Magistrate Of Your Choice

With the rapid passage of time, Malta seems to be getting more and more proChoice, though no pun is intended. But what with the Pharmacy Of Your Choice scheme (POYC) winning an award for the best entrepreneur in the health care sector, it certainly looks

It all began early in this Legislature with the appointment to the judiciary of Dr Wenzu Mintoff when a failed politician and a humiliated political party secretary brusquely declared he would not accept appearing before him because of the new judge’s past political affiliation.

Now we have this ongoing tragic farce that sees another prominent lawyer politician insisting that he does not want his client, a mayor from the Opposition fold to which the same lawyer politician belongs, to appear in a libel case before a certain magistrate because she happens to be an ex-electoral candidate of the other party. As if this is not perplexing enough for people who believe in the independence and complete autonomy of our judiciary, however much we are free to criticise their decisions, the same lawyer politician admitted he wouldn’t mind if the case were to be heard before an ex-electoral candidate from his own party!

The whole ridiculous situation has been rendered even more mystifying by the news that the decision as to whether the client and his lawyer have the right or not to refuse to appear before a magistrate actually appointed via the usual court system, has – wait for it – fallen directly on the shoulders of a judge, herself an ex-electoral candidate for the lawyer politician’s party. Perfect stuff for a Private Eye type of journalistic exposure, had we had that kind of magazine.

It is not a very agreeable proposition for the poor learned woman. There is a profusion of ex-electoral candidates, ex-politicians, ex-high party officials and ex-political militants trudging the corridors and halls of our Law Courts, many of them reliable, highly qualified and equable individuals who have either been appointed to the judiciary under different administrations or are likely to be among the papabbli. In the highly polarised and extremely small society that is ours, it is actually more difficult for one to have to appoint magistrates and judges who do not have a political linkage, remote or not. Thankfully enough, only last Thursday the Constitutional Court showed it is in no mood to let the comic trip go any further.

Like it or not, this is a fact of life most of us Maltese have learned to live with, abetted by the reality that even within our families and circles of friends there are divergent political views and, except on especially boiling hot occasions that occur randomly in our history, as when it was a mortal sin to vote Labour or when political violence became a threat to our democratic interests, issues have always been treated, discussed and concluded in a serene enough manner.

If the lawyer politician has it his way, there is every possibility that his objection will become the norm at our law courts, to the extent of one refusing to appear before a magistrate not only on political but also on personal and psychological grounds. The MOYC scheme will be somewhat confusing and hardly liable to win an award. What has the Chamber of Advocates, ever so vigilant on other matters, to say about all this?

And if one should get the chance to have the pharmacist, magistrate or judge of his or her choice, shouldn’t one have the same privilege when it comes to tribunals and sundry local and national authorities that may after all be headed by ex-electoral candidates, ex-politicians and exparty officials, including of course the local councils which, unfortunately, had been originally created to run on the same political platform that is lavishing in the current travesty?

***

You have to hand it to the Swedes

While we are getting hot round the collar over who should or should not be judging us, the Swedes are grappling with the cooler issue of why, according to recent surveys, they seem to be enjoying the pleasure of lovemaking less and less.

Certainly one of the most sexually progressive countries in the world, Sweden has announced a major government study to delve into this intimate problem. Their Health Minister, Gabriel Wikstrom, typically dashed into the debate by insisting that sexual politics “is not just about problems, it must also be about what is pleasurable”. Food for thought no doubt.

His argument is that if social conditions for pleasurable sex are deteriorating, due to stress or health problems, “this is in itself a political problem”. From what one sees when watching the numerous Swedish students of English walking – not always so steadily – along the Sliema front promenade, it is indeed baffling to learn that there seems to be some sort of national sexual dysfunction back home. The statistics, though, say that Swedes are having sex 24 per cent less often than in 1996.

A Durex sex survey – it’s in their interest, no? – around the world, conducted four years ago, showed the countries which have the most frequent sex are Brazil, Greece, Poland, China, Russia and India. Worth noting is the fact that none of these have Sweden’s wealth, gender equality legislation, or sex education programmes. Gets one curious as to where Maltese activity in this confidential (almost said private) sector stands...

***

Full Marks

Full marks to both the Police and Nature Trust for the immediate action taken to ensure the safety and protection of the site at Golden Bay in Għajn Tuffieħa where a turtle went ashore to lay its eggs on this sandy beach. One hopes the same full marks will now go to the public who have been asked to avoid disturbing the nest with noise and other untoward activities.

Sacrificing a small patch of sand on a relatively big, albeit popular, beach for 60 to 70 days is worth this unique experience. Maltese sandy beaches had long lost their appeal for such natural phenomena, but this second such occurrence, the first one at Ġnejna having had a sad ending, is an opportunity for an incredible piece of wondrous enjoyment.