Every single prospective politician – without fail – has at some point or another spoken about how much they value the interests of the community and of the public at large, and about how much they want to serve and protect the public and their interests.

Yet it almost always feels like these sugary words are cast by the wayside when the said prospective politician makes it to Parliament’s cushy green seats and then makes it to Cabinet.

For all the nice words from our political class, in recent weeks we have been affronted by one onslaught after another on communities and residents of many and various areas around Malta.

For instance: we have seen Valletta residents have any prospect of peace and quiet at night shattered, as the government chose to pander to a few businesses and allow them to blast loud music across the capital until 1am, rather than 11pm. Protests followed, and a motion to revoke the legal notice was struck down in Parliament.

Perhaps in support of the point that this editorial is making, none of the government MPs who represent the first district (which includes Valletta) and who were elected from there just four months ago spoke during the debate.

Another example: Infrastructure Malta earlier this month announced significant roadworks which will change the layout of a junction in Mdina Road between Zebbug and Siggiewi.  The catch to that was that neither the Zebbug nor the Siggiewi local councils knew anything about the works.  The Zebbug council particularly has objected to the plans, saying that they are nothing more than a short-term measure. 

That counted for very little: as has become common practice for Infrastructure Malta, the works have gone on anyway.

The recent debacle over Comino is another example.  Public land and coastline was taken up by the deckchairs and umbrellas belonging to private operators, seemingly without any intervention by the authorities who should regulate such matters.  It only took very direct action by protestors – who took to the island to remove the deckchairs themselves – for something to happen.

But even now, save for the Tourism Minister saying that enforcement authorities happened to be going to Comino on that same day – much like children caught red-handed playing computer games tell their parents that they were just about to start their homework right in that instance – and a small parcel of Blue Lagoon – the sandy beach – being liberated from the deckchairs, the operators remain and Comino continues to suffer.

There are countless other examples – even on a much smaller scale which probably don’t even make the news headlines.

The point of the matter is that as things stand, the vast majority of our politicians do not govern with the interests of residents at heart. 

The political class has become so smitten with the ethos of being “pro-business” and of creating short-term improvements that it has, somewhere along the line, forgotten that it has to govern in favour of the interests of the people and their quality of life as well.

Here it should be noted: Quality of life isn’t just measured by what people have in their pockets.  It is measured in the serenity they enjoy in their homes or in areas where they can seek relaxation and recreation.

As things stand, even those things are at risk.

An appeal, therefore, to the political class:  govern for the community and the people who make it up, don’t run roughshod over them.