As long as the Maltese have their pastizzi, get a few vouchers from the government every now and then and can watch the Eurovision Song Contest, then they are able to close their eyes to all the bad things that happen in this country.

This is, generally speaking, a description of the average Maltese person who first looks within, sees that everything is all right, and if it is so, then doesn’t care about the rest. Complaints only arise when people do not get what they think is rightfully theirs.

The Labour Party first and the Labour government later have understood how the Maltese average person thinks and, knowing that the majority of the Maltese are “average”, have used this to their own advantage. They have played on this weakness in the Maltese character, and reaped the fruit of this selfishness too.

Even before the PL came to power in 2013, and ever since then, it has been able to keep the Maltese population happy with promises (of goodies) and the fulfilment of such promises, while the “average” Maltese look away from situations that have been controversial at the least and scandalous at the most.

Cheques and vouchers have been arriving in the post in the form of goodies in the past eight years or so, buying the majority’s silence on corrupt practices which have plagued the Labour government. Few are those who have been out in the streets protesting – before Covid appeared – but the effect has been minimal on the general population. The PL continued to win election after election – be they national, local or EP – and looks set to win again when Robert Abela decides it’s time for the country to vote in a new government.

Corruption is not high on the list of the Maltese people’s preoccupations. It’s as if it does not affect them at all. Maybe they do not realise that the taxes they are paying are being used to sustain that corruption. Or maybe it’s because they do not see anything wrong with it, partly because they are ready to be part of that corruption. Is there anyone out there who has always paid Value Added Tax, just to give one example? Maybe many do not even understand that by not paying VAT they are responsible of a corrupt act.

The pity is that, gradually, this “mhux xorta” kind of mentality has become ingrained in our society. Many know corruption exists, but they are not ready to lift a finger to fight against it. Worse, they seem to accept it as a way of life. Perhaps they do not go as far as to condone it, but neither do they condemn it.

As we said in our introduction, if the average Maltese people have their pastizzi, get their freebies and can lament about how we never get to win the Eurovision, then who cares about corruption?