On the same day that people were protesting in the streets, the government announced that after two years of reduced programmes, there will be a return of the Notte Bianca in full on the first weekend of October.

Last Tuesday, NGO Repubblika organised a demonstration in Valletta, demanding “action against corruption”. While a few hundreds were making their voices heard and marching down Republic Street in Valletta, the Department of Information issued a statement on the activities related to what Minister Owen Bonnici described as a festival that nurtures “awareness and appreciation for the identity and culture” of Malta.

It was certainly a coincidence that newsrooms were dealing with the two issues at the same time, but one could not help notice the surreal situation – the streets where the protest was being held to highlight the serious issues that have been afflicting the country for years will be the same streets where many more people will gather for a night of entertainment on 1 October.

And we are sure that the few hundreds that turned up in Valletta behind a banner highlighting the government’s lack of action to curb corruption will multiply into many thousands seeking to make merry, to watch some artist doing something spectacular and trying to find a table where to sit and have a burger or pizza.

It’s how Malta is living its present.

On the one side, we have one part of the population, shrinking in numbers, which still cares. It has its heart in the right place. It wants to see things done properly. It wants to see justice done. It wants to enjoy life, yes, but within the parameters of the values which give duties and responsibilities to each and every one of us. It seeks righteousness and endorses the concept of rule of law, for one and all. It wants to see institutions work. It finds it unacceptable that whoever does wrong gets by unscathed as if nothing has happened. It is unhappy when Malta’s name is tarnished.

On the other hand, we have the other part of the population, growing in numbers, which does not care. For these, it does not matter if politicians are corrupt. So long as they get their goodies from the government – be it a cheque, or a permit – it’s fine. For these, there is nothing wrong with the institutions. They might complain if they are booked for a traffic infringement, because they will have to pay a fine, but otherwise it does not matter if the police are not doing their job appropriately or that the courts of law do not function as they should.

For them, they see nothing untoward if the Egrant saga which has gripped the nation for so many years is still unresolved, in the sense that we still do not officially know who the company opened in Panama belongs to, although there are strong suspicions. It does not matter to them if, nearly five years down the line, proceedings in court on the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination are still ongoing with no end in sight. It’s ok, for these, that politicians caught with their hand in the cookie jar are still out and about. For them, Malta’s blacklisting was not a shameful chapter of the country’s history.

The list could go on.

Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong in having a Notte Bianca and another thousand events where people could socialise, have fun and entertain themselves. We all felt it, some more than others, when public events had to be repeatedly cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and now that the situation is back to normal, seeing a return of such activities is most welcome.

But it is becoming increasingly apparent that the government has taken the panem et circenses concept to a new level. When the phrase was coined in Roman times, it referred to the way people were kept happy with food and entertainment, giving them enough appeasement so as not to care about serious issues. It has since been used when governments distract their citizens with goodies while their countries burn.

The Labour government has become an expert in doing this. It started under the Joseph Muscat administration, and it worked so perfectly that Robert Abela has followed suit. That the Labour majority increased from one election to the other – in spite of all the troubles and tribulations that some top PL officials were involved in – is proof that the majority of voters give more importance to the little things, particularly those situations from which there is a personal benefit, than the overall situation.

This mentality has become ingrained in our society. More than this, it is gathering momentum and strength like a snowball. It will be next to impossible to reverse the trend.