Having watched the remarkably ingratiating interview conducted by Times of Malta journalist Mark Laurence Żammit, I was reminded how people can change when career prospects come into play, just as politicians change once they acquire power and grow comfortable with the authority it brings.
The Prime Minister clearly enjoys giving interviews when he knows he is unlikely to face any meaningful challenge. But that was not always the case. Early in his leadership campaign, Robert Abela was forced to answer difficult questions. Nor was it always the case for the journalist himself, who, earlier in his career, still seemed willing to ask uncomfortable questions.
This video of Robert Abela during the Labour Party leadership contest illustrates exactly what I mean. Since then, the Prime Minister has ended up on good terms with the corrupt former Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.
If you look at the documentary record and the history of Maltese politics over the past six years, the situation has only deteriorated. Criminal impunity for politicians has become more entrenched, while the political and media environment has grown increasingly mellow, accommodating and ingratiating towards those in power.
The quality of political discourse, meanwhile, has become progressively shallower, more superficial and, ultimately, dumber.
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