Antitheses of love and hate

The noun oxymoron bearing the above title has become synonymous with the way of life of a people. Throughout its history of dominance by foreign powers, the Maltese have let themselves willingly or unwillingly to be governed.

The 1950s and 1960s have, in my opinion, given rise to the animosity and hostility that permeates the political arena unto today. Such was the time that saw the demise of the British Empire with colonies gaining independence.

The Maltese political elite hastened to take advantage of the situation to undo the foreign ties and be able to govern and rule. One party chose Dominion status, such as was Canada, and the other, strangely enough, either integration or independence. Such were sown the seeds of antagonism between these two parties and the polarisation of a people, although friction and enmity had its roots far more backwards than that.

Party agents and candidates at the Naxxar counting hall. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Even the Catholic Church helps create this divide and strife when allowing their flock to hold in their towns and villages more than one, sometimes even more than two, celebrations of saints, giving rise to hostility, resentment and envy.

The game of football, which gained popularity, also contributed to a hostile environment between supporters.

The protagonists that merit the above title are none other than the political establishment and the way to retain power by hook or by crook and every other means of deceit and chicanery.

The culprit is political corruption, cronyism and nepotism. Favouritism is rife and, although it has always been an issue and part and parcel in every legislature, nevertheless it has exceeded its limit unashamedly.

The politicians have brought this malpractice upon themselves when first engaging considerable number of canvassers, some genuine and more roughnecks, to do the dirty work, as has been demonstrated at the counting halls, and many more to accommodate, whose ultimate intention would be to demand payback when the right time comes.

A myriad positions such as a person of trust, chairmanship or chief of staff, were invented just for special friends, and friends of friends whose only credentials is that of being part of the party’s hierarchy or a family member. Once we even had a person of trust for a public convenience.

This attitude of preferences has created an odious manner of confrontation, which is manifested on social media, in every hour of the day, by sputum venom, bitter and vindictive malice on whosoever differs and is symptomatic of the inherent characteristic of a people.

Francesco Simon Mercieca – Fgura