To those who know the story of El Cid, we suggest to add a bit of imagination. To those who do not know the story, well, we recommend to just take the dive into the heroics of the man, the man who was in fact a mercenary, lives on in the dreams of many, the one who is a mentor notwithstanding the odds.
It is said that El Cid was shot dead by the Moor invaders. He had been leading the locals, the Spanish against the invaders. And then he was shot dead, only to resurface on horse-back the following day, to instil fear into his adversaries. It is said that the Spanish tied him up, even dead, put his body rigidly tied onto the horse, and with him in full armour, panic spread over his adversaries, and soon the Moors were out. Tales, truth, fantasy, dreams, whatever.
Every people, every nation, has an El Cid, one or more. The French have Joan of Arc, the British have Churchill, the Italians have Garibaldi, the Germans have Bismarck; that one person, who in times so bleak, stands out above the rest and comes to enjoy, possibly not the support of, but the respect of most of those around. Possibly in Malta, we can cite Jean Parisot de Valette. None of these fabled ones was perfect, but they came to enjoy the status of Invincibles, of ones who can do no wrong.
That is where our fairy-tale ends. We have to come back to reality. Where is our El Cid? Who is ready to come forward at this time to lead this nation and create one whole of it all? Is El Cid, after all, a concept rather than a person? We cannot expect a person to be an all-rounder perfect, a prince. But we do have the right to demand that the person in whom we put our trust is one who can reason like a bonus pater familias, and let the administration of this country flourish in peace, envying the time when it was said sussh … ghax tqajjem il- Gvern!
Now history does repeat itself. There are the good times, and there are the bad times. There are cycles and periods which are so more pronounced than others. If we take a cursory look around, the seven and the 40 mark two distinct cycles, which have been around for such a long time, the seven-day week, the seven years of bounty followed by the seven years of hardship, the 40-day lent period, the 40 years in the desert.
Many of us, fail to give too much credence to history. But if one looks over one’s shoulders, the economic ups and downs seem to be tempered with this seven-year figure. Then there is the 40-year mark (split into two 20-year YoYos), which seems to provide the low and the high of the two main political parties in Malta.
40 years ago (do you hear the bells ring?):
a) Labour was riddled with allegations of violence (and now with allegations of corruption);
b) Labour was said to have taken over the institutions, when the Prime Minister of the time had failed to appoint the Constitutional Court;
c) Notwithstanding this, Labour won a 2nd election with a higher majority;
d) Labour had boosted the economy with the seven-year injection of funds resulting from the agreement with the British forces staying in Malta, up to the end of March 1979, similar to the funds invested as a result of Malta’s accession to the European Union.
Labour was in the forefront, PN was in the trenches.
And then, in another 40-year period, we can point to 1957 or 1998, when Labour governments, both had to give way due to national discontent and the PN was thriving.
Whatever is the case, we now need someone, or something, to come out from somewhere, to take the bull by the horns and correct this mess, in the short-term, in the medium-term, and for long-term, whether it be a seven-year, 20-year or 40-year cyclone.
We need a plan of action.
We feel humiliated when people from foreign countries come to check on us. We go back this time, a good 55 years to when we were a colony (according to the PN) and a mere 40 years (when this country became a republic, according to Labour). But that is what we are being told to swallow all the time, being told ad nauseam, to accept that A feels justified to perform something which does not really make sense, cause B did it before. Alas, natural justice!
Come on all and let’s try to identify the roots of our evils which at times is a blessing: this is a small nation, where A knows B and B knows C and C knows D at times, and at other times, A does not seem to acknowledge the existence of either B and C, but cuddles up with D.
We cannot accept that we have come to know so much about the murder of a journalist just because the Prime Minister of this country accepted to act. We cannot accept that a person who contests an election for the office of a Prime Minister deems that protesting the death of a person/allegations of corruption are a provocation. We cannot accept that a person who holds office paid from public funds tries to humiliate a citizen of this country for the mere fact that she takes part in an event, which does not suit him. We cannot accept these concepts. We cannot continue to accept mediocrity to run riot within this country. How dare they continue to treat us in this manner?
We cannot accept a leader who has no chance of being elected, continue to deny the facts that he has failed to garnish the trust of a substantial number of persons, when things have turned so much sour for Labour. Continuing to deny the inevitable will not lead to results.
What we need are solutions, we need El Cid to come along. Who that person will be, wherefrom, is something we yearn for. But El Cid does not necessary come in the form of a person, because El Cid represents the dream, the best, allowing the brain to surf the waves.
So let us go for El CID the concept.
We need transparency, and the people who are in power and in opposition, can deliver this, and in a short while. Yes in 100 days it can be ready, up and working.
Second chamber – People’s Representatives.
No, it is not a second Parliament, voted in by the people at large. That would be just a duplication. It is a 2nd chamber, elected by the people who care, by the people who trust themselves in the upper echelons of society to give this country something to look forward to.
Imagine, a 2nd chamber, made up of three representatives from the sectors of society who want to make a change, with three representatives from unions, self-employed, the employers, the professions, teachers, nurses, police/army, journalists, teachers, nurses, cultural societies, band clubs, sports organizations, financial institutions, charities, teaching organizations, pensioners, other N.G.Os., three wise men elected by a 60% of the members the 2nd chamber itself, and some others, who are elected for three years. Place where to sit … in the atrium of Auberge de Baviere, a building readily available, a space not utilised, accessible to people at large.
Why three in number: it is solely to ensure that there is space for all, with no two of the three representatives coming from the same entity. One will be elected from the largest entity (within say the unions), the 2nd from the second largest entity, and the rest will have a chance to be also represented.
No political parties.
And the function of such a 2nd chamber, would be to act as an overseer of the Executive. No ministers or parliamentary secretaries here. The 2nd chamber, will not have voting rights over all matters (such as budgetary and matters which are of national importance), but it will have voting rights over other matters, including the environment, the ethical behaviour, education, review contracts. Aha, yes, and where 60% of the members of the 2nd chamber are opposed to a vote passed in Parliament, the matter would have to revisited in Parliament.
Now this is not new. Malta did have a 2nd chamber, once upon a time. And the idea is well-drilled in other democracies.
…. And yes, this is important, that if either of Parliament or the 2nd chamber, votes up to 60% and the populace of a particular district votes up to 25%, a member of parliament is recalled, and a by-election in the same district held. Now that is making the people at the top accountable.
…. And yes, the members of the government agencies, ambassadors, police, attorney general, judges, would need to be approved by this 2nd chamber, and they can also be recalled by a 60% voting (and to those who oppose and say that this would make the country unworkable, why not increase the percentage to 66.7%). Shun away the excuses.
And there you have it!
So, really you can solve this malaise by one piece of legislation, passing a lot of power to the people who love this country, who devote their time to the welfare of this country, doing away with tribal voting, and getting the country’s representatives (both in Parliament and in the Government Agencies) accountable. Out standards will benefit. Let us throw mediocrity out of the window.
But alas, and we do have to cry … Parliament will not do this, Parliament can only give lip service to such ideas. For as one wise man said, fil-Parlament ma jikbrux fjuri! … and we are stuck still looking out for someone to come round from somewhere who we can identify with El Cid.
So we have to bow our heads once more, seemingly enjoying looking up to the people in Parliament who seem to want us to treat them like our tutors, and we can clearly tell them, that we are angry: Hey teachers leave us kids alone!
Joseph Abela