Letters to the editor − July 22, 2026

Vote buying by another name

Janet Wojtkow of St Julian’s writes:

I refer to Eddy Privitera’s letter ‘How competence “bought” votes’ (July 6) and have to comment on the totally one-sided stance of his argument. There is no doubt that the Labour Party has achieved many positive things during its 13-year tenure to date, many of which he lists.

Yet, he conveniently fails to mention the pledge to give every worker €1,000 per year tax free. Is this not vote buying by another name?

Following the 2022 election, an OCSE report concluded that a pledge to hand out cheques immediately prior to that election “does not conform to international standards and good practice”. It went on to say that “no major announcement of financial allocations which might create a favourable perception of a given party or candidate should occur during campaign periods”.

Having been called out on the practice in 2022, Robert Abela chose to ignore it and go bigger and better. Privitera also fails to mention the scandals which have rocked the party during these “unprecedented” 13 years. The current trial of Yorgen Fenech is just one reminder of the less convenient truth, with daily headlines of the alleged involvement of ministers and other senior officials, including senior police officers.

As an intelligent man, surely he can see the folly of presenting such a ‘positive’ view of his beloved Labour Party, while ignoring some of the murkier aspects of that party’s track record.

I would add that, as a foreigner, I have no right to vote but simply make these observations as an impartial observer.

Street statues must be protected

Mark Agius of Sliema writes:

The damage caused to a statue set up as street decoration in Valletta has caused much discussion. It is apposite to give some information about this statue. It is part of a set of statues crafted by Karlu Darmanin (1825–1909), otherwise known as Carlozzu. Darmanin was a master sculptor who is widely celebrated as the ‘Prince of Maltese Statuaries’.

As such, he was a pivotal figure in Maltese religious art and was the first in Malta to use papier-mâché as a medium for creating statues. The set of statues he made for the Carmelite Monastery, Valletta, including the damaged statue, are listed as being his handiwork in Pietru Pawl Castagna‘s seminal book Malta bil-Gżejjer Tagħha u li Għadda minn Għaliha, whose first edition was published in 1865.

The damaged Karlu Darmanin statue. Photo: Għaqda Festa Madonna Tal-Karmnu

The custom of decorating the streets of Malta with life-size religious statues in papier-mâché dates from Darmanin’s time and is unique to this island. I do not believe a similar type of decoration exists in neighbouring Sicily, where the streets are usually decorated with patterns of electric lights.

The most similar custom to this within the European Union are, as far as I know, the altars set up by confraternities in Seville, in Spain for the feast of Corpus Christi. Because these altars are often decorated with silverware, they are usually given private security protection.

In any case, the practice of putting up these statues as decoration in our festas is part of the intangible heritage of the Maltese islands and, in Valletta, is carried out within the boundaries of a city which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Therefore, due care needs to be taken to perpetuate this custom and the statues themselves need to be protected as much-loved works of art.