There was little entertainment to be had in the last electoral campaign.
Despite the cloud of abstentionism hovering over PLPN’s polling, neither party has excelled at either creativity or communication; the scandal mill didn’t turn into the usual Catherine Wheel of accusations, implications and guilt by association; the leaders’ speeches were focused on which of two grey sidewalls looks the better.
There was one series of exceptional speeches which had me grinning wider than the person delivering it, the equally exceptional Clint Camilleri, Minister for Gozo. Far from the ġbejna moniker famously (yet naively) assigned to him by then-MP Marlene Farrugia, the young cabinet frontliner turned in a few displays of authentic caudillismo, his language and mannerisms typical of somebody who knows that his parliamentary seat, the power and the privileges that come with it are a dead certainty. And maybe, there are “bigger” things to come.
The ballots would reward him in what is a key territory. It’s not that difficult to build or even take over a web of patronage in Gozo (as it is in Malta); from developers and road builders to TV producers, there are direct orders and contracts for everyone. While Anton Refalo’s political career has reached its dusk, ahead of a retirement made of yoga and meditation, Camilleri’s going heavy metal. Not that he was really waltzing in the last few years, either.
Notably, Camilleri’s power extends into hunting, formerly the remit of the Environment Ministry. An Abela loyalist since the early stages of the 2020 leadership campaign, the Minister for Gozo holds a portfolio which has given him carte blanche to steamroll over the public, the environmental lobby, government authorities and their own flimsy regulations.
It happens when you ask a trapper to enforce hunting regulations: it’s a bit like expecting a compulsive overeater not to help themselves to an otherwise unattended laden fridge.
The utter bonanza from which the FKNK has benefitted in recent years is the hallmark of Camilleri’s brazen drive to deregulate hunting and incense the EU; in one of those speeches, he banged enthusiastically on his podium as he promised his audience to “make sure that what is ours remains ours” in reference to some “research season”.
The narrative beneath these raucous deliveries by this man in light suits and blue ties is that hunting is a national pastime under threat by some form of faceless elite.
This makes it easy for him to justify daylight robberies such as the handing over of Aħrax and Miżieb to part of the hunting lobby, a deal signed behind closed doors to avoid embarrassing scenes of very public outrage.
Concurrently with this handout, the voluntary enslavement of the Ornis Committee and widespread illegalities committed by hunters around the islands, the FKNK has found time for a bit of a rebranding. Lucas Micallef replaced Lino Farrugia as a younger, slightly more “likeable” face of what is effectively a lobby of armed men, against whom law enforcement will only raise a weary finger every so often.
What else does the FKNK want? A quota allowing them to shoot 20 ramblers and five environmentalists a month? Complete immunity written in black and white?- Wayne Flask
Most of the time, it’s thumbs up from every authority concerned. In fact, the only “sanction” the lobby suffered for its members’ deeds was when Joseph Muscat chopped the last couple of days off the hunting season in 2014, after a dead bird landed in the courtyard of a private school. I suppose the former PM must have been closer to the “elite’s” sensitivities.
Scores of lawless hunters have shot their way through the research season without causing damage to their representatives, whose love affair with Camilleri was never really a secret. For all their hatred of the “snobs” – a reference to Birdlife and not to the PN, which chased hunters’ votes even after they had decided for Labour – the top FKNK shots and Camilleri were pleased to have their picture taken at Caviar and Bull in Budapest.
Micallef, too, has had his fair share of the limelight, stepping up to endorse Aaron Farrugia’s campaign. The latter sought votes to bolster his efforts on Żebbuġ but neither his signature on the Aħrax-Miżieb deals nor Micallef’s endorsement saw him through. Incidentally, Farrugia only made it to parliament in the final counts of the First District, the only Labour district which voted against hunting (53 per cent) in the 2015 referendum.
Politicians should be wary of endorsements from the hunting lobby.
For one, I struggle to understand what else the FKNK would like to suck from our quality of life. Not only do hunters get away with any sort of misdeed on the ground but their efforts are sustained by an alarming form of backroom power which sees, for example, hunting regulations issued through legal notices which the common citizen has no way to challenge. At EU level, the expert on the Right to Disconnect, Alex Agius Saliba, does their bidding against the “tyrants”.
Moreover, what else does the FKNK want? A quota allowing them to shoot 20 ramblers and five environmentalists a month? Complete immunity written black on white?
Despite all their efforts in front of the mirror, the FKNK’s endorsements amount to political kryptonite which irk the remaining thousands of non-hunters.
That said, Camilleri’s stewardship of hunting is not simply mired in his love for the traditions of (a small part of) the Maltese population.
The Abela cabinet is bound to change as more ministers will need booting up or out. But Camilleri will be looking to spread his wings further, without fear of being plucked out of the sky by the very lobby which keeps the rest of us hostages of his wily ambition.
May Icarus be a lesson in humility.