Spiċċa l-kunsens?

Mitlufa fil-ħamba dwar l-emenda għar-rapport tal-kumitat tal-Panama fil-Parlament Ewropew dwar li Malta hi ġenna fiskali, kien il-punt li r-rapport (mingħajr l-emenda li ma għaddietx) ġie approvat.

Issa r-rapport jinkludi proposti li l-gvernijiet Maltin dejjem kienu kontra. Bħal li pereżempju, kwistjonijiet dwar tassazzjoni fl-Unjoni Ewropea ma għandhomx jibqgħu jiġu deċiżi biss b’unanimità bejn pajjiżi membri. Bħal li għandu jidħol mod uniku kif il-profitti jiġu kalkolati. Bħal li għandhom jintemmu l-ftehimiet bilaterali dwar taxxa.

Min ivvota favur ir-rapport kollu kemm hu, ivvota favur dawk il-miżuri. Hekk għamlu d-deputati Ewropej Nazzjonalisti. Nimmaġina li dan ifisser li spiċċa l-kunsens politiku li kien ilu jeżisti dwar dawn il-kwistjonijiet li jaffettwaw bil-kbir l-interess nazzjonali.

Stennejt biex nara hux se jkun hemm korrezzjoni tal-vot min-naħa tagħhom, kif xi ħadd qalli li se jiġri. Sal-mument li qed nikteb, ma saret l-ebda korrezzjoni.

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Drogi

Forsi se ninstema’ antikalja, imma lanqas jimportani. Jidhirli li qed nillaxkaw wisq dwar l-użu tad-droga. Fid-diskors politiku dwar l-użu tagħha u fit-tħaddim tal-liġijiet viġġenti dwar droga deħlin vizzji inkwetanti.

Fost tfal ta’ 13, 14 u 15 u dawk ftit ta’ snin (sentejn/tlieta) akbar, tqajmet l-aspettattiva li d-drogi daqt jiġu permessi. Allura m’hemm l-ebda problema jekk idduqhom minn issa.

Agħar minn hekk, minkejja kull ma jintqal fil-publiku, r-realtà hi li tfal/ “żgħażagħ” ta’ bejn l-14 u s-16 isibu faċilment x’ipejpu (mhux sigaretti) u xi jduqu, anke fil-madwar tal-iskejjel. Dan barra milli faċilment ukoll isibu alkoħol u tabakk x’jikkunsmaw.

Dawk li qaluli x’inhu jiġri jafu mill-qrib dwar x’inhuma jitkellmu. Mhumiex jistrieħu fuq xi kwestjonarji. Forsi r-riċerka li hemm bżonn issir biex ir-realtà tkun magħrufa, mhux metodoloġija akkademika għandha tuża imma waħda ta’ operazzjoni polizjeska “undercover”.

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Aznavour

Mhux lil Johnnie Halliday messek semmejt, imma lil Charles Aznavour. Hekk qalli ħabib tiegħi b’referenza għall-blogg ta’ qabel dan.

Kellu punt. Aznavour ukoll fl-aħħar ġimgħat qanqal interess enormi fi Franza. Ta’ 93 sena ta kunċert sħiħ fl-akbar sala ta’ Pariġi quddiem udjenza ppakkjata u entużjasta. Imbagħad telaq għal sensiela ta’ kunċerti oħra mal-pajjiż.

Is-sabiħa hi li minkejja li ħafna mill-kanzunetti li ppreżenta ilhom is-snin li ħarġu, l-impressjoni li Aznavour ħalla kienet ta’ sforz artistiku kontemporanju. L-età kienet hemm, u kif! – imma s-sentiment kien wieħed tal-lum. Jew forsi t-temi li hu jemfasizza għandhom kwalità li taġġornahom awtomatikament għall-gosti taż-żmien li jkun?

Huwiex għalhekk ukoll mela li barra milli Aznavour għadu daqshekk attiv, il-popolarità tiegħu baqgħet qawwija u ġenwina?

English Version – Is the consensus over?

Lost in the noise generated by the amendment including Malta in a list of four EU tax havens, that was proposed to the final report by the Panama papers committee of the European Parliament, was the fact that the report itself was approved (less the amendment which was not adopted).

Now, the report included proposals that Maltese governments had always fought against. Like for instance, that taxation questions within the EU should no longer be settled following unanimous approval by member states. Or that there should be one way by which to calculate profits. Or that bilateral tax agreements should cease.

Those who voted in favour of the report as a whole, were in faact voting in favour of such proposals. And that’s what PN MEPs did. I imagine this means the end of the political consensus that used to exist up to not so long ago concerning tax issues that have a real impact on the national interest.

I waited to see whether there would be a correction of vote on the part of the same MEPs, as someone told me there would be. But there was not, at least up to when I was writing this.

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Drugs

I might sound old-fashioned but honestly, I don’t care. It seems to me that we are getting too soft on the use of drugs. A disquieting looseness has been allowed to creep in political discourse about drug use, as well as in the implementation of existing laws that cover it.

Among kids aged 13 – 15 and young people who may be two to three years older, expectations have been raised that drugs will soon be legal. So there should be no problem if they start sampling them as of now.

Worse, no matter what is publicly declared, the truth is that children/“young people” aged between 14 to sixteen easily find what to smoke (not cigarettes) and to swallow, even close to their school. All this in addition to the ease with which they get access to alcohol and tobacco.

Those who told me about what is going on know things at first hand. They do not have to depend on questionnaires for their data. Perhaps the research that needs to be done in order to assess the real situation should not rely on some academic procedure but on the methodology of an undercover police operation.

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Aznavour

You should have mentioned not Johnnie Halliday, but Charles Aznavour. So I was told by a friend with reference to a previous blog.

He was making a valid point. Aznavour too in recent weeks was getting enormous attention in France. At age 93, he gave a full concert at one of the largest Parisian theatres to an enthusiatic full house. He then left to give a nationwide series of concerts.

Funnily enough, while most of the songs he delivered date from years long past, Aznavour left people with the impression they were witnessing a contemporary artistic performance. His very old age could hardly have been a matter of doubt. Yet the aura of the show gave witness to the present. Or could it be that the themes he highlights have a quality which automatically adjusts them to the popular tastes of different moments in time?

Could it also be for this reason that in addition to having remained so active, Aznavour has retained such a strong and genuine popularity?