Thick skin impudence

I have already written in this very same space about the small-pack race that took place, soon after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s tragic assassination, among allied wannabes who, in search of some glorious or notorious reason, wanted, obviously still want, to

This on-going race, however, has had more of that hilarious traditional spectacle during which some people try to fly their cardboard DIY aircraft only to fall off the pier and into the sea below rather than a serious candidature for the filling of a major, albeit contentious void. A nap hand of candidates has turned themselves into pathetic parodies as they jostle for the title that, really and truly, cannot be claimed by anyone. Yes, one can be crueller and cruder, indeed more obstinate and antagonistic, but in real, professional journalism there is this special need of an inbred style, which can be both linguistic and often also journalese in character and form.

The challengers for the unenviable title are various and I will not go into names out of respect to other well-meaning fellow media scribblers, but it is indeed appalling to watch two or three of them going to unprecedented depths by way of trying to be Daphnies. The reading public is the king-maker in this process and it is now simply not interested in badly-simulated methods of mud-slinging when fake news and fake issues have, thanks to the Trumps, Salvinis and Johnsons of the world, have started to literally suffocate the information world.

The latest wretched piece on the national canvas has appeared in another section of the English language press, one that has seemingly given up on its original credentials. It deals with the children of politicians as if they are mere robots to be switched on and off and not innocent human beings who need to be protected from the 24/7 trudge of Maltese politics. It takes the prize for the most inhumane and insensitive contribution to an issue that deserves to be discussed in a much more sincere and realistic manner.

It was hardly surprising that people of whichever political colour were shocked by such comments, from what is obviously a twisted mind, as “bullying is part of growing up” and that “the Muscats should be raising their children to form a thick skin”. Is it possible that someone who has the stomach to write such horrible stuff is able to sleep peacefully at night? How have the sweet, seemy-Simon smiles of the electoral campaign a mere 14 months ago turned into such ugly grimaces that send sickening signals of hatred and arrogance?

The eloquent response from the Commissioner for Children on this shameful outburst by yet another pathetic Daphne caricature promptly helped ease people back into sitting position. She rightly stated bullying Italy do, but only Malta continues to be subjected to officious jibes.

I marvel at the calm and collected demeanour of our Prime Minister, our Minister for Finance and the local S&D MEPs in the face of all this brazen attitude. They wisely choose to tackle it by resorting to the realistic use of proper channels and corridors, rather than to mere nationalistic ardour. A successful minnow, even the smallest, is never a likeable proposition for the controlling giants of the world, as we have seen in the past when people were trying to interpret and misinterpret the ongoing success of Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Monte Carlo, Iceland and, today’s reality, Malta, among others.

Incredibly, even in the world of sports, the same unjust, indiscriminate attitude persists. FIFA’s choice of Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, for example, was never accepted by the much bigger bidders from both the East and West. Rich minnow country does not deserve the pleasure of hosting the world’s best footballing talents.

Immediately after the recent World Cup in Russia, the guns were focused back on Qatar. Out comes the UK Times saying “Qatar sabotaged World Cup rivals with black ops” and an orchestrated Westernbased outrage quickly followed. Hardly had the news been lost to the latest stupid Trump tweet, when, wonder of wonders, out comes the UK Daily Star, clamouring: “England: we’ll host 2022 World Cup”. Obscene.