Former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, in an interview with Lou Bondi last Thursday was reported to have said, “The country has matured and there is no longer the political hatred of the past.”

I had to do a search on google earth to see whether I was, in fact, living in the same country. Has political hatred eased…really? Undeniably, mass meetings and protests do not turn into scenes of violence and mayhem any more, but from where I’m sitting the intolerance and yes, hatred, towards each other because of politics is back. If we are not careful, as tempers start flaring because of the impending elections, we are setting the stage for the re-opening of that schism running through the country complete with that old 1980s war cry of “min mhux maghna kontra taghna.”  (Those who are not with us are against us). Sharp-eyed observers will tell you that they have already seen the first signs that this mantra has been dusted off and placed in a prominent position on the mantelpiece. Do we really want to live like that? I know I don’t.

Yet these days, I only find myself  broaching the subject of politics with those whom I know are open-minded and rational, and who will not start foaming at the mouth at the hint of criticism of “their” party. If I sense someone is spoiling for a vein-popping argument, I merely walk away. What a lot of wasted energy.

Of course, some people avoid altercations of this kind altogether by only mixing with “those like us”.  But that’s a depressing and stifling way to live though isn’t it? Carefully sifting your friends and acquaintances through the sieve of whether they vote like you do.  What’s next? Blue or red dots on our forehead, or maybe a nifty little identification badge sewn on the sleeve?  Or hey, I know, let’s corral everyone into their respective ghettos of Sliema and Bormla and cut them off from one another through the erection of imposing, clearly marked walls.  That should keep everyone firmly in their place and discourage all of this ‘mixing with one another’ business… jaqq madoff xi dwejjaq ta’ nies.

I’m always thankful that in my immediate circle of close friends, politics has never been an issue. It’s precisely for this reason that I continue to call them friends, for who wants to open one’s home to people who secretly despise you because of your ideology?  I’m sure there are many people who have a similar social life, where politics is put on the back burner and has never come between their friendships.  They can laugh and joke about who among them is a Laburist or a Nazzjonalist (or who, frankly, does not give a damn) and then move on, giving it as much importance as they would to the fact that one is a vegetarian while the other is partial to steak.  Much to the dismay of those who would have us behave otherwise, no, not everyone does a thorough background check of their friends to ensure that they only mingle with those who are exactly like them.

I can’t think of anything more boring. It’s about as exciting as standing in front of a mirror with a glass of wine in one hand and a canapé in the other and pretending you’re at a cocktail party.

Having said all this, I am acutely aware that the decent, sane, level-headed people in my world do not represent the norm.  Unfortunately, there are still pockets of hatred in the country which are festering and simmering and straining at the leash to find an outlet.  And, because there are those who are cynical enough to exploit this narrow-minded min mhux maghna kontra taghna syndrome, we might be heading for a sequel to the 1980s faster than we think. No, not because there will be violence (at least I sincerely hope not), but because the strides we thought we had made as a democratic country where everyone’s opinion is respected, where freedom of speech is a given, and where the will of the majority rules, will have been wiped out.

These days the aggression is not in your face so much because it starts with those who lash out viciously at anyone on the Internet who doesn’t agree with them and just spirals further and further into madness from there.  In fact, those sending their comments to this website will already have noticed that I do not upload aggressive, nasty, vicious comments or personal attacks against third parties. I feel like I’m doing my own small bit in trying to defuse the hate; I think if we all tried to measure our own words we would have made a start.  It really is possible to not agree with someone without necessarily wanting to claw their eyes out.

But our politicians also have a crucial role to play: if they were truly patriotic and  had Malta’s interest at heart, our elected representatives would tell the hotheads to cool it and strive to find ways of uniting us rather than dividing us.  They won’t, of course, because they need the hotheads don’t they, otherwise the flat refusal to vote (which I keep hearing about more and more every day) will just continue to grow.

It is this, I’ll-be-damned-if -any-of-you-will-get-my-vote kind of voter, who makes politicians break out into a cold sweat.

So Nicola was right after all                                                                                               

After months of being told we were part of some Machiavellian plot to bring down the government because we didn’t just pant in gratitude at a screwed up public transport system, He Who is Never Wrong has finally admitted that he was…well, wrong.

In fact, Austin Gatt did the unthinkable and even shouldered the responsibility.  Phew – talk about pulling teeth! Was it really that difficult and did it have to take over three months to say mea culpa? Well, let us try and be gracious and say that at least he got there in the end.  Of course, even in an apology Austin manages to take a patronising swipe at the electorate.

“Maybe we were too avant-garde, too innovative…” he was quoted as saying.  For which read:  “so go ahead, stay stuck in your ways you pitiful peasants who don’t know how to use bus interchanges.” The man is really unbelievable.

And who thought it would take a young University student to call a spade a spade in the spade’s face? For, we cannot deny that the catalyst for this was Nicola Abela Garrett who, with her indignant stand, voiced the frustration of commuters everywhere. Her FW echoed throughout the land, and was even conveniently translated for those who were not sure what the very British slang put-down actually meant.

I just wish all the other University students had her chutzpah and shown their support right there and then that day rather than just gawping at her in shock and awe.  Instead they have waited until now to organize a protest which is going to be held on 4 November.  It’s a good initiative, but like Austin’s belated mea culpa, it was a bit slow in coming.

And, just as I finished writing this I learned that the original direct routes to Valletta and Mater Dei from each town and village are now going to be reinstated after all.  In other words, they put commuters through that whole ordeal throughout this summer for nothing, when they could have avoided all this grief if they had just listened to them in the first place.

But let’s look on the bright side. Perhaps someone finally told Austin Gatt that it’s no use claiming “we’re listening” in an advert if you don’t actually do so. And he finally got it.