I am not a flag bearing Nationalist, but of Nationalist religion anyway. I used to declare this with pride. I have however noticed a change in me. I no longer willingly flaunt my political allegiance because I am not proud of this Nationalist government, I am no longer proud of the people I voted for. I am no longer willing to go out and vote for people who have let me and my country down to this degree. I am ashamed of the party in governemnt I have supported for all these years.

There is no accountability in this country. Anything goes. Dr Gonzi seems helpless. He is not in control. His ministers are not delivering. Even worse, some of them are a public embarrassment. I do not have to name names. Everyone reads the papers, everyone hears the news and everyone knows what I am talking about. The Nationalist ministers are projecting an image of incompetence or arrogance — sometimes both at the same time. Dr Gonzi tells us all how bright and great things are and how OK everything is. He might be OK, most of us are not. Taking us for a ride, and thinking that we do not realise, is arrogance at its best. Arrogance is what always dragged the Nationalists down and it will do so again. I was hoping that they have learnt, but they have not! Unfortunately, even a diehard Nationalist like myself, is now convinced that for this team, it is time to go. To date, I cannot see myself voting Labour, so I will probably not bother to vote at all.

In other democratic countries, resignations would have been the decent thing to do following the many recent issues involving our ministers and parliamentary secretaries. In Malta, resignations are unheard of. Everything seems to be OK, nothing seems wrong; nobody is accountable. The large number of company chairmen who resigned has been a clear indication that the ministers in power are not compatible with normal business minded people. However, only one person resigned with all the honours, facing the music with the integrity called for. She was a woman! She was not stuck to her position and was not afraid to call a spade a spade. Unlike others she did not hide behind fancy reasons hoping not to step on toes lest she loses out on some other future position. Chairmen who resigned for the famous “personal reasons” have resigned exactly for that – personal agendas, I was hoping that Marlene Mizzi had started a trend on how to resign with transparency, elegance and dignity. Courageous upstanding persons of the Mizzi Ilk are the characters that this country needs, not the men in power who are stuck to their powerful chairs like leeches irrespective of how dignity requires otherwise.

I write this with a heavy heart, but I love my country , my children and grand children more than I love politicians in power irrespective of their colour. Gentlemen, it's time to go. Please do.

Gerald L. Zammit

Bugibba