Holiday Hiatus – More about Joseph

It’s a weird curse that afflicts me when in Malta. I find less time to blog daily – in fact I don’t -even though there is much to blog about. The blogosphere is currently dominated by vitriol as Joseph Muscat is quick morphing into a new target for the Automaton followers of the nationalist spin. I criticised the critics, not because the man should not answer for his past actions and positions, not because I am not slightly sceptical and not easily induced to believe that JM has had a Damascene revelation, nor because I do not find fault with the man’s choice of style in his first seven days. None of that.

I criticised the critics because in their eagerness to sweep all under the same category they ignore the babysteps, the little changes. They ignore the fact that no messiah will change a blinkered crowd overnight. They ignore the fact that you still need to speak to certain segments of the population in Duin Gorg Preca style parables – its a corny way to begin to face change but no one said it will all be hunky dory. JM is light years away from winning outsiders from outside the Labour fold and his Jesus-like statements of love, peace and understanding (cue Hon. Sigmund Bonello and his age of aquarius – nice one Sig) will only cause noses to twist in mistrust. The critics ignore basic baby steps of change though because they sit comfortably ensconced in a Platonic cave of their own – wildly speculating about the shadows caused by the sun coming from the great outside. It’s just the same, but different. Nationalist diehards preprogramming themselves to hate JM because he wears a goatee, appeals to social losers (at least according to some) and has a track record of making the wrong choices.

Baby steps are there to see. For change. A slow one. Unfortunately, as I wrote elsewhere the delagates have chosen the slow track to change. The one that will shy away from direct confrontation with the old and worries when old frogs like Debono Grech throw a tantrum. Labour will hopefully move out of messianic mode soon when JM’s own honeymoon is over. If he only listens as much as he has been listening until now there is promise. Itg is not all doom and gloom. The spinning non-spinsters are wrong. Sniping at JM, at the labourites who have found hope and at the fictitous social categories of losers who supposedly are charmed by the young turk at the helm is only an extension of old politics.

The language of attack and mud slinging has never won any non-affiliated voters over to PN. The last election was not won by PN by winning them back. While Joseph has moved inches in the right direction, PN sympathisers seem all intent to commiting hara-kiri and shooting their party kilometers back in the wrong direction.

And I’m not happy about that either.

* Picture: The ladies hit the shower after the latest mud-slinging battle by the “Real Ladies Don’t Like Joseph” movement.