It is well-known that Malta historically has had a highly-polarised political culture. Political party supporters are passionate, and both major parties have their core of die-hard supporters who would back them no-matter what.

In the past, the number of die-hard supporters parties had was larger, but thankfully that mentality is slowly changing, and the core of die-hards, so to speak, seems smaller than it used to be. This means that it is far more important for politicians to keep their promises, to have good ideas for policies, and it means that the merits of a good argument, a strong vision are more important now than they used to be. This is good for the country.

But there are issues that need to be worked on. Take, for example, political bickering. The parties take all opportunities to criticise each other. When one has done something wrong then the opposing party has a duty to point it out, but there are many occasions where potshots are taken just for the sake of it.

In Parliament, there have been times where political bickering has been seen as childish, and unbefitting of the highest institution in the country. Politicians are the ones people are meant to look up to, but seeing childish behaviour sends a terrible message.

When a party has a good idea, it is far too rare to see the other party supporting it. Is it honestly so hard for the two to come together more often if an idea makes sense? There is nothing wrong with seeing Bills or ideas proposed by either party being backed by the other.

Politicians must remember that they are there to serve the people. An election is at most just over a year away, and political discourse will undoubtedly heat up. While that is understandable, it should not lead to spurring on hatred for those on the other side.

Then there is the issue of 'customer care' and the kind of promises some politicians would make. There have been plenty of scandals in recent years because of this culture of clientelism which, in a small nation, is more prevalent due to the personal nature of politics. It is unfair, for instance, for someone to get preferential treatment just because they spoke to a politician. This is an issue which requires a cultural shift. Of course politicians need to have their ears to the ground and listen to the issues people face and act to improve lives, but there is a line which should not be crossed.

There is also the issue of transparency and accountability. The government for instance has not improved the freedom of information law, even though the excuses given by government departments for not providing information is unacceptable at times. The Opposition spent years not publishing its accounts, only doing so recently, even though transparency dictates that parties should publish their accounts each year. In terms of accountability, sometimes despite a scandal, the government would not take timely action for political accountability, or would not take action at all. Political accountability has been lacking.

These are all issues the two main parties should strive to work on.