2005 - A year in review
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Events in Malta over the past year were dominated by the usual combative MLP-PN crossfire, a relatively stagnant domestic economy and increased arrivals of migrants from Africa. New buildings continued to rise on what remains of the traditional landscape and roads were resurfaced to accomodate visiting dignitaries. CHOGM, which captured the headlines in the later part of the year, gave Malta a hint of international attention even if it was largely ignored by the global media. From an organisational perspective, the event was good practice for what is to come when Malta takes the presidency of the European Union in 2017.
In contrast to the Commonwealth's objectives of racial harmony and global understanding, extreme right wing organisations took centre stage in Malta during the past 12 months. From the views of the villainous Norman Lowell who advocates shooting migrants at sea to the less extreme ANR who model themselves on the Italian post-fascists. Thankfully, the mainstream political parties are increasingly collaborative in handling this challenge.
In spring, Labour won the local elections convincingly thanks to growing disaffection with the administration. According to Eurobarometer surveys, the Maltese public became more pessimistic about national economic and political prospects and also lukewarm about their personal expectations. As with the rest of the European public, the Maltese have also become increasingly euro-sceptical despite the parliamentary consensus on the shelved European Constitution. A new comprehensive Malta survey due to be published by the European Commission in mid-January suggests that this slide has now come to a halt.
In the wider world, Live8 offered hope to many Africans but the international media was dominated by the barbaric attacks in places such as London and Baghdad and also by the natural disasters in Asia, the USA and elsewhere.
From a personal perspective, my year was spent working as a university lecturer in the Czech Republic and as an editor of Eurobarometer surveys. 2006 will be spent less in cold Central Europe and more in the warm Mediterranean due to my involvement in other EU financed research projects closer to home.
Equally enjoyable was my daily blogging on Wired Temples, independently at first, and then as part of the MaltaMedia team. As in the case of Toni Sant's blog, 2005 represents the first complete calendar year for WT. Winning third place in the Malta Journalism Awards for my blog efforts was very encouraging. Following developments in the Maltese blogosphere was also a continuous delight throughout the year. Having guest bloggers ( more to come in 2006) on Wired Temples was another highlight and I particularly enjoyed listening to Toni's Maltese podcasts. I hope to go a step further with my activity at MaltaMedia during 2006 and also plan to give more attention to this personal blog and to writing for other local and foreign media channels.
All the blog entries of 2005 can be read via the archives on the WT sidebar and they are an alternative medium to chronicle the year and to look back on the ideas, people and events that shaped it. A monthly snapshot for those who lack the time or patience:
January: Local elected official resigns over racist activism; Europe observes minutes of silence for Tsunami victims; Maltese people lead the world happiness barometer.
February: Turkey blocks Malta's bid to rejoin NATO's Partnership for Peace; Remembering Malta's first female President; Council of Europe examines corrupt practices in Malta; Corto Maltese turned into French film.
March: Maltese Wikipedia takes shape; Malta in bottom place on Lisbon strategy scoreboard; Political bias and local elections.
April: The death of Pope John Paul II; Blog reactions to the election of Benedict XVI.
May: A pro-European NO in France; Government proposal ruins abortion consensus; Chiara and the Eurovision in blogosphere; The demise of Julian Manduca.
June: Pakistani doctor recalls Karin Grech; The first blog carnival; Malta ranks highest on belief in God; First feature on Maltese blogs in the mainstream press.
July: Death of British Prime Minister who undertook tough negotiations with Malta; Judith Miller's Malta connection with KMB interview; Letter from a wounded London.
August: Songwriting malaise; A tribute in London for Maltese heroes; Malta's film commissioner censored by the authorities; Remembering Gerry Zammit and Robin Cook; The Raison D'etre of Wired Temples.
September: Blogging at the European Parliament; The latest Malta Eurobarometer; Croat shame at Ta'Qali stadium.
October: Immigrant frustration in Malta reported by BBC; Maltese people disillusioned by Parliament; The Guardian publishes article about Malta's language question; Aboutmalta newsletter marks fifth anniversary.
