Dax-xahar tiskatta t-talba Ingliża biex ir-Renju Unit joħroġ mill-Unjoni Ewropea.
Għaddew ix-xhur mir-referendum li nżamm fil-Gran Brittanja. Sal-lum ftit li xejn hemm x’juri kif għad jispiċċaw in-negozjati. Wieħed kien jistenna li dan se jiġri sal-aħħar fil-oqsma tekniċi ta’ kif jitqassmu l-piżijiet u l-bidliet fl-obbligi finanzjarji u kummerċjali li se jirriżultaw mid-divorzju.
Li kont qed nistenna li se jiġri u ma ġarax, kien xi forma ta’ dibattitu politiku dwar il-binarji tar-relazzjonijiet bejn ir-Renju Unit u l-Unjoni Ewropea fis-snin li ġejjin. Il-battibekk fl-ajru dwar Brexit “aħrax” u Brexit “artab” ma seta’ jwassal imkien.
Il-periklu xinhu? In-negozjati se jidħlu f’diskussjonijiet diffiċli tekniċi fin-nuqqas ta’ viżjoni politika dwar il-futur.
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X’GĦANDNA NAGĦMLU?
Qamet dilemma kbira għal min jinsab bħali fil-Parlament Ewropew wara li ħareġ fil-beraħ l-iskandlu tal-allegat ħasil ta’ flus mill-PN, bi ksur lampanti tal-liġi dwar il-finanzjament tal-partiti.
Għandu jsir kif sar mill-PN innifsu, u f’kull opportunitá li tinqala’ fil-laqgħat tal-Parlament Ewropew, wieħed iqajjem dan l-iskandlu? Hemm numru ta’ mudelli li wieħed jista’ jsegwi waqt li jagħmel dan.
Il-mudell ta’ kif ġie ttrattat Toni Abela, b’kampanja minn taħt u kollha ħdura.
Il-mudell ta’ kif ġie trattat Leo Brincat, b’attakki fil-miftuħ u minn taħt.
Jew il-mudell ta’ kif rappreżentanti tal-PN ġabu ruħhom fil-kumitat tal-Parlament Ewropew dwar l-iskandlu tal-karti tal-Panama.
It-tliet mudelli huma effettivi ħafna biex juru lill-PN u fuq kollox il-mexxej tiegħu, bħala nieqsa mill-integritá u l-onestá. Id-deputati Ewropej se jemmnu dil-ħaġa minnufih.
Ħalliha l-problema li mal-PN u l-mexxej tiegħu, se titqagħbar ukoll il-fama tal-pajjiż. Imma la t-tnejn li huma qatt ma qisuha dil-ħaġa bħala problema…?
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ŻMIEN IR-RUMANI
Kieku għadna fi żmien il-qedem, tar-Rumani pereżempju, il-waqa’ tat-Tieqa fil-blat tad-Dwejra kienet titqies bħala ġrajja li tħabbar avvenimenti kbar fil-qarib. Kienu jsiru sagrifiċċji fit-tempji – minn żaqq annimali maqtula, jinħarġu l-imsaren – skont il-lewn u l-kondizzjoni tagħhom, jitbassru l-ġrajjiet futuri. Se jkunu għat-tajjeb? għall-ħażin?
Tgħid il-fatt li struttura ta’ ġebel li ilha hemm is-sekli ikkollassat issa taħt id-daqqiet tal-mewġ, tfisser li parti jew oħra mill-ekonomija jew mis-soċjetá se tiġġarraf? Jew tfisser li preġudizzji u xkiel kbar li ilhom jipparalizzaw il-progress f’pajjiżna fl-aħħar se jiġu żarmati?
Forsi biex nevitaw din l-inċertezza, li jista’ jsir hu li nibnu replika tat-tieqa fil-blat, tal-istess daqs bħall-oriġinal. Min se jinduna bid-differenza?
Il-problema hi li domna daqstant anke biex insewwu t-tritoni tal-funtana tal-Belt. Kif se jirnexxilna nibnu tieqa ġdida fid-Dwejra, qabel ma tkun intfiet għal kollox fostna kull memorja tal-“qadima”?

English Version – Brexit Blues

This month will have been sent the British demand for the UK to exit the European Union.

Months have passed since the referendum on the issue was held in Great Britain. Up to now, few indications emerged pointing to how negotiations could shape up. One would have expected this to happen till the end, about most technical areas covering how burdens and changes in financial and commercial commitments resulting from the divorce would be distributed.

What I had expected would happen – and it has not – was that some form of political debate about the direction of UK – EU relations in coming years would be launched. The airy-fairy dispute about a hard and a soft Brexit was obviously not going to lead anywhere.

Now what is the danger in this? Negotiations could be entering into very difficult technical deliberations in the absence of a political vision regarding the future.

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Quandary

For somebody like me who is a member of the European Parliament, a big dilemma arose once the scandal burst about the alleged money laundering by the PN, which is in flagrant violation of the law regarding party financing.

Should the PN’s own example be followed, so that in all arising opportunities within meetings of the European Parliament, the issues raised by this scandal are highlighted? To do so, one could follow a number of models.

Like for instance, the treatment meted out to Toni Abela, driven by an underhand and extremely vicious campaign.

Or should one adopt the approach followed with regard to Leo Brincat, comprising open and underground personal attacks?

A third way would be to copy how PN representatives have behaved in the European Parliament committee that is dealing with the scandal of the Panama papers.

All three models would be quite effective in showing how rightly or wrongly, the PN, and mostly its leader, lack all integrity and honesty. MEPs would immediately believe this.

And why bother about the problem that along with the PN and its leader, the reputation of the country as a whole will suffer? As it happens, both the party and its leader never seemed to consider this a problem…

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Roman memories

Were we still in times of old, say under the Roman Empire, the collapse of the Azure Window at Dwejra, Gozo, would have been considered as a presage of big events soon to come. Sacrifices would have been conducted in temples – so that intestines would be extracted from slaughtered victims – and according to their colour and condition, the upcoming happening could be predicted. Would they be propitious or disastrous?

Could the fact that after having been in place for centuries, a rock structure has collapsed mean that one part or other of our economy or society is in line too for collapse? Or is it the meaning of the Dwejra event that huge prejudices and obstacles which have paralysed the society for too long will at last disappear?

Perhaps to sideline these uncertainties, what we should do is build a replica of the window in rock, at exactly the same size as the original. Who will notice that it’s not the same as the original?

There’s a caveat to this: we took so long to repair the Tritons’ fountain at the entrance to Valletta. How will we succeed to build a new azure window at Dwejra, before all memories of the “old” one will have completely disappeared among the people at large?

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