It’s possible to go through the BBC archives to examine the recent history of the development between Internet and Politics (German style capitals). I did just that recently when preparing my Sunday article and one of the interesting reportages that I came across dealt with the very peculiar rules that applied to the Japanese Presidential campaign. Aside from the ban on internet campaigning there was another ban which drew my attention – a ban on knocking on private doors. Now that would be a sign of change in Malta. One of the areas that really made me quit partisan politics was the local, parochial politician and the way he dealt with the electorate.
Traipsing around the different roads drinking cheap whisky after cheap whisky and fraternising with everyone under the sun. The plastic smiles that opened the doors (most times at least) spoke volumes – many said “I know that you know that I will not vote for you. Let’s just make believe I will, drink up the Coolee concentrate and get the hell out so we can go on living normally”. In some villages the politician would wax lyrical about the beauty of a plastic covered sofa and carpet inherited from Zija Cett who incidentally, would also have voted for his great-uncle at the time of l-Interdiction. Ban the knock knocking.
Sometimes, probably, promises are vaguely made. A speeding up of a permit, an enquiry into the possibility of a parking space, a job at the ministry as a part-time messenger, a tip on how to apply for government plots – the sort of personal things that have nothing to do with politics in a normal world but have a lot to do with politics in our culture (and that of our immediate and not so immediate neighbours). The little committee of waddling canvassers (kan-vàss-ers with the accent on the middle syllable) would then leave the house and move on to the next like a troupe of Jehovah’s Witnesses on a diehard mission. Ban the knock knocking.
They are the door-to-door salesmen of promises and will invest an interest in your life for roughly twenty minutes until after the election when the same lady whose heart was won over by the candidate who just couldn’t take his eyes off her gandliera becomes another “Stenna Sinjura ghax l-avukat ghandu x’jaghmel issa, forsi jarak il-gimgha d-diehla bejn nofsinhar u l-kwarta” (Wait Madam, the lawyer is busy now, he might see you next week between noon and 12.15). Ban the knock knocking.
The farce was repeated during the Euro MEP campaign. Of all people, a far-right leader had managed to portray a fantastic sarcastic picture of Prime Minister Gonzi scuttling from one door to another attempting to gather votes for the menagerie that had been assembled to tip the scales in his party’s favour. The words “He is not a politician” point out the Emperor’s nudity when everyone has been accustomed to seeing the wonderful suits politicians claim to wear. Ban the knock knocking.
I want a ban on the knock knocking. I want a ban on the hypocritical invasion of privacy. I want a ban on the abuse of personal data that occurs every five years. I want it to be illegal for a party to call me at home and remind me that I have not voted on the day of the election. I want my party to be able to communicate to me intelligently. I want a candidate to be available in places where I can choose to go and not to go. That way I can differentiate between one who thinks he will win me over by showing me Ira Losco’s legs on stage and one who decides to sit behind a table with his constituents and discuss issues and how to solve them. Ban the knock knocking.
We do not even need to wait for the parties to issue the ban. Let’s start the trend ourselves. It would be good to have some kind of sticker like the ones asking members of “sect” not to knock on doors. Let’s add another one:
“This household votes intelligently. No Knock Knocking. Thank you. “
Jacques Réne Zammit
Liberal/Christian-Democrat
Please read fine print for any quoting. (click below)
No Knock Knocking by
Jacques René Zammit is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Malta License.
January 15, 2008 at 11:07 am |
[...] No Knock Knocking From The Malta Chronicle: [...]
January 15, 2008 at 11:26 pm |
I did just that recently when preparing my Sunday article and one of the interesting reportages that I came across dealt with the very peculiar rules that applied to the Japanese Presidential campaign.
Yeah, sure. In their fit of banning everything the Japanese must have also banned their Emperor.
I want it to be illegal for a party to call me at home and remind me that I have not voted on the day of the election.
Mobile phones are banned in polling stations and in the 50 metres perimeter. So what’s at work here, telepathy?
That way I can differentiate between one who thinks he will win me over by showing me Ira Losco’s legs on stage and one who decides to sit behind a table with his constituents and discuss issues and how to solve them.
Let’s hope you don’t want her banned too. And, anyway, x’ghandha inqas Ira Losco minn Obama Girl?
Finally, this post vindicates that the term liberal is, at best, so broad it excludes only the likes of the Ayatollahs and Kim Jong-Il, at worst totally meaningless. For here’s a post signed by someone calling himself a liberal whose main thrust is banning this and that.
What can I say? I pity the poor guy who stops you on the street to ask you the time.
And next time, do not come down so heavily on the Maltastar editor. Just as your home is your castle, the Star is still his webspace.
January 15, 2008 at 11:30 pm |
Vindicates my point, that is.
January 16, 2008 at 12:05 pm |
Ho! Ho! Ho! No Fausto. That’s not Santa Claus. It’s me laughing. Although at this rate I would not be surprised if you insisted that Santa is real. So, let’s see what got old Majistral all het up after his festival of galettes des rois …
1. Japanese Ban.
It exists. Whether you agree or not is irrelevant. It’s a fact.
