Mnajdra is a Temple on a precipice.

It is sacred and it is ancient.

Right at the foot of the temple, the rocky precipice tumbles down a sharp ragged rock-face, hurling itself deep into the crystal clear waters of a cluster of sparkling coves.

Everybody knows Mnajdra Temples exist.

Many have seen it, touched it, loved it, fallen under its spell, been overawed by it.

But Mnajdra is not just the Temples.

It is the entire area. 

It is the experience of the full expanse of sacred land, picked for its incomparable beauty, a spot where the little human could feel closest to the god of hope, of life.

It is a temple on a beach, an exquisite rocky outcrop tucked away in an enchanting speck of ragged Maltese coastline.

From the top of the precipice it looks hostile and impossible to navigate, it looks out of reach, dangerous and treacherous.

And because of its deceptive perspective, because of the arduous, tortuous way down the bumpy would be path, few have had the privilege to discover the unmatched spectacular beachhead that waits way below.

Few have dared and few have won for themselves the unique experience of diving right into the navy blue depths of dazzling shades of blue and turquoise,  tasting the crispy clean salty water tickling the back of their throats.

Very few have had the monumental experience of enjoying a delectable ftira with tomatoes, capers and olive oil, washed down with a glass of chilled Moscato, while watching the blood orange sun sink deep into the silvery flawlessness of the horizon.

Very few of us, too few I must say, have ventured out to positively explore the beauty of our islands, the alternatives, the places more difficult to reach, the places we do not know exist because we have not searched, nor dared to look far and deep.

We  seem to have this compulsion, this primordial pull to stick to the beaten track, the familiar track, the 'safe' track, the known track even if it is no longer the track  we knew, the track that attracted us in the first place.

We find it so difficult to give it up.

We find it as difficult as an addiction. We might go as far as admitting that it is poisoning us, choking us, destroying us but we keep inhaling the killer smoke, injecting the sanity sucking liquid, licking that scrumptious dripping, drinking that liver pickling stuff.

And woe betide that person who challenges our behaviour. Woe betide that person who tries to tell us about the fabulous beach we have never enjoyed  because of the arduous walk. Woe betide that person who challenges our mundane  and unthinking choice of crowded dirty beach. Woe betide that person who points out the damage being inflicted by the venom being injected into our veins and the poison suffusing the corridors of our brain. Woe betide.

We have a murky political landscape in Malta.  But we are used to it. We know its no longer safe, or worth its while because we are obviously being taken for ride after ride.

We can either coil up like the turdy knot in front of Castille and wait for someone to do something about it, or we can do something about it ourselves.

Of course there will be blue and red giant party machines woe betiding us all.

Who cares 

I still choose to be a woe betide person, part of a magnificent woe betide team that is unruffled by the blue and red boogey party machines.

Outside the confines of those propaganda machines there is a population that is ready and willing and still very hopeful that this country can achieve  the best, can  achieve true freedom, can rediscover itself.

And this in spite of the painful recent disillusionment inflicted by the pseudo reds.

It’s true, it looks as insurmountable as when Marco Cremona stood at the foot of Mount Everest dreaming of planting the first Maltese flag ever on that gigantic rocky edifice. It looked impossible, but hard work conquers all and he did it.

So though we have no TV stations, no papers, no billboards, we are confident that we will lead you there nevertheless.

After all we do have the infinite territory of the Republic of Chatrooms and the hearts and ears of our people in the pretty streets of our villages. 

And we have the most important thing.

We have a vision of how our country should be governed, why it should be governed thus, where we want to go and how to get there.

Together we can give our country and our people what they deserve. And yes, we can definitely get there.