We are currently experiencing the age of televised Parliamentary sessions and, although this has helped journalists cover the sessions more easily, it has also brought about a new platform for politicians to broadcast their marketing propaganda.

What happened to the politician of past days who was only focused on legislating and creating policies for the people?

The argument has to be made that, with voting trends changing, and the number of mediums where to broadcast their ‘message’ ever increasing, the term politician has taken a whole new meaning.

Nowadays, a politician’s success in the field is no longer based on their work, but rather on how effective they are at telling everyone what they have done. This has to stop.

Why do politicians have to shove what they have done in people’s faces? Why do they expect praise for doing something which is in their job description?

Whenever there is an argument in Parliament and the Opposition criticises the government over some wrongdoing, the opposing argument by some minister always turns to them stating what they have done to help the people through a policy which has long been passed.

Dear ministers of Malta, you are obliged to help people - please do not boast about what you have done as though you went beyond what is expected from you to achieve something for the common good. You are elected by the people for the people, not to argue with the Opposition on who made the better decisions while in office.

A classic example in this regard is stating that the government will be investing in green lungs in every village while letting developers run like wild dogs, doing whatever they want, building wherever they please. This is hypocrisy at its highest levels, but alas this is Malta.

Ministers also must realise that the government falls short of fulfilling its duty whenever public funds are misused. Malta was and still is synonymous with shady deals and a level of corruption which has become accepted by everyone.

This is what the ministers boasting about their work in Parliament fail to mention. One can rest assured that if public funds were not wasted by certain ministers, they would have much more to boast about. Or perhaps they can be humbler and carry out their work with less boasting.

To quote the Italian international footballer Mario Balotelli, “do you clap for your postman when he delivers your letters?”

This statement proves right for all professions, including our politicians. Have we become so accustomed to politicians who do not deliver that the moment they do something right with the people we forget everything and are grateful?

The answer to that question is individualistic; there are those who feel that enough is being done, while others expect more. What is for certain is that politics and politicians have to move away from the marketing machine they have become.

This argument does not insinuate that good has not been done by the government. The Maltese government, for example, is doing quite well in subsidizing fuels at a time when inflation is on the rise across the world, but then again, it is the government’s obligation to look out for its people in times of need. No one is going out of their way to make this possible.

We do not need marketers in office, we need politicians focused on improving the quality of life in Maltese society. Political speeches given in Parliament and political events do not need to be written by all sorts of communications specialists to sugar coat the message.