There is a chasm in this country, which, in between elections, is papered over. As soon as the campaigning starts however, the fissures and cracks start to appear again.

The chasm is the deep-rooted class division that always raises its ugly head around this time. I get depressed hearing about “us” and “them” in those awful, disparaging tones – which starts out in reference to the respective politicians but then trickles down and spreads to the supporters themselves. The idealist in me is always hoping we can get past the nastiness and name-calling, but it returns again and again like clockwork. Fomenting class hatred is a dangerous tool that can have disastrous results as we have seen in the past. Everyone has to shoulder responsibility for this: politicians when they speak to their crowds, we in the media whether in print, on TV, radio or on the blogs, and ordinary citizens voicing their opinions at the corner shop.

Sometimes we forget that in families there are those with different political views: between married couples, siblings, even parents and children. What is the point of stirring up vicious hatred and venom that can tear them apart? Even good friendships can be ruined if we are not careful in the way we speak and write.

I am happy to say that different political views have never got in the way of any of my friendships or personal relationships because I am surrounded by people who are mature and respectful enough to rise above all the hysteria. Instead we joke and tease each other about it good-naturedly.

And anyway what is all the fuss about? As a good friend likes to say: “We are all dead in the end.”

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I think someone needs to have a quiet word in Joe Saliba’s ear to explain to him the meaning of “anti-establishment”. Liberals are anti-establishment Joe, not supporters of a right-wing party that is against divorce, pretends cohabiting couples don’t exist, is jittery about gays and wants to entrench an anti-abortion clause in the Constitution. If those pro-PN students at the debate were anti-establishment, then Bush is anti-war.

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Have you noticed how Gonzi has resurrected the famous Eddie opening gambit “Huti Maltin u Ghawdxin”? Nice touch, giving supporters a sense of continuity while trying to bring back to the fold those who feel peeved at how this young whippersnapper has all but obliterated the cult idol status once enjoyed by Eddie Fenech Adami.

* * *

Our memories of the past can be very selective; when people go on and on about the 1980s I find it difficult to get so worked up about it.

I too spent my teens and early 20s under a Labour government and yes, there were many decisions I strongly disagreed with. I also had no problem voicing my disapproval of certain policies with the people concerned. I too was affected by the unfair educational policies and had to postpone my dream to go to university until 1986 (at the age of 25) when an evening course finally opened in a subject that interested me – Communications.

My family has always steered clear of political demonstrations and situations where there could potentially be trouble, so I was never directly involved in any of the violent incidents – and by no means am I trivialising what happened.

But ask me about the early 1980s, and what I remember is being carefree and single and having the time of my life – it was my youth. Politics has never been the be all and end all for me.

I have a theory. When I hear people obsessing too much about the past, gnashing their teeth and shaking their fists at the recollection of the Mintoff years, I sometimes think that maybe, just maybe it coincided with a period when they were deeply, immensely unhappy with their personal life.

Oh, I almost forgot – I was also on the receiving end of a vindictive transfer when together with many others, I was left to languish in an office with nothing to do. But wait, let me check my dates. Oops, that was 1987 when the Nationalists took over. So let’s not get too sanctimonious.

Of course, people will probably say, “but transfers aren’t as bad as getting beaten up” and we can argue about it till the cows come home. No wonder so many voters are turning in exasperation to the smaller parties who keep focusing on the issues and not squabbling like kids in the playground over “who started it”.

There are Nationalist supporters who argue that “we need to keep reminding our children of the terrible time we had in the 1970 and1980s under Labour”. Taking this argument to its logical conclusion, there will never ever be a Labour government in Malta because even if someone absolutely saintly who has no baggage becomes leader of the MLP, he/she will never be able to erase the past. The past will always be there.

Ergo, I think we should just stop having elections all together and just keep handing the baton of Nationalist Party leadership from one dynasty to the next. That way we will always be “safe” and Papa Government will make sure we never have to worry our pretty little heads about anything ever again.

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Scaring the living daylights out of people – is that really the way gonzipn wants to be remembered?

Vote for me because the other lot are monsters who will bring terror to the land? Even telling me to be “better safe than sorry” is not really such a positive slogan when you think about it. It’s a slogan that plays on people’s innate fears rather than on their intelligence, and if there is one thing which has emerged from this campaign is that politicians continue to treat voters like a bunch of nincompoops who cannot see through their rhetoric and often blatant distortion of facts.

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It seems like this election is going to boil down to: whose campaign do you believe? There is the perfectly packaged gonzipn campaign which has hammered away relentlessly to drive its message home, but which gives floaters the shivers because like The Stepford Wives, it seems a bit too clinically perfect to be true.

Then we have the often fumbling approach of the Labour campaign, which has been heavily criticised for not providing more direct answers to simple questions. Is this the way they will govern, the undecided voters ask themselves?

And let us not forget Alternattiva Demokratika and Azzjoni Nazzjonali, which for the first time look like they are really going to make a dent in the percentages of the two main parties, if nothing else because they seem to be more consistent in sticking to their ideologies.

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After all the shouting dies down and the results are in, come Monday 10 March the world goes back to normal. Or will it?

I’ve already learned that shops and other establishments will not be opening which, for the life of me, I don’t understand. When will this country learn to treat an election with a bit more level-headedness? Sure, some will want to party while others will be crying bitterly into their soup, but I’ve never fathomed why everything has to stop.

For most people, the election result will not mean a dramatic change in their lives – they still have to get up for work, drive the kids to school, do their shopping and pay their bills. Their careers are not subject to who is in government and no one is going to give them a free handout.

Of course, then there are those whose very existence depends on the government of the day: contracts, development permits, tenders, juicy political appointments, lucrative chairmanship posts and other fringe benefits are hinging on whether Gonzi or Sant walk up the Castile steps.

So I guess I can see how, for these people, their world will literally be coming to an end.

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What you do with your vote is completely your business. Whether you decide to vote, or stay at home in protest, or go in that booth and scribble your feelings with relish, that’s entirely up to you. I get irritated hearing this talk of “wasted” votes because there’s no such thing. In a democracy (remember that word?) where the PEOPLE only have a say every five years on who is going to run the country and their lives, that voting document is their one chance to express themselves. So enjoy the moment folks – the balance of power lies in your hands for only a few fleeting seconds.

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In all the election hype that has dominated everything, please spare a thought for poor Morena. Usually the winner of the Song for Europe is the media’s darling, but apart from that first week or so, the election has rudely shoved her aside.

I do hope she hasn’t turned to vodka.

Nastarovje.

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