It has been a breath of fresh air – at least for me - to hear a senior politician of a major European Party say candidly and clearly that authenticity is the key in today’s political world and that magnolia politics is turning voters off.

I have been following for some time, with interest, the political relationship between the Labour Leader of the Opposition in the UK Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner.

After seeing Labour lose Hartlepool for the first time in 60 years in a by-election, Angela Rayner was quite clear and direct in her assessment.

People in the United Kingdom, she said, are clearly responding to the authenticity of Boris Johnson and are turned off by “magnolia politicians” who specialise in playing safe and have no opinion on anything in order not to offend anyone.

Some might say that Angela Rayner is throwing a dig at her own Party Leader who very recently removed her as campaign co-ordinator and party chair, appointing her instead as the shadow secretary of state for the future of work and the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

I honestly don’t know, but what I do most passionately feel is that Rayner is absolutely spot on when she speaks about authenticity. 

Rayner has this theory: most politicians are just saying what they believe people want to hear.  She gives this exercise a name: triangulation.

Boris Johnson, instead, according to Rayner, cut through that and comes across as someone who is “willing to throw a grenade in and upset what the norm is.”

When I was a backbencher on the Opposition benches in the years between 2008 and 2013, Labour Leader at the time Dr Joseph Muscat used to send me over as his representative to quite a number of public functions.

In most of the functions, as a representative of the Leader of the Opposition, I would end up sitting next to President Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami and his late wife Mary. 

I would enjoy attending the events, particularly when it was a classical concert or one related to art or culture. 

Dr and Mrs Fenech Adami used to be very pleasant and courteous every time I met them and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing a thought or too with them.

Mrs Fenech Adami, in particular, was the epitome of authenticity and her humility was what made her such a loved and well respected person.

Once, during an official event in Valletta, we were sharing a thought on how people look at politicians.

“There is a very clear answer to that,” they told me without thinking twice. 

“People read through you, as if you were a book”.  In Maltese, they told me, “in-nies taqrak.”

Those words were imprinted in my mind from that moment on.  They were right, of course - people read through you.

We live in a world which bombards us with a clear and continuous message all the time: a message which says that we are expected to be perfect and look perfect at all times.

As a consequence, those who do not make this grade are either looked down upon, sometimes made fun of or at best tolerated.

I am not able to pinpoint who or what actually pushes forward this message and probably it is a multitude of things, including the so-called “establishment”. But I am pretty sure that most of this bombardment derives from a co-existing socially constructed magnolia world which has, at its base, the totality of public messages we consume directly or indirectly all the time.

People, in their homes, in the streets and on the workplaces are more authentic than this world of careful triangulation. 

Being themselves more authentic, they expect precisely that same thing from us: authenticity.  And it is precisely this feeling that allows people in their homes to construct role models in their minds and in their hearts which are completely different from the “perfect people” that the socially constructed magnolia world pushes forward all the time.

Whether the two worlds are completely disjointed and whether there is also a sense of tension between the two is something which I need to reflect more upon to be able to arrive to a better conclusion. 

However, the blatant mismatch between the priorities of the magnolia world and the priorities of the authentic world is there for everyone to see and are very indicative.

The easiest choice for a politician is to take the road of triangulation and of appeasement of the socially constructed magnolia world.  But we know well enough that the easier choices usually end up being the worst choices.

I strongly believe that authenticity is the key and being always ready to, like Rayner said, upset the system (or as I usually define it: be a change maker) as long as you genuinely believe in what you say.   

Democracy is a fantastic opportunity to implement change and improve the lives of the public at large.  When the people doing that are authentic, the electorate warms up to the efforts.

I am confident that Labour here in Malta will keep implementing change, through the authentic method.

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I feel duty bound to once again wish all the very best to Destiny who will tomorrow participate on behalf of Malta in the final event of the Eurovision Song Contest.

There is absolutely no argument about Destiny's fantastic singing abilities and that the song has the makings of a seventh wonder. Also, I am sure that her performance will be fantastic and we, as a country, will be united behind her. Destiny- whatever the result, for us you are the best!