Coughing Fit

Had I been drinking something when I read the line below, from The Times' leader on Monday, I would certainly have sprayed it out hilariously in the style of a Hollywood comedy:

"Written in the desiccated style so beloved of academics and environmentalists, the State of the Environment Report for 2005, just published by Mepa, makes powerful - not to say disquieting - reading."

This singularly hypocritical characterisation of the report's prose precedes, however, a slavishly admiring article on the content. The worrying issue at the heart of this editorial is the withdrawn blandness of the newspapers position. It would be fatuous to expect this flabby newspaper to express any scepticism about the genuine commitment of this government to Malta's environmental well-being.
The Times idiotically parrots Lawrence Gonzi's plangent appeal for the conservation of the environment, though it reserves the right of not reminding its readers that the Prime Minister believes that "people [have to be made] aware the environment is their responsibility as much as it is Government’s." Which should be read as "We like nature, but we'll be damned if we're losing any votes over it."
As in other areas of political life, the Nationalist government relies on the moral and political expediency of EU membership to account for increased "standards and policies for environmental protection and awareness." And as if Parliament had been toppled by a Greenpeace-funded coup d'etat the Times codedly implies that the government has taken green values to its bosom, though local environmentalists may be of another opinion:

"The real wonder is that his government, and those before it, have taken so long to realise the parlous effects of the way we have treated our environment."

In spite of the at best lacklustre efforts at addressing these issues, The Times casts the Minister for the Environment into a gloriously Sisyphean pose.

"While the Minister for the Environment, George Pullicino, bravely points to vestigial improvements in reducing air pollution and bathing water quality, he has to admit that 'we must continue to improve environmental quality in these areas, as we must also do in the areas where the challenges are greater, as, for example, for waste management and nature protection.' These last words hide a multitude of sins."

The asthma sufferers produced by the Delimara power plant may well agree, though it may prove hard to convince them of the Nationalist government's commitment to their respiratory well-being. But The Times is rather too busy uncritically quoting extensive chunks to busy itself with critical insight. For the sake of statistical completeness, it should be noted that just under than 200 words of the 550-word article consisted of direct quotes from the report, which is probably more than necessary considering anyone that wants to see the flashy pamphlets can do so for themselves here (or here in Maltese).
As it is, the report is being trickled out into The Times, without any meddling comment, is bitesize easy-to-ignore installments. This way, everyone wins. Pullicino gets to play the enlightened hippie, Gonzi smugly intones his Confucian meditation on the balance of nature, and the rest of the country listens to all the bold announcements on their car stereos.