywhere. Turns out that at 5 a.m. this morning there was some form of altercation between an employee of PN Dar Centrali and the two renegades Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Franco Debono. Depending on which news source you read there was some form of provocation from one side and the Taghna Lkoll appointees who had shot to stardom under a nationalist administration are on record to have directed a barrow load of invective against anything “nationalist”.

Five a.m. in Rabat eh. We’re not exactly back to the Raymond Caruana drive by scenarios (God rest his soul) but by the look of it this morning you get the feeling that the PN side of the equation are dying hard to portray this event as a prelude of such things to come. (I mean we DO have a monument to Mintoff in the making – and displayed at Labour HQ to boot – Ghax Taghna Lkoll means tal-Lejber). On the other hand my facebook wall is already witnessing mocking comments by Labourite “supporters” of the young nationalist stalwart whose description of the action makes him sound like some Harry Potter being attacked by Death Eaters.

The tableau remains the same. Two politicians long past their sell-by date have engaged in yet another public performance that should in normal non-Banana Republic countries spell the end of their public commitments and engagements. A reluctant opposition still insists on referring to JPO and Franco without reminding the public of their roles – you get the feeling that the PN is (1) painfully aware of its limitations at this current junction and is not too eager to rock the boat and (2) quite tellingly the PN remains even more painfully aware that it was the springboard for JPO’s and Franco’s claim to fame. It was after all PN votes that got JPO into parliament (spin and all). And Joseph? What will he do this time round? Surely not another quip about something that ‘also happened under the nationalists” (it didn’t by the way).

These are the politicians of this Banana republic of ours. Now it’s down to brawls in nightspots. Oh yes J’accuse will express sincere solidarity with any victim of senseless violence. If punches were thrown then the aggressor must not only be condemned verbally but must be brought to justice. Things might be about to go out of hand thanks to the persistence of our dichotomous way of thinking. I look at the scene as it was reported and I do not see Nicky Azzopardi, Franco Debono and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando brawling outside a pastizzi and newspaper joint.

I see the continuation of a race to mediocrity that is far from over.

Ghamilli te vojt u tlieta irkotta. Le… x’gazzetti? Ma tafx li ilni ghomor ma nixtri gazzetta?