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	Sant's Viagra, Pullicino's Blues By Saviour Balzan Malta Today October 22, 2006 http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2006/10/22/opinion.html I am not one to stand up for the rights of suspected paedophiles. But there is a difference between a person who is alleged to be a paedophile, and someone who faces criminal charges for paedophilia. I am tired of the double standards in the media. In the past, the local press chose not to name the three priests accused of child abuse in an orphanage on the outskirts of Hamrun. Yesterday it found absolutely no problem in publishing the picture of a priest accused of paedophilia by the alleged victim, a distraught Republican senator. But only after his name was released by the international press agencies. Just because all the international agencies mentions his name, then it seems okay for The Times to splash his name everywhere. When a priest or any other person is accused in the courts, the courts traditionally ban the media from publishing the name. When they are found guilty of their crimes their names are also withheld from the public. The press has never challenged the courts on this. They should. When Mr Mark Foley says that forty years ago he was sexually abused by a Maltese priest, he is believed and the priest gets vilified by the media. The wonderful thing about the US is the fact that it is such a wonderful country of contradictions, hypocrisy and self-righteousness. And Malta is very much the same. I guess it's a human trait. Perhaps it is important to remember that Foley is a Republican Congressman from Florida and was Chairman in the House on the Commission of exploited children. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Foley only surfaced in the international press after his sexually explicit e-mails and instant messages to his staff were revealed. After he resigned we got to know that he was gay, has an alcohol problem and that forty years ago he knew a Maltese priest whom he alleges abused him. Forty years ago is a long time ago. I do not know Fr Anthony Mercieca, 72, but I now know that the world knows him. Mr Foley is trying to understand why he ends up being such a pervert on the electronic highway and has a problem with sending horny emails. So the next time I send a dirty joke via email and get caught, I will blame it on a nun who caressed my titian head and gave me a flirtatious look. I promise to mention her name and ask the cables to relay her name to the seven continents. I must add that I was probably four years old, and that the flirtatious look had nothing to do with sex but with a genuine expression of concern and kindness. You see, not all clergymen and women are perverts. Indeed, a bloody sizeable number can be quite normal. I recall when years back I was asked to present a five-minute programme on TVM, they insisted that I should only address international issues. I could talk of corruption in the UK, corrupt politicians in Italian, sex scandals in the US, but not a word about Malta. Plus ça change. I never witnessed a standing ovation for a party's secretary general. However I cannot recall anyone standing up to clap so fiercely for Austin Gatt, Louis Galea, Dominic Fenech, Marie-Louise Coleiro, Jason Micallef or better still Jimmy Magro. But then Joe Saliba is no run-of the-mill secretary. That he has got this far has more to do with his tenacity than with anything else. Last Sunday was different. Joe Saliba was playing to his devoted counsellors, not to the ones who lost their post in the last two years. He has a gargantuan task ahead of him, trying to sell a chocolate bar (the PN) with the expiry date reading 2003. He is not a great orator but he certainly has a faithful retinue who are willing to express their dedication to the man who prides himself in being a builder in all senses. Many would disagree, but many others would agree. If there was a joke, it has to be the PBS chief's reply to MaltaToday inquiring about their decision on l-Istrina. "Your transparent albeit hidden agenda," said Albert Debono. I guess Mr Debono, an accountant by profession, does not understand what contradicting one's self means. Well Mr Debono, your reply proves the extent of your limitations with the English language. The other thing Mr Debono forgets is that he is a public servant and he must act as one. His first obligation is to the public not to his minister (Gatt). But then my uncle always argues that accountants should be left to numbers not to words. George Pullicino has hit out at the environmentalists accusing them of having a hidden agenda. He obviously feels comfortable making a fool of himself. He should be told to hold his horses. Just as Sant lavishes in nonsensical examples, Pullicino should be called in and rapped on his knuckles. The last time a politician attacked the environmental groups of having an agenda in a political party assembly was Lorry Sant himself! Claire Bonello must be having a whale of a time. A group of decent cultured folk decided to ask Gozitan entrepreneur Victor Borg if they could visit the archaeological sites at Ta' Cenc. They were told that they could not. They have been refused entry into Ta' Cenc by Borg, the man who owns the land at Ta' Cenc. The government should legislate to make it a right for archaeological sites and Natura 2000 sites to be accessible to the public. In France, Germany and Spain archaeological sites and Natura 2000 can be privately owned but on condition that such areas are accessible to the public. Victor Borg chooses not to stop hunters and trappers from entering Ta' Cenc. I sincerely believe that if Mr Borg plans to be difficult and deprive Maltese and Gozitans from Ta' Cenc then everyone should reciprocate by boycotting his hotels and businesses. I think it would be a pity, but then Mr Borg should be reminded that this is the year 2006 and that civil society is not what it used to be in 1528. Everyone is expecting me to pronounce my verdict on the budget. Well, I very much think that it has forgotten the lower-middle class. Let us stop imagining that there is no lower-middle class or working class. It has attempted to address the middle-middle class, the core Nationalist voter. Which is one good way of putting a finger to the proverbial leaking dyke (disgruntled voter). Just remember that the vast majority of people send their kids not to the private schools, but to Church schools and state schools. They do not earn more than Lm7,000 a year and do not send their kids to childcare centres. The thousands that need thinking about were forgotten. In the animal kingdom if you want more foxes you provide more rabbits. It is an ecological principle. But it also an economic principle. When I tutored in what they called an exclusive private school, the new name for environmental science was titled natural economy. In outlining his economic vision, very much like his predecessors, the PM has guaranteed that it will be slightly better off for the foxes but not for the rabbits. It goes against the grain of economic principles. The rabbits are calling for more grass. When Sant had a golden opportunity to appease the rabbits, he faces the press and comes up with the silliest example in this whole God forsaken planet: the Viagra analogy. He said the Prime Minister's repeated slogan for a sound future gejjieni fis-sod sounded just like a Viagra advertisement" Does anyone have the gall or balls to tell him to shut up? I mean, does this man want to win the election or what? Can anyone suggest that he says nothing when he is not prepared? And can someone remind the Labour party's MPs that when they pose for photographs they should remember that they are not beauties. The team picture kindly copied on the back page of The Times with Sant in the foreground with a posse of parliamentarians jostling for centre stage will always be exploited by editors. Just sit the 'lijder' calmly behind a podium and ask him to say a few decent words. Which should have read something like this: "Prime Minister Gonzi has attempted to address the deficit issue, he has addressed his core voters but forgotten the bulk of the middle class and the working class. I will be addressing the salient issues of the budget in the next days. Good evening and thank you for your time. I will take one or two questions, no questions about Viagra please." Sant is traditionally very good in his budget speeches but when he speaks off the cuff, he simply says the things my budgerigar says after eating an assorted collection of seeds. If ever there is a vacancy for the leader of the opposition party, please wave for attention.
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