Republic Day is the day most synonymous with the President, being the day when the office was established.

Amongst the ceremonies and parades which we see on this national holiday, the President also gives what is generally considered to be his most important address – something which has come to be considered as a sort of state of the nation speech in itself.

President George Vella’s speech this year again touched upon a number of greatly significant points, and in many cases laid bare certain aspects of the utopia which some people seem to think – or want us to think – Malta operates under.

The first of those is on rule of law. “No one is above the law,” the President said.

In practice though, the phrase “no one is above the law” does not apply to Malta.

Many of those named and shamed – including politicians – in corruption scandals still roam free, politicians caught up in wrongdoing and ethics breaches remain on the benches, public funds continue to be used tactically to curry favour with specific parts of the masses.  We’ve even seen government agencies breaking the law in how they operate.

And that’s just in the political sphere.  We’ve seen how the justice system looks kindly upon some, and not so kindly upon others (particularly foreigners); we’ve seen how big businessmen are the convenient beneficiaries of a closed eye or two, thereby allowing them to do pretty much as they please with little to no consequence. And there are countless other examples.

As George Orwell famously wrote in his book Animal Farm, some animals are indeed more equal than others in present-day Malta, and that’s not something which happens if the rule of law is functioning as it should be.

President Vella also mentioned the environment – something which, to his credit, he has done on multiple occasions – saying that “the extensive building and construction work taking up more and more space from agricultural and virgin land has become a threat” and that a balance has to be sought between the built and natural environment.

The threat has long been there. Indeed, it’s no longer a threat: Malta’s over-running by the concrete monster is in full swing, and there is little that our country’s authorities are doing to stop it. 

Much has been said by the government in recent months – having perhaps realised that the public have had enough and that votes may now be on the line – about wanting to protect the environment. 

Yet for all the nice words and the nice green walls cropping up along Malta’s roads (if only they were enough to make up for the rural land that those same roads have taken up), action to protect what is left has been scarce, if not non-existent.

Of course this comes back to the rule of law point as well.  What governing party in its right mind would position itself against developments led by major companies which have likely donated tens of thousands of euros to them over the course of many years?

And what on politicians themselves! “My appeal is to respect the people’s intelligence and to put before them clear and equivocal working programmes and policies that will be implemented if chosen to lead,” Vella told them in view of the approaching general election.

But in truth, we all know that the politics of coffee mornings, buffet dinners, political spin through each party’s media, and promising a job with the government here and there in return for a vote will continue without a care in the world.

These are but three points.  The President mentioned other areas where the country has shown itself to be lacking.

His speech was, if correlated with the country we are living in right now, one of significance. 

Was it meant as a critique of the current government?  Or as a plea for someone, somewhere to listen and make the country better?  Or perhaps a bit of both? 

We’ll leave it up to you to decide.