It might seem to be hotting up. What is it about this nation that turns any democratic decision making exercise into an internecine battle? As the referendum approaches we get to watch the two sides and their different approach to convincing people to cast the vote in their favour. At some point the “No” camp, the one against hunting, stated that it prefers debate to battle. That was a reaction to the earlier affirmation by the hunting fraternity that this referendum meant “War”. Debate? What debate? This Liliput nation is fast proving to have shed all semblance of analytical consideration and prefers the heads-on instinctive approach. Facts and data or principles and values are discarded – we much prefer “taking sides” either instinctively through some visceral attraction to some form of roots or out of spite.
In the end a referendum that (as we have stated elsewhere) constitutes at most a political message to our supposed representatives is becoming yet another Lilliputian outcry as to how eggs are best broken open. The comedic elements have also made their appearance – prime among which is Saviour “Hogan” Balzan – foaming at the mouth and doing his damned best to ruin the appeal of a vote that should be in favour of the reasonable enjoyment of the countryside and above all in favour of the birds.
Ah those wingèd beings have little or no knowledge of what is going on in the island of milk and honey. Would they be able to fathom the deceptive campaign of the Yes Camp, with all its mystical happy families, multi-dogged hunters sans-senter and verbose lawyerisms they would gather in one massive flock above the next meeting of the hunter confraternity and take one massive dump covering all the bullshitters in avian faeces.
Incidentally Liliput insists on subsidising airfares for those of its electors and decision-takers (read voters) who reside abroad. March 2015 and polling booths in Embassy are still a Utopic mirage for those of us who would have hoped to be able to cast out vote comfortably.
The referendum risks becoming a non-event very fast. Sure we will have a result. Either way there will be a sector of Maltese society kicking up a fuss. Politically it is fast becoming obvious that the two main parties that sit in the decision making positions of this country will be able to wash their hands of the main set of consequences – having found someone else to blame for the immediate aftermath. Whether the Birds Directive, derogations and all, will be properly implemented in Malta for the years to follow is another chapter, another story.
