A new approach

Often, not always, it serves to suspend belief in what others are telling you and to check things out for yourself.

On Thursday, after two days of hearing how Simon Busuttil was weak in his Independence Day meeting on the Granaries, how the whole thing was a mess and badly managed, I was able to find the whole video of his speech and I saw it all, from beginning to end.

From the outset I have, as the Italians say, a small stone to remove from my shoe. Remember how they laughed in the weeks before the last election when they discovered that Joseph Muscat was using a transparent lectern operated by a pedal? Well, now Simon Busuttil is using it too.

At the beginning of the speech, the NET cameraman took a shot of him from the back, and there was Dr Busuttil surreptitiously moving his foot towards a pedal under the lectern. Other shots then showed a slender and transparent lectern to one side on which, presumably, the notes to remember were written. So if Dr Busuttil was shown many times looking and addressing to his right, he was in reality reading the notes on the lectern.

Dr Busuttil is no great shakes as a speaker, at least at such big public meetings. He is usually better in Parliament. His deputy, Beppe Fenech Adami, is a far better orator.

But what was important in Tuesday’s speech was not the rhetoric nor the lectern aid, but what he said. Which was a complete departure from his past speeches?

He did run through the whole list of government scandals – how could he not? – and his audience was quite prepared to hear him list them – you could feel the common emotion. He could not squeeze more out of them for he has said all that he has to say in their regard.

But what was new in Tuesday’s speech was his embracing a common cause with the lower sections of society – not a normal PN captive audience. He spoke of the plight of pensioners who cannot make ends meet on their pension. He spoke about people living in government lettings whose rents have