On paper, everybody or almost expresses a political willingness to do all that needs to be done in order to save the world we live in from an environmental disaster caused by climate warming. In practice, when concrete measures are to be implemented, difficulties and objections arise, not all of which are inspired by bad faith.
Like for instance, objections arising from islands such as Malta which depend on communications by air to sustain their economies based on the provision of services, and on maritime transport to supply their ordinary needs. However other cases exist which feature similar problems, on a national or regional basis.
The fight against climate change is essential and of crucial importance. Even so, as it unfolds, care has to be taken not to let the measures that are being implemented generate injustices within societies (as some are doing or could do) and between populations.
The political will to contain climate warming has its limits, not all of which are being taken into account as initiatives are launched. After all it is an imperative of democracy that when citizens are getting hurt, the people they elect to safeguard their interests must strive to give them some relief.
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CONCERNING THIS WORLD
Recently two news items of a non-political nature were extremely interesting though they failed to secure mass attention. Both brought us face to face with what we know about the world we live in: how much we do really know (or don’t) about it?
The first item related to the huge systems of towns and villages that existed in the region of the Amazon river, now destroyed with their remains lying buried in the jungles. The civilization that built them was quite advanced. Yet every memory of what it stood for has been totally erased.
The second item revealed that new organisms that had never been discovered before are living at great depths under the planet’s surface. What link there is (if one does exists) between how they developed over the millenia down “under” and the vegetal and animal life that surrounds us on the earth’s surface is unknown.
We gaze at the stars and wonder at how much we still do not know about the universe but apparently the same also applies to our own planet.
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CONSULTATIONS
The consultations that the Constitution requires should take place between the Prime Minister of the day and the Leader of the Opposition when some posts need to be filled frequently get a mention. And the question has always been: How should such consultation take place?
In the years when I was in some way involved in the process, it used to take this format: The PM would send for the Leader of the Opposition to tell him what the government’s decision would be regarding the relative vacant position. The head of the government would then listen to what his interlocutor had to say about the appointment and proceed to action his proposal.
This procedure was employed continuously and was rarely contested. In reality both sides felt comfortable with it for as long as they were in government. But everybody could agree that the way by which the whole process was being conducted did not conform at all to what a consultation should really be like.