A steaming New Year

It is looking more than likely that 2019 will be a steaming year politically; as if it not always is in Europe, one is tempted to retort.

But with the Continent experiencing the backlash of a populist, right-wing movement, there is bound to be a huge surge in the political mercury culminating in May’s European Parliament elections, once hardly a perceptible event. Perhaps Etna and Stromboli have provided a burst of vigour, acting as a symbolic precursor of what is to occur.

With most of the mainstream political parties in Europe having lost their plot, it should be no surprise if the radical right continues to grow in strength during the new year. Their gaining more than a foothold in the EU’s highest institution could mean more social and political eruptions the kind of which we have seen taking place throughout this moribund year. The parliament’s current president, the hapless Antonio Tajani from Italy’s decaying centre-right party Forza Italia or his successor will face the wrath of a raging rightwing camp that is no longer self-conscious about its massive element of fascist-inspired supporters and ideals.

The best of political pundits and historians find the present political situation in Europe highly worrisome. They see so many familiar traits, from extreme nationalistic views and anti-immigrant attitudes to careless economic deductions and an innate nostalgia for military might and societal orthodoxy.

Only the few optimists see a short-term possibility of stemming this malignant growth on Europe’s body before it peaks and then starts wilting away when people, decent people of every political colour and creed, finally see through it as nothing more than a populist tumour to be removed. The question, however, is: how much damage will it cause before the Continent’s innate political checks and balances are applied as they have so wisely been since the end of the Second World War?

Most pundits are screaming goodbye to mainstream parties in Europe. After all, their utter decline has been seen and felt all over the place, from Scandinavia and Germany to Italy, Austria, Hungary and elsewhere. Having lost their hold on the political agenda, the old parties are either hoping for low turnouts that could keep them floating in jellied coalitions or opt to mimic the radical right in a desperate attempt to try and at least minimize their losses. One thing is sure – they offer no alternative at present.

Compare this almost irrational situation all over Europe with what is being experienced on this blob of land right on the very edge of the European continental shelf. Here we have a government that has turned things round in a way that is the envy of most mainstream parties in Europe. To the marauding radical right it is a veritable threat to their awful vision of a cold, heartless Eu- rope, because they see that in Malta’s social, political and economic success the very alternative which is eluding the mainstream parties in the European Union.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was pretty straightforward in his address to the European Socialist Party congress a few weeks ago – either you go back to dictating the political agenda and acting on it, or you perish. The voice of wisdom? Suffice to say that out of Europe’s many social democratic parties, only Malta’s Partit Laburista is in power on its own steam. Four others are in some form of shared power as part of shaky coalitions bound to implode at any time.

It does not mean Malta has a flawless government or that it advocates the ultimate model, but, gosh, it has certainly delivered. Europe’s own statistics tell the whole story. Will it be more of the same in a steaming 2019? When the economy anywhere is doing well, as it undoubtedly is in Malta at this moment in time, radicalism and rudderless opposition can make no headway into the political heart of a nation. ***

Are we being ripped off?

In Brexit-feverish Britain, a series of reforms are being promised to tackle what has been termed as “a €4 billion loyalty penalty” that customers are facing in the mobile, broadband, home insurance, mortgage and savings sectors.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has in fact spent several months examining a so-called ‘super complaint’ on the issue brought up by the Citizens Advice which insists that companies are penalising existing customers by charging them higher prices than new customers. The cry is for greater scrutiny and the possible imposition of price caps, the like of which have been approved by the European authorities in connection with roaming charges and the forthcoming standardisation of calls from one EU country to another.

One automatically turns his attention to what may be a similar situation among us. The mobile, Internet and cable companies, among others, compete fiercely for the bigger share of what is, after all, a very restricted market. New offers are frequently advertised, often teasing customers with better, cheaper packages that are not necessarily available to other committed clients. Add to that the penalty charges imposed on customers who want to opt out or change service providers.

Are we being ripped off too?

Irresistible centenarian poet

Regular readers will know of my affection for poetry, particularly Maltese poetry, which I have also modestly dipped into for decades. This is the right time of the year to refer to a unique collection of poetry that has hit the bookshelves – John Cremona’s aptly titled “

The book is unique for two very singular reasons. 1. It brings back into deserved focus beautiful poems from Cremona’s previous four publications as well as 48 new ones; 2. This irresistible poet, who has produced splendid works in Italian, English and Maltese, is today a centenarian.

John Cremona, perhaps better known as Chief Justice Emeritus J.J. Cremona, confirms once and for all that good poetry, in any language, is both eternal and ageless.

The cry is for greater scrutiny and the possible imposition of price caps, the like of which have been approved by the European authorities in connection with roaming charges and the forthcoming standardisation of calls from one EU country to another