We Maltese are accustomed to pretending things are fine. We smile, shrug, and adapt. We say “m’hemmx x’tagħmel” when faced with injustice. We learn to work around broken systems and call it resilience. We live in a country where everyone knows something is wrong, but we’ve been trained to act as if it’s normal.

It isn’t.

It’s not normal to feel powerless in your own country. It’s not normal to watch laws applied selectively—depending on who you are, who you know, or who you threaten. It’s not normal to see journalists attacked for doing their jobs, or public institutions hijacked to serve private gain. It’s not normal to live in a democracy where people are encouraged to look the other way rather than speak up.

And yet, for years, we have been told that this is simply the way things are.

We have been told that criticism is unpatriotic. That activism is troublemaking. That accountability is a threat. That silence is wisdom. We have been told to lower our expectations. To accept that democracy is nothing more than a vote every five years. To believe that Malta is too small, too divided, and too cynical to expect better.

We reject that.

This week, Repubblika published Democratic Vision 2050—a document that says clearly: enough. We can do better. We must.

It’s not a plan for the government. It’s a challenge to the people.

This document isn’t about partisan politics. It’s about something much deeper: the idea that Malta belongs to all of us. That democracy isn’t a gift handed down by the powerful—but something we shape with our voices, our values, and our courage.

Democratic Vision 2050 begins with honesty. It reveals how power operates in Malta today. It highlights the damage: corruption, impunity, institutional decline. It remembers those we've lost because we failed to defend the truth. And then it poses the most vital question a citizen can ask: where do we go from here?

Over the next few weeks, we will discuss the key ideas outlined in this document. About justice. About the rule of law. About how we build institutions that serve people, not parties. About how we ensure our Constitution is more than a dusty book on a shelf, about how we reclaim citizenship as something active, proud, and powerful.

But before we discuss solutions, we must face reality. We need to stop pretending that this is acceptable.

We need to stop telling young people they’ll succeed just by working hard, when we know that connections and loyalty often matter more than skill. We need to stop pretending that whistleblowers are protected when we see what happens to those who speak out. We need to stop acting surprised when public money is wasted, when justice is delayed, and when the same names keep appearing in the same scandals.

This isn't normal, and we should stop pretending it is.

What Democratic Vision 2050 proposes is not a fantasy—it’s a framework. It states: Let’s take our Constitution seriously. Let’s rebuild trust in the rule of law. Let’s stop selling citizenship and start honouring it. Let’s decentralise power. Let’s make civil society a partner in governance, not a target of suspicion.

Most importantly, it says this: democracy is not theirs. It’s ours.

It belongs to the journalist asking tough questions. To the teacher who still believes in civic education. To the activist marching in Valletta. To the worker who wonders if the system will ever protect them. To the parent who wants their children to grow up in a country where honesty isn’t punished.

We know that some will roll their eyes. That some will say “qed tgħidli x’għandna nagħmlu?” That some will dismiss this as idealism, exaggeration, or theatre.

Let them.

Our role isn’t to win everyone’s approval. Our role is to speak the truth, forge alliances, create space for a better Malta, and to persist in demanding it.

We are not naïve. We know that change won’t come easily. But we also know that pretending this is normal is a luxury we can no longer afford.

So this is the beginning. A conversation. An invitation. A refusal.

If you haven’t already, read the document at www.repubblika.org/democracy2050. Discuss it. Debate it. Share it. Analyse it thoroughly and reconsider it. But don’t ignore it.

Because silence is not wisdom, and resignation is not peace.

This is not normal. And that’s exactly why we’re fighting for something better.