Protests in Malta can never be national because they are always going to be split down the middle between “us” and “them”.

Friday’s turnout, while impressive, was clearly segregated and did not cross political party lines for the simple reason that no committed Nationalist voter would be caught dead protesting against “his” government even though he may be as angry and frustrated at rising prices as any Labour voter.

He will fume and rage at home or with close friends at how he cannot make ends meet anymore, but to expose himself to a possible TV camera which could beam his vision all over the country…? Um, no I don’t think so. You see, if you are seen marching in the streets at a protest organised by Labour, that will spell your doom and you will be labelled a turncoat, a traitor and your friends will never speak to you again.

It has always been so, and it will probably always be so.

As if to drive the point home even further we had the Prime Minister on the national station and the Labour leader on John Bundy’s programme on One TV defending their respective positions. So, even viewers at home were segregated.

I only watched the programmes briefly, but the glimpses I got of the two party leaders were very telling – Gonzi was almost aggressive and strident, shouting at the top of his voice, while Muscat was very calm. Perhaps Gonzi was so upset because he was keenly aware that apart from those thousands who showed up for the protest, there were many more at home who were there in spirit.

Of course, the scenarios on the two programmes were different: the Prime Minister was on the defensive trying to justify the salary increases for MPs with Gavin Gulia and Michael Briguglio rebutting his arguments. Muscat was playing “home” in a carefully planned programme with no one there to oppose his statements, and practically everyone on his side.

It’s my party

The extent of party loyalty in this country runs so deep it may never be truly erased – a fact which makes most politicians feel smug and secure about their prospects for re-election. However, it still amazes me how people cling mindlessly to the tails of their party in the face of clear mismanagement. Why is it so difficult to admit that the people you voted for are screwing things up? Perhaps it’s because by admitting that they are incompetent it becomes a reflection on your own dubious judgment.

This happens over and over again to people who vote Labour – they are, by association, and by virtue of the fact that they helped to vote those politicians into power, repeatedly blamed and almost held responsible for what happened in the 1970s and 1980s. In the insults and taunts which are traded on the comment boards of news portals, you can still see that language of “you” in the plural (inthom) being used, which speaks volumes – you can practically hear the venomous tone leaping out at you from your PC.

But this kind of labelling doesn’t allow room for the variables of human nature – after all, we ourselves change as time goes by and sometimes alter our opinions on matters of importance, so how can a voter be held accountable for voting for a politician who, after being in office for a few years, changes his stance, stops listening to his constituents and becomes unspeakably arrogant with the heady opium of power? We have to wait five years to vote that kind of politician out of office, and meanwhile we are stuck with the result of our vote.

I still recall the Mintoff and KMB years, when criticising Labour landed you with dark, suspicious looks – and the heavy irony is that, clearly, we have now come full circle. Some Nationalist voters feel almost obliged to stick up for their party, even if in their heart of hearts, they are as unhappy with the way the country is being run as anyone else.

The shoe is clearly on the other foot and they are now forced to defend the indefensible, because of party loyalty.

The implications of disagreeing with the PN for a Nationalist voter, of course, are quite severe. “What?! You mean you would prefer Labour to be in government?” a true blue voter will lash out scathingly against someone whose blueness has faded to a faint tinge. It is difficult obviously, in this kind of situation, to suggest in a shaky, trembling voice that maybe the other lot “are not so bad”. You could, perhaps, suggest it, but you would have to run for cover as the sky erupts with the wrath of Zeus as you are struck by lightning.

A more realistic eventuality in 2013 will be hordes of disgusted Nationalists who will stay home refusing to vote because they would rather drink arsenic than bring themselves to vote Labour.

“Jew magħna jew kontra tagħna”

There is another issue here that has never changed despite the passage of time. There is still the mindset that you are either a supporter of one party or another – with no room for any other possibility. So if you are heard criticising the Nationalist administration, you must be Labour. And if you voice your opinion that you think Muscat is hopeless, then you must be a Nationalist. If you criticise both then people assume you’re an opportunist who will use your vote according to which way the wind is blowing. It’s very boring and tiresome to think we have not moved on beyond this “you’re either with us or against us” mentality. It is this mentality that keeps people strapped and straitjacketed into convenient little pigeonholes so that politicians can swan around doing what they like.

I abhor the fact that a politician thinks he is assured of anyone’s vote simply because that person has “always” voted for that party. It reduces voters to little children who are patted on the head and humoured in return for their complete obedience.

Naturally, there are people who have switched allegiances, after all who would have ever thought in a million years that the day would come when John Bundy would be sympathetic towards Labour while Eileen Montesin now waves the PN flag?

But these are exceptions… as long as the electorate continues to behave like a trained seal anytime a national issue comes up, simply because they’re afraid of what others might think, then I suppose it’s correct to say we get the government we deserve.

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