2. Parties and your Right to Vote
Telepathy? More like monitoring. It is done. I have seen it first hand. They KNOW if you went to vote. They will call you at home if you have not – especially if your name is ticked as a potential vote in their favour. In certain districts they will send people to your home to try to convince you. This is not about banning. It’s about outlawing a violation of a freedom. A freedom not to vote. We both know how it works. They show you that they know you have not voted and that next time you will need a friend you will not find one in their party… .it’s sad… it’s stupid. But unlike Santa… it exists.
3. Ira Losco
Rocks. Beautiful girl and all. The thing is our politicians seriously believe they can buy our vote by organising one or two concerts, throwing tombola parties and inviting our youfff to free drinks. Barak Obama has a message and a vision. He does not depend on Obama Girl to get elected. Some politicians in Malta seriously lack a content dimension. Why should I vote for these guys? Because they can scuttle up a concert with Freddie Portelli and Ira ? Give me a break Fausto.
4. Re: Liberal.
I wonder whether your swift deduction that my call for banning undemocratic party practices is equivalent to a move by Khomeini or Jong-il merits a response. Either you said it tongoue in cheek or had too many belgian beers when you wrote it. The main thrust is not the one you choose to see but a thrust at blatant trampling of individual rights. The same parties you defend believe that it is their god-given right to decide who votes or not (and not the constitution). While in Malta I met two party activists (and candidates) at a party – one was PN and one was MLP. I asked them when their parties were planning to challenge my right to vote as is their usual practice come election time… this time I qualify under their supposed idea of non-eligible voter. The answer? There seems to have been an official decision in both parties to ALLOW BRUXLUX workers and residents to vote this time. You see Fausto.. the freedom fighters in MLPN are ALLOWING you and me to exercise a democratic right. Howzat for Khomeini? Do you think I should send Saliba and Micallef a bottle of whisky in gratitude?
5. Maltastar
I think my treatment of Kurt Farrugia was quite light. He can have all the space he likes. I let him use his and then used mine. You see it’s a free world. I wrote in an answer to an article on HIS space. When after several days I did not get an acknowledgement, a reason for not publishing and the reply in the “Have Your Say” did not appear I just mentioned it on my blog. When your editor decided to enter my space and attack me with a nice dose of sarcasm he only got back what he deserved.
If he did not want that kind of engagement he could have just stayed mum and even not published my comment on his website. That would not have stopped me from publishing it on my blog because as you would probably understand – in a liberal society, personal property, space (and data) is sacrosant.
Jingle, Jingle, Jingle
Naah that’s not the sleigh… it’s my euro coins a-tingling.
January 16, 2008 at 10:16 pm |
First, there’s no such thing as a “Japanese Presidential campaign”. Whether you agree or not.
Second, political parties call and encourage you to vote. Which is very different from what you’re claiming, including its implications.
Forth, whoa. If your understanding of what I said is associating you with the likes of the Ayatollahs (not Khomeni) or Kim (not Jong-Il, that’s his first name) you must have downed a few of those fine Moselle wine. But, in all likelihood you either want to play the victim or you’re just being your usual sophistic self. Individual and property rights? You’re not happy with just sticking a sticker to your door saying “Membri tax-Xhieda ta’ Gehova u Partiti ohra huma mitluba ma jhabbtux dan il-bieb” but to ban knocking. Why am I not allowed to welcome polticians’ knocks to show that Zija Cett’s inheritance? (Another anachronism, by the way: politicians are busy people these days and they just have time for a hello and a quick introduction and they move on. Ditto regarding the organising (political) concerts featuring Ira or Freddie (Portelli). Things don’t have to be banned just because JRZ doesn’t like them.
Fifth, I do not know if political parties believe they have the god-given right to decide who votes or not — unlike you, I’m unable to read minds. But last time I checked the rule of law applied in Malta and whether a name appears or not in an electoral roll was always for the courts to determine. Yes, there are nuisance suits but that applies in all states where the rule of law applies. And it keeps a good chunk of the legal profession from starving.
January 17, 2008 at 5:56 pm |
Which is very different from what you’re claiming, including its implications.
Erm getting a call in the afternoon, on election day asking you whether you voted or not does infringe on my individual right to privacy. In a democracy people have a right to opt out of voting. That in itself is a form of protest vote. I can confirm that representatives also visit individual households offering them lifts and virtually forcing them to go and vote. And yes there are negative repercussions – there are always some repercussions when it comes to politics. How I use my vote is no one’s business.
January 17, 2008 at 8:15 pm |
In a democracy people have a right to opt out of voting.
Here’s a list of countries with compulsory voting. You have no such “right” in, for example, Australia.
January 18, 2008 at 12:41 pm |
Yes you still have such a right – it’s just that there might be consequences if you exercise such a right. In any case it is the state which is enforcing it, though it’s law – and not the political parties.
January 18, 2008 at 3:32 pm |
[...] Banning Bandit – or why Fausto is right It all began here: a J’accuse and Malta Chronicle post in which I let loose a rant against certain political [...]
January 18, 2008 at 3:34 pm |
[...] Banning Bandit – or why Fausto is right It all began here: a J’accuse and Malta Chronicle post in which I let loose a rant against certain political [...]