A relaxing walk along the shady, undulating, narrow streets and alleys of our old capital Mdina, is always a pleasure. Even the baking heat of a Maltese August afternoon does not diminish the allure of the ancient bleached walls interrupted by even grander doorways and sturdy  but magnificent wooden doors and windows .

A fascinating perpetual exhibition of intricate brass and iron escutcheons and doorknobs decorates the exquisite streetscape, as do the elegant patterns of cast iron works that guard the massive courtyards and gardens.

It was during one of my sojourns into this magic, energising space, that I spontaneously photographed a particularly eye catching brass escutcheon and  very typical but outstandingly  well-shaped dolphin  doorknob on a huge faded olive green side door  to the now vacant abode of one of our Maltese aristocratic families. 

Instinctively , I wished to share the scintillating moment of pleasure with others so I posted the photo on Facebook without a comment, thinking that commenting on such timeless beauty would be superfluous.... and believing that the picture would stimulate the same pleasure, nostalgia and sense of identity and artistic appreciation that it elicits in me.

Many hours later I read the comments.

A partisan political super polarised debate had ensued.... tragic if not outright hilarious, and a clear indicator that  a  sizeable swathe of the Maltese population,  breathes and thinks politics even  when the local political scene is subdued and the summer heat should be lulling us into a state of serene laissez-faire.

And then I stumbled across Victor Carachi's article' No to more Polarisation' in a local newspaper. I found it as fascinating as the dolphin brass doorknob, but in a different way.

To start with, Mr Carachi is the very competent President of the General Workers Union, which makes him the holder of a very prestigious and responsible post on these little islands bursting at the seams with workers of all kinds, all political beliefs and nationalities. Mr Carachi makes his case versus further and excessive  political polarisation, a scourge which I fully agree  has harmed  and continues to harm this country immeasurably. The ultimate aim of Mr Carachi  is, in my opinion, noble but the way he seems to want to achieve it is downright preposterous.

For a start,  the President of the General Workers Union (a union, not a political party) starts his depolarising article with a polarising attack on the leader of the Opposition. Now it’s not as if I eat 'kirxa' with the leader of the opposition every other day , but Carachi's arguments regarding  Martin Galea's ordeal and its handling by Maltese Authorities is outright biased. From what I could glean from local media, the Leader of the opposition simply insisted as is his constitutional right and duty, to be kept constantly in the loop on matters of such delicate nature.  In a similar situation, former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had treated the then leader of the Opposition with due respect. Can Mr Carachi  say with hand on heart that the same respect  was shown to the leader of the Opposition and his Constitutional role?

There are instances when this  Government hardly  seems  to show respect to its own democratically elected MPs and appointed ministers, let alone to those in the opposition benches . 

A manifestation of respect for this country's opposition, can go a long way in allaying political polarisation. In the previous legislature there were many instances where labour party representatives were ignored in that manner.

We protested and deplored the arrogance (which ultimately brought the PN down). People voted for an attitude change. But are we making the change?

Victor Carachi goes on to postulate that Local Council elections by their nature fuel polarisation and that imminent elections as things stand with the current legislation are dispensable, as is the participation of political parties. It would also save us money, Carachi states.

I wish to gently remind my readers that The Local Councils Act of 1993 was specifically created to bring democratic governance closer to the people. The devolution of power is the anathema of centralisation, which we all know is rearing its head again.  The participation of political parties does not exclude the participation of independent entities and individuals. The electorate is given the choice and there were many instances where  independent candidates were  elected well before party candidates. 

Contrary to what Carachi expressed, I believe that proper functioning of Local Councils can go a long way towards affecting depolarisation by showing the electorate that more goals can be achieved  quicker, by a politics of convergence. Confrontational , sensational, poisonous politics has no place at local or national level, and these two levels  of governance can lead by example.

A case can be made for all Local Council elections to be held at one go every five years by having nationwide elections in the next round, but protracting  the life of a sizeable swathe of our Local Councils well beyond their expiry date will be tantamount to killing them off. 

 Regarding the expense issue, I do not wish to dissect that painful subject (as yet). Suffice to say that  there are plenty of ways whereby one can save money on a daily basis as we speak. Turning some local councils into Kumitati tal-Girien by having to co-opt (not elect) local councillors to replace the ones who are not willing to continue serving, (and polarising further) is certainly not one of them.

Well over a year ago, a massive chunk of the Maltese and Gozitan population voted for a political movement which collectively personified depolarisation of the local political scene.  The success of the Labour Movement will be directly proportional to its success in eliminating unhealthy political polarisation in the country. There is still time.  It can be done, but the Government has to lead by example.