Today I am going to discuss a historic election taking place in Mexico right now, which will in all likelihood show that clientelism can be overcome. In Malta, clientelism is something we take for granted, and seen as being so normal that the average person does not really even understand what it is, or why it is such a problem for our democracy, no more than a fish knows that it is in water. It is the practice of buying votes, and abusing the power of incumbency. By rewarding the faithful and punishing those with a different opinion, politicians create a system of dependency. They can rule like gods and can therefore ignore the public interest. In this climate, business owners, professionals, civil servants, academics and even average citizens are afraid to oppose the government, for fear of being excluded from the pie and punished. In Malta, it is a Mexican standoff, as neither the Nationalists nor the Labour Party want to get rid of clientelism, as they depend on it.

For much of the 20th century, Mexico was ruled by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Over time, it lost all sense of ideology or identity, becoming a clique of criminals and career politicians who maintained their own power by abusing it. Drug lords and businessmen grease palms, while the poor and needy are given handouts and jobs and told not to question authority. Candidates in Mexico are also murdered, part of the jockeying for power, and over 100 have lost their lives in this election cycle alone.

In Mexico, voter intimidation and fraud are normal, institutions are medieval and there is a track-record of failure when standing up to the authorities. One assumes people would be discouraged by over 70 years of one-party rule. The system of clientelism in Mexico is far more terrifying than anything little Malta can cook up. Malta's system of clientelism, with Ministry "customer care units" calling households to offer them favours, is a flagrant abuse of democracy, but is nowhere near as intimidating. Yet, despite all the setbacks, Mexico's one-party system has been on the way out since 2000. Right now, the Institutional Revolutionary Party seems set to suffer a devastating defeat.

The lesson to be learned is that, first, clientelism erodes the identity of a Party and its ability to bring about positive change. Over the years, despite its immense power, Mexico's corrupt ruling clique has been unable to sustain the system of favours, and at the same time provide a safe and successful way of life for its citizens. Bad governance leads to inequality and suffering by its very nature. When a party abuses clientelism, the party is no longer distinguishable from the state, and the state becomes entirely self-serving.

There are lessons to be learned from this in Malta, as today we ask ourselves what the Nationalist Party stands for after generations in power. However, the Labour Party also had to turn its back on its own historic principles to maintain its power by buying votes and using money to remain in control despite numerous scandals. Partit Demokratiku has the ingredients to break this Mexican standoff, and offer the solution which Malta and Gozo have been looking for in order to cleanse the rot of incumbency once and for all.