This said however, there are people who have been badly bruised in the process, people who have suffered in silence and for whom no amount of jubilation can easily heal the scars.
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| TRUE LOYALTY: a 2-way street |
The election has come and gone and those many of us who voted for the PL have celebrated extensively in the most jubilant manner. We and what we firmly believe in has been vindicated and vindicated unequivocally.This said however, there are people who have been badly bruised in the process, people who have suffered in silence and for whom no amount of jubilation can easily heal the scars.
In this sense, we feel it our duty to voice what countless others are feeling and thank Keith Schembri, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff for all that he has done for Malta in less than one legislature culminating in the astounding assent given by the electorate on 3 June 2017.
We salute him too: not only because he was instrumental in the Labour Party’s two landslide victories, but also because, in achieving that extraordinary goal, he had to endure the worst of the Nationalist invective imaginable. Rarely, in any civilised and democratic nation's political history, can we recall anyone targeted and hounded so relentlessly.
No other person we know of, after sacrificing a very private and comfortable life for the public good, has had to suffer such spite ... not least being told that he would be dead within six months from a terminal and inoperable cancer .... with all the emotional and psycholgical fallout that this must have had on his, wife, kids, family, friends! This is an instance where we cannot simply let bygones be bygones, simply contenting ourselves with the resounding victory. We owe it to people like Mr Schembri and his family.
In what other country would a desperate and bitterly resentful opposition be allowed to get away with its courtroom theatricals and the flimsiest of ‘evidence’: countless allegations + a dozen box files containing only newspaper cuttings of the said allegations and slanders against this unfortunate man?In what other country would a judge be compelled to condemn the opposition in no uncertain terms for seeking revenge against a government because it had won a democratic election?
We salute him too: not only because he was instrumental in the Labour Party’s two landslide victories, but also because, in achieving that extraordinary goal, he had to endure the worst of the Nationalist invective imaginable. Rarely, in any civilised and democratic nation's political history, can we recall anyone targeted and hounded so relentlessly.
No other person we know of, after sacrificing a very private and comfortable life for the public good, has had to suffer such spite ... not least being told that he would be dead within six months from a terminal and inoperable cancer .... with all the emotional and psycholgical fallout that this must have had on his, wife, kids, family, friends! This is an instance where we cannot simply let bygones be bygones, simply contenting ourselves with the resounding victory. We owe it to people like Mr Schembri and his family.
In what other country would a desperate and bitterly resentful opposition be allowed to get away with its courtroom theatricals and the flimsiest of ‘evidence’: countless allegations + a dozen box files containing only newspaper cuttings of the said allegations and slanders against this unfortunate man?In what other country would a judge be compelled to condemn the opposition in no uncertain terms for seeking revenge against a government because it had won a democratic election?
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| LEST WE FORGET: the 'paladins of Christian democratic justice' |
In this war of defamation, there are echoes of what happened to another great man beset upon by local conservative reactionary forces - Dom Mintoff - who was also demonised and slandered, albeit many decades before. But he was great enough to recognise, even then, that the Nationalist establishment of that era was nearing the end of its days, and openly defied those associated with it: ‘Spew all your poison on me, use your ink to defame me . . . it will only make me stronger, not weaker’.
In this war of defamation, there are echoes of what happened to another great man beset upon by local conservative reactionary forces - Dom Mintoff - who was also demonised and slandered, albeit many decades before. But he was great enough to recognise, even then, that the Nationalist establishment of that era was nearing the end of its days, and openly defied those associated with it: ‘Spew all your poison on me, use your ink to defame me . . . it will only make me stronger, not weaker’.
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| SCRAPING THE PITS: just one of maaaany |
Today, with ample benefit of hindsight, none of us should be surprised that these desperate women and men, just like the proverbial Pharisees, sought to stage a show-trial grounded on falsehoods, conjectures and outright fabrications. Getting back into the seat of power is not just what they live for, it defines their very existence. Keith Schembri was 'guilty beyond any reasonable doubt' of finding their Achilles heel whereby together with Joseph Muscat, he captained a bright, dedicated and loyal team through which literally breathed new life into the Labour Party. As the strategist and brains behind two electoral campaigns that ended once and for all the absolute power of a conservative political elite, he proved to be a formidable adversary and a fine tactician who toppled the PN completely, causing it to lose its political direction, relevance and plot altogether.
In gratitude, and also in keeping with the character of Schembri’s high office, we borrow now the title of that march used to honour the President of a certain country: Hail to the Chief (ikklikkja hawn)!
