Reading Time: 3 minutes
The Times editorial entitled << When worlds collide>> refers to two separate gatherings which took place in Valletta earlier. We read “Around and on May Day, two mass events took place in Valletta, events that were worlds apart. It was not partisanship alone that separated the two crowds. It was their very outlook on life, on doing things right and on keeping morality in politics. They were people who live on the same tiny island but on collision course. The first crowd called for “truth and justice”. The people carried photos of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. They held placards with the words Tillgate and Hearnville, referring to companies in Panama said to be owned by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri. Other placards referred to the elusive third Panama company, Egrant.” It continues that “Inversely, a few days later another crowd went to Valletta, in a celebratory mood. It came across as a show of force for the government and not really a Worker’s Day celebration. Joseph Muscat’s Labour Party does not sound Labour anymore. Dr Muscat rightly spoke of the low unemployment and a budget surplus but, unsurprisingly, made no reference to fresh allegations of corruption and money laundering. Instead, he told his supporters he would be taking some €50 million from the individual investor programme – Maltese passports sold to millionaires with no real intention of settling down here – to build social housing. The message that day was that the ‘working class’, so exalted by Dr Muscat’s predecessor, Dom Mintoff, should be happy with what they receive from the most capitalist government this country has ever seen. Panem et circenses(bread and circuses) at its very best. It is difficult to reconcile the two mass events and the contrast places the country at a crossroads”.
L-Orizzont’s editorial carries the headline <<L-eżempju qed jingħata bis-sarima>>. The editorial refers to information it had that outspoken Fr Mark Montebello has been silenced by the church, something the Archdiocese denied. The editorial states that while the head of the Maltese church always speaks in favour of freedom of expression, especially when this means criticism towards the government, a member of his organization which has a different point of view, has been silenced.
The editorial of In-Nazzjon entitled Il-ħadma ta’ Joseph Muscat refers to revelations about the Delimara power station’s contracts, links and the impact of the dealings related to it on the utility prices.
The Malta Independent editorial <<Two major projects and two major divergencies>> refers to two projects which are being carried out under the current administration led by Joseph Muscat and which recent reports are showing that they were turned down by the previous administration. The IIP and the Gas Power Station, which both turned on an ‘unflattering spotlight on Malta’ turn out to be the subject of various magisterial inquiries and links to wheeling and dealings with shady foreign interests. The editorial also hopes that the magisterial enquiries are soon closed.
Today’s Main Stories Review can be accessed here.
