The allegory goes to show that if we were to total the numbers on the roulette wheel they would add to the number of the ‘beast’.  So that creepy, spine-chilling use of ‘17 Black’ as the name of the infamous shell company that has taken over our headlines for these last two years is almost prophetical (at times verging on the comical) more so now that our political landscape seems to have been turned into an asinine contest.  

But whilst we are at it, I feel that it is much more of a Russian roulette we are engaging in if you had to ask me.   Will get back to this in a moment.

As a matter of fact, I am really not sure that our political class realise what people are saying about them.  At times I feel that it is another edition of Grande Fratello, where the politicians try to showcase their preferred profile on a Monday night when most people are seeing them on TV and they leave their foolhardiness to the rest of the week believing that people will not see through them.  But the people are more intelligent than that and can see past the theatricals.

The recent spate on 17 Black manifests another episode of the dramaturgical type. 

Mind you, I will not try to articulate my opinion on the matter per se.  It is so complicated and seemingly so messed up that it’s like looking for your car keys at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.  Let’s accept the fact that we will never really know who cluttered up, who was to gain from this sleaze, who was/were the beneficiaries, who tried to manipulate the information and so on and so forth.  The interests on both sides of the continuum are in a tight spot and I have completely given up expecting any sanity to the table.  Politicians will keep Tweeting and chirping with the occasional Facebook status alleging all that comes to mind.  In the meantime, we common mortals will be left to try and make ends meet, sort out our calamities and provide for our family. 

We need to add to all of this the reality that 17 Black has confirmed, namely that when business and politics dovetail, it is a recipe for disaster.  The issue at the bottom of this problem is that in this country nepotism is rife.  ‘Nirrangalkom xi haga’ is the jingle we all should be humming to as we are alienated by our needs.   Decisions had to be taken on this matter more than 2 years ago and we still wait ‘for the truth’ to emerge.

Providentially our political class is becoming so insignificant that things seem to move forward nonetheless, whether their behaviour is principled or not.  The systems we have in place, our institutional setup (by and large working), the EU standards as a result of our membership and our emancipation as citizens has made it even simpler to get on with it whilst we eavesdrop on the political bedlam we were only used to see in countries like Italy and the US. 

Our political scenario has become almost extraneous to the needs of the populace.

So whilst the politicians are busy getting sick on each other, we have issues like the rent to be solved, homelessness (as a consequence), the scourge of loneliness, the need for a just distribution of wealth, community that is losing its spirit, to name just a few.  We have almost turned our country in a sort of ridicule when there is still so much to do and this when the timing was right to take our Country up a notch.  What we get in return is a political class that is in a state of comatose and dizziness.  The irony is that we almost get scandalised when countries like the USA and Brazil elect people like Trump and Bolsonaro.  We seem to forget that in the absence of decency our political class is flooded with chumps and comics.  In any case, the drive for power will never go away.  Politicians will always have the effect of a honeypot for big business dealings.  Our hedonism, high-living and self-indulgence are way stronger than our will to do the right thing.  So there you go, it a rather bleak situation.  At this point I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel – we have failed this generation.

Now to add insult to injury our Opposition (which should offset the conundrums) is nowhere to be seen.

This pandemonium is the result of a lack of leadership.  The PN needs to admit that Delia’s position has become untenable.  This is not only because of the dismal surveys that indicate no hints of a step up but because his personal issues and the lack of support in the Party have become a spoke in the wheels.  With the current ratings he risks turning the Nationalist Party into a complete turnip.  His ineptitude has now really got in the way of his headship.  There is no other way of saying it; with Delia the PN will never win, will never see the light of day and the popular support will continue to dwindle.  I would also add to this the sad situation of seeing politicians in the Nationalist Party sitting on the balcony watching without budging (some might even be rubbing their hands) as their Kap and Party sink to new depths.  These people must either be getting a climax or are slightly more strategic and ready to pounce on the opportunity when the vacancy appears (it’s a question of time). The few politicians there are who stand up to what they believe in are left in the backwoods feeling isolated and powerless.  So if anything the Nationalist Party is proverbially placing bullets in its chamber, spinning the cylinder and one day after another hoping that once ‘they’ place the muzzle against their head the pull will not knock them out.