Two shots. It could take two reckless, dangerous, irresponsible, illegal shots to finally get the people to “wake up and smell the coffee”. It might. There’s no telling really how willing an electorate can be to allow the fundamental tenets of a democracy to shatter before its eyes. That the nation was in the hands of a class that would only pay lip service to a system of rule of law was already evident to anybody who bothered to listen. We needed the caricature – the modern day parable ‘- to maybe pull the myriad ostrich heads out of the sand.
It’s more than a caricature. It’s a list of bilious arrogance spat in the face of any semblance of respect for the rule of law and the system.
- A minister’s driver used an official car for a private visit.
- That minister’s driver is also a policeman. Chauffeurs, waiters. Ipsos custodies gone wrong.
- That minister’s driver drives around armed. That’s a loaded gun.
- That minister’s driver feels entitled to take the law into his own hands. He could have reported an alleged “hit and run” offender, instead he took his gun…
- That minister’s driver was not happy with firing not one but two “warning shots” in a public place. He jumped into his car and began “hot pursuit”. Because of course he is also a policeman and there was the crime against public peace of scraping a side-view mirror to deal with. Citizens of Malta will drive more carefully now.
- That minister’s driver’s version was very soon the “official” version being backed by nothing less than a ministerial PR office. This notwithstanding a large number of eyewitness accounts failing to corroborate any pieces of the story that seem to have been concocted between the events and the media exercise. It’s not just a travesty, it’s a travesty backed by big brother.
We do say that certain trends do come late in Malta. Thirty years is a long time but hey we’re getting out very own 1984 right now. Put yourselves in the shoes of the British citizen who is guilty of having hit the side mirror of a ministerial vehicle. Hell, put yourselves in the shoes of any citizen involved in a traffic accident with a ministerial vehicle or a minister driving his vehicle. You’re screwed either way. If it’s the minister who was driving at the time then you know whose version of events will count. If it’s the ministers driver then your lotto for life will begin the moment he reaches for the gun. You know…
“Mr. Minister’s PR Guy in Press Conference Rag
Notice how his mouth never moves, almost”
Pathetic really. Even before any gun was shot the minister’s driver has already stepped out of the line (see list above). What do we get? We get a ministry of the government of the republic defending “his version of events” – essentially on the face of it (and on the basis of the alleged facts available hitherto) defending what can only be described as criminal activity. Why?
The Labour government track record defending persons with a poor record with the law is already a huge burden on Joseph Muscat’s dwindling credibility. Criminals turn heros rather enthusiastically in Labour’s constellation. Compared to this kind of nefarious behaviour, the sins of failing to deliver on any of its major electoral promises and the (non) meritocratic mess pale in comparison.
Sadly there is a huge chunk of the population that are prepared to carry along with this farce. These are the kind of people who applauded Muscat’s pushback antics, who are amused by his backing of criminals as Labour representatives and who will think that the minister’s driver is some kind of latter day hero who was valiantly defending the right to have an unblemished car mirror. As I explained in this blog only yesterday, this is also the result of the erosion of authorities and institutions. It is the result of the gradual hacking away at any semblance of system of accountability and rule of law. It is also the result of the drunken stupor induced by that famous number – 36,000.
Two shots. They might be the beginning of a wider awareness. Or they might just be the starting pistol’s shots announcing the beginning of our descent into the absolute pits of mediocrity.
Grazzi Joseph. Nibqghu nafuhulek.
One reply on “Bang! Bang! Democracy!”
May I note your six pointer:
1) A huge waste of public funds that has been ongoing for years and persists doggedly in using the Minister’s car for non Ministerial errands.
2) it is worldwide practice to have Policemen or Secret Service personnel as Ministerial Drives, this removes the Political tag and iced bun reward but only if these come from a specially trained pool of security drivers such as happens in most European countries. Providing security falls four square on Policing. Quis custodet ipsos custodes is a question only when there is no proper independent Police Board watchdog like in Malta.
3) non sequitur and applicable only because we have no proper Police Board.
4) lack of training for a very sensitive post, coupled with the arrogance abounding at MHAS.
5) ibid
6) the bad habit of having an official version immediately is akin to shooting from the hip, pun intended, and is the epitome of incorrectness. An official, Ministerial or otherwise authoritarian version, should only be issued when the matter has been properly looked into, not covered up or smokescreened over, as truth will out.
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