November: Guest blogging by Martin Debattista and Toni Sant; The Queen visits her island of happiness; MaltaMedia clean sweep at Journalism awards.
December: Amnesty issues Malta statement; Maltese antipathy towards divorce featured by Reuters; Guest blogging by Coryse Borg; UK gets Malta support on EU budget.
In contrast to the Commonwealth's objectives of racial harmony and global understanding, extreme right wing organisations took centre stage in Malta during the past 12 months. From the views of the villainous Norman Lowell who advocates shooting migrants at sea to the less extreme ANR who model themselves on the Italian post-fascists. Thankfully, the mainstream political parties are increasingly collaborative in handling this challenge.
In spring, Labour won the local elections convincingly thanks to growing disaffection with the administration. According to Eurobarometer surveys, the Maltese public became more pessimistic about national economic and political prospects and also lukewarm about their personal expectations. As with the rest of the European public, the Maltese have also become increasingly euro-sceptical despite the parliamentary consensus on the shelved European Constitution. A new comprehensive Malta survey due to be published by the European Commission in mid-January suggests that this slide has now come to a halt.
In the wider world, Live8 offered hope to many Africans but the international media was dominated by the barbaric attacks in places such as London and Baghdad and also by the natural disasters in Asia, the USA and elsewhere.
From a personal perspective, my year was spent working as a university lecturer in the Czech Republic and as an editor of Eurobarometer surveys. 2006 will be spent less in cold Central Europe and more in the warm Mediterranean due to my involvement in other EU financed research projects closer to home.
Equally enjoyable was my daily blogging on Wired Temples, independently at first, and then as part of the MaltaMedia team. As in the case of Toni Sant's blog, 2005 represents the first complete calendar year for WT. Winning third place in the Malta Journalism Awards for my blog efforts was very encouraging. Following developments in the Maltese blogosphere was also a continuous delight throughout the year. Having guest bloggers ( more to come in 2006) on Wired Temples was another highlight and I particularly enjoyed listening to Toni's Maltese podcasts. I hope to go a step further with my activity at MaltaMedia during 2006 and also plan to give more attention to this personal blog and to writing for other local and foreign media channels.
All the blog entries of 2005 can be read via the archives on the WT sidebar and they are an alternative medium to chronicle the year and to look back on the ideas, people and events that shaped it. A monthly snapshot for those who lack the time or patience:
January: Local elected official resigns over racist activism; Europe observes minutes of silence for Tsunami victims; Maltese people lead the world happiness barometer.
February: Turkey blocks Malta's bid to rejoin NATO's Partnership for Peace; Remembering Malta's first female President; Council of Europe examines corrupt practices in Malta; Corto Maltese turned into French film.
March: Maltese Wikipedia takes shape; Malta in bottom place on Lisbon strategy scoreboard; Political bias and local elections.
April: The death of Pope John Paul II; Blog reactions to the election of Benedict XVI.
May: A pro-European NO in France; Government proposal ruins abortion consensus; Chiara and the Eurovision in blogosphere; The demise of Julian Manduca.
June: Pakistani doctor recalls Karin Grech; The first blog carnival; Malta ranks highest on belief in God; First feature on Maltese blogs in the mainstream press.
July: Death of British Prime Minister who undertook tough negotiations with Malta; Judith Miller's Malta connection with KMB interview; Letter from a wounded London.
August: Songwriting malaise; A tribute in London for Maltese heroes; Malta's film commissioner censored by the authorities; Remembering Gerry Zammit and Robin Cook; The Raison D'etre of Wired Temples.
September: Blogging at the European Parliament; The latest Malta Eurobarometer; Croat shame at Ta'Qali stadium.
October: Immigrant frustration in Malta reported by BBC; Maltese people disillusioned by Parliament; The Guardian publishes article about Malta's language question; Aboutmalta newsletter marks fifth anniversary.
November: Guest blogging by Martin Debattista and Toni Sant; The Queen visits her island of happiness; MaltaMedia clean sweep at Journalism awards.
December: Amnesty issues Malta statement; Maltese antipathy towards divorce featured by Reuters; Guest blogging by Coryse Borg; UK gets Malta support on EU budget.