Recently a podcaster appeared on my feed announcing in a very supercilious, patronising, voice that he hasn’t voted since 2013. And that both parties disgust him.
I don’t usually shout out at podcasters or my computer. This time I allowed myself to say out loud: BRAVO! I was really impressed by him because this is the way forward. To stand aside, let the slide continue, keep the sewage overflowing, and allow corruption to reign supreme.
Sitting on the fence watching the deluge won’t stop it happening. Voting is more important than podcasting, writing inane articles (like this one), or grumbling. Grumbling gets us nowhere when an election is happening: the day the votes are cast is when our action supersedes anything else.
Do we, as a country, have cause to grumble? You bet we do, but the less we participate in the electoral process, and the less importance we give voting, the more we let others decide for us. In this case, not deciding is a vote for the status quo.
And no! The two major parties are not to blame for the status quo, for what our country has become. The policies and actions of the Labour Party in the last 11 years are to blame. High officials of the party have been involved in rampant corruption, criminality and major coverups, and yet these same officials have been defended, supported even glorified by the Labour leadership.
If all is left as it is and the Labour Party wins the country will automatically be plunged in more problems. The bigger the victory, the more arrogant and self-seeking the Labour Party becomes. The more that is uncovered of shady deeds, of corruption in the highest areas of government, and the blatant disintegration of the rule of law, the more the status quo serves the ones in power.
The Prime Minister, echoed by his parrots on TVM, One, the labour-leaning press and his coterie of ministers, MPs and electoral candidates, keeps harping about the will of the people, the victory at the polls. Because, to him and his followers, a victory will mean that the country approves of corruption, attacks on the judiciary, and the continued hijacking of all institutions.
Not voting is the worst form of gagging yourself, of shutting up when you can do something – maybe seemingly small but still effective – to change the course of our country’s history.
Our country deserves better, much better than what we have right now, what we all have to endure, especially having to watch our democratic foundation being eroded on a daily basis. We are in a precarious situation, where a former prime minister and others who were in authority are accused in court of terrible crimes.
Normality would dictate that the present Prime Minister would have been aghast and promised that his government would do its utmost to find out the whole truth and nothing but the truth: about who is to blame and to what extent. Abela would have been on the forefront of those wanting justice. He would have demanded that his party rid itself of anyone connected to alleged corruption and crime. He would have been a hero for the time, a man who had vision for a better Malta.
Instead, Robert Abela chose the way of the villain: he is covering up for those accused of corruption, embezzlement and fraud.
Labour were swept to power back in 2013 calling for a new way, a clean way. In reality, their way turned out to be the ruination of Malta. Not just of its reputation but of anything connected to the rule of law, to decency, to political maturity.
The party in opposition, the PN, is not and never was a virginal organisation. But Malta, under the PN, for nearly quarter of a century, was never rendered unlivable, democracy was not challenged, corruption was not glorified. This does not mean Malta had no problems. But the country had a solid base and a future. We had hope.
To anyone who thinks that not voting is cool, or a good way to show your anger, or a vote against the status quo, think again. Maybe the PN sound and seem uninspiring, but remember Labour are awash in money, dictate the narratives because they control most of the airwaves, and keep dishing out cash as if there is no tomorrow. Labour love glitz and whitewashing all our ills.
A vote against the Labour Party ensures that the horrors of today do not keep multiplying. And if you cannot, for some reason, stomach voting PN, vote for Arnold Cassola or ADPD.
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