I have just read that Robert Abela, our amazing prime minister, has written an article claiming we have won the war against COVID.
I’m not sure if this is the amazing guy who announced the same thing some months ago. Now I know that this infernal virus is bad but how many times can we win?
Can Abela suffer a reaction similar to a child seeing a repeat screening of a goal being scored? He hurrahs the first time the ball hits the net, then sees the action replay and rejoices each time the TV screen repeats the goal.
Or does Abela think this country is made up of only gullible fools? Which is quite the reality, seeing that he and his Labour Party, which, in a normal world, would be imploding, are still soaring in opinion polls regarding electability and trustworthiness.
All is beyond fine in Malta, Abela says. In everything we are truly excelling. And COVID is basically defeated. All is going according to plan.
In the reality beyond Abela’s parallel world, doctors seem to disagree with his prognosis. As do the statistics. So few jabs are being administered that it seems our vaccination roll-out is in deep freeze.
We had been told by the bigwigs in government that the process of vaccinating our entire population had been thought out perfectly, that we would be the wonder of the world.
We seem to be a country whose brain is in deep freeze, along with the vaccines- Victor Calleja
At the time of writing, a couple of thousands have been vaccinated while Israel has rolled out close to a million. But then, as we know, comparisons are odious.
Meanwhile, not much of a fuss is kicked up about this situation. Few complain. Few scream out their anger and their worry. The few who complain are ostracised and seen as negative whingers.
We are so in thrall of this Abela and his goons that we are all stuck at home willing the virus to disappear or dreaming that a friendly being will silently and stealthily jab us into COVID-immunity.
The state of the country is at horror level. Infections and deaths keep increasing, the economy falters on and all we have had is empty talk and an ongoing promise of more vouchers to go out and spread the wealth, the girth and the infections.
Yet, oh yet, no one grumbles much. No one protests. No one is in shock and no one rises up in disgust. There are a few voices but, in total, it seems like a crying wilderness. The feeling is that nothing more can be done, so why complain, why show our anger?
Where is the opposition party in all this? Where is their opprobrium and their oath to keep the government in check?
Who is the shadow minister of health? Does he have a name? Can he explain his methods to keep track of what the government is doing, saying and covering up?
Could he – I know it’s a he by the way, I googled his name – also be in deep freeze, like the vaccines? Waiting to pounce when his moment comes to shine? What’s he aiming at? To become the top man at the WHO?
The shadow minister should be shadowing the minister of health in all that is done; therefore you’d imagine these tough times would have been his opportunity to shine: to shine a spotlight on everything that is not being done well and shine a light on himself and his party, which, in theory, could be in power soon, therefore, tackling the health issues of the land.
In a country where the authorities take us for a farcical but tragic ride, I would have expected the shadow minister to be dictating the agenda of the day.
However, the last time the shadow minister hit the headlines was when it was claimed he was involved in shady stuff.
The country has problems that go way beyond health issues. Yet, we have no vision, no guidance and no checks by a healthy opposition.
Our politicians are more of a scourge on us. Instead of leading by example, they offer us empty words. And instead of opposing and questioning where it is not only legitimate but essential to prod and hold the authorities accountable, we have sweet nothing.
We seem to be a country whose brain is in deep freeze, along with the vaccines.
Victor Calleja is a former publisher.