<B>By Deepa BHOOKHUN</B>

Many people, in front of their television sets last week, sang the national anthem in a patriotic burst of emotion when Vikash Dhorasoo came on the pitch in the last five minutes of the French game.

He made us proud, this Mauritian-by-proxy guy. That rush of emotion came as a surprise, didn’t it? Any wonder? Mauritius is falling short of heroes and we have to take them when we find them. Look what we have to contend with in this country!

Our hopelessly boring opposition is staging an altogether different kind of show than that of the World Cup, almost everyday at the National assembly. One that brings out markedly less noble sentiments in us all. I’m talking about the MSM by the way, the MMM being too (temporarily?) lost in a bid to find itself again.

While France holds a joker card in Dhorasoo, the MSM holds a joker card going by the name of Showkatally Soodhun, an otherwise very likeable and happy go lucky chap. He, who usually puts up a good show of entertaining everyone, came up with a priceless statement last week after the MSM walkout from Parliament while former comrade in arms, Ashock Jugnauth, was making his speech on the budget. He told the press something along the lines of “We don’t like it when he (Ashock Jugnauth) adds his questions to our questions.”

No there are no typing mistakes, you have read right. And then they tell you they are serious people who take their opposition role to heart. I’m not sure if this is a case of talking for the sake of saying something but what those people have been coming up with in Parliament these days makes one wonder…

Then there was the next walk-out last Saturday brought about by a few comments from the PM and his finance minister, questioning the “intelligence” of our remarkable opposition. Had you been in Parliament this past week, I assure you, you would have understood where these two are coming from. The honourable leader of the opposition says his role is to ask questions. I’m glad he figured this one out but surely it isn’t too much to expect some relevant questions if not some thought-provoking ones?

You should do yourself a favour and go to Parliament to listen to the level of the debates there. Just make sure you reward yourself with some football later to make up for the hardship of putting yourself through this parody of good taste.

No one is contesting the role of the opposition to oppose but, as far as I’m concerned, when one doesn’t have anything sensible to say, one should just shut up. Not waste time and create havoc walking out and holding pointless press conferences.

And the ruling majority should be careful as well with inconsistencies. You will hear the finance minister go on and on about how dire the economic situation is and then, all of a sudden, you hear of a political nominee who effortlessly spends one million of the taxpayer’s hard-earned money on renovating an office that he will occupy for only a brief period of time. This is also called a lack of intelligence.

Any wonder we are all hooked on the World Cup? Any wonder we all need something to make us forget the mediocrity of what we have here?

But, thank goodness, there is still hope. Mauritius might be falling short on heroes on her soil but there are others out there who can still make us believe in this country. We’ll just close our eyes and ears to the buffoons we have elected and pretend they don’t exist. And when the World Cup is over, we’ll find something else to focus our energy on.