Opinions differ but I firmly believe that demonstrations and any form of public protests, especially loud ones in piazzas and streets, do work. Whether a few or multitudes attend, the authorities against whom the protests are aimed do feel the anger, criticism and the heat.

Throughout history, even in Malta, protests have had some sort of success. When the people, or a few individuals, fight for a good cause, these public shows of opposition are always a good way to ramp up the pressure.

Whatever is going on right now in Malta - the horrors, the sliding down of our democratic credentials - would have been totally different had people not protested in 2018.

If people had not taken to the streets then, Joseph Muscat, the one who now admits he is a corsair, would still be in power together with his awful band. And they would still be smirking their smug smile which thankfully has been somewhat wiped off their faces.

That they were sent packing because of all the crimes they had committed, were committing or were accused of being part of, is music to the ears of any lover of democracy.

That they were replaced by other scoundrels from the Labour Party who are acting mostly as a shield for previous Labour scoundrels is not in any way to be blamed on the protestors of that time. The protestors should not be blamed for the fact that in Malta, scoundrels - especially from the Labour Party - seem to have a stranglehold on electors.

The protests back in 2018 were not just a good thing, they were effective. They showed people power. When people care, when people take time off their busy schedule to join protests, to make their voice heard, to show their anger, things do happen. Even if not  an instant fix, the effects of protests can sometimes be felt months, years or even decades after they happen.  

Whether governments, or whoever is targeted by the public protests, listen and act or just turn a blind eye is immaterial.

If a few can make a difference, and make themselves heard, the many - if they attend - could get more done and might see changes requested or desired become reality faster. When dictatorships, or dictatorial tendencies of the ruling class, are being born, the more people join the protests, the more noise out in the streets, the better.

If protests weren't held we would have lost more trees, more public land, more architectural gems, and our land would have been a much sorrier place. Protests have worked and yes, sometimes it seems as if it's just a pebble slung at a behemoth. But even pebbles have been known to work against giants.

If the ones who protested against the countries under communist regimes stayed at home or did not show their anger, or if the Polish miners did not fight the oppressive Polish authorities back in the 1980s, if Nelson Mandela chose compromise instead of standing firm in his beliefs, maybe the governments of the day who denied liberty to the people, the regimes, would have remained in place and turned into bigger villains.

Back in the 1980s, a different - oh so different - PN fought to bring Malta back into the fold of real democracies. The PN organised demonstrations and meetings weekly, sometimes without prior notice, almost spontaneously. The protests then did not bring down the government: in some cases, this public anger turned the Labour Party, which was also in power at that time, into worse rulers.

In the long term those protests, those fights against what seemed impossible odds, bore fruit.

When, a few weeks ago, a protest was held against the government's move to eradicate, complicate, or basically make impossible, a citizen's right to request a magisterial inquiry, just a few of us attended. We managed to make a loud, piercing noise. But where were the crowds? Where were the youths who should be fighting for a better future, not one turning quickly into a charade of democracy?

Yes I was there and there were just a few hundred people. The government ministers and MPs publicly disregarded us; the prime minister later rebuked us because some of us were banging on pots and pans.

If there were thousands or hundreds of thousands, the Labour Party leaders might have conceded that what they are doing - depriving us of true democracy and real justice - is not what people want. They would have felt, as Joseph Muscat did a few years ago, that people power is awesome. They would have felt the power of the angry, worried, scared, people of the land.

Even the PN - barring a few MPs - came out of parliament, gave the press what they felt about the law curtailing the use of magisterial inquiries, and moved on. They did not join the protesters. They did not come as one cohort to join the people - the few people who are bothered about the whole of the population - and show their anger.

Protests will always be - as long as they are allowed by the regime - a good place to show you care about our Malta. If you weren't there for one of the most important protests ever held in Valletta, keep in mind that we are on the brink of losing true democracy.

[email protected]