Malta is going through a deep crisis. One which has been a long time coming. No, not energy, or immigration, or even corruption. This is a crisis of ideas.
As parliament prepares to reconvene in just over two weeks’ time, it may be worth reminding ourselves just who and what is representing this country.
Once more, our representatives will have the opportunity to pass on to us mere mortals their meandering, overlong and often tedious, if not embarrassing, thoughts and pronouncements.
And, once more, we will ask ourselves where are the thinkers? Where are the policymakers?
It is sobering to go back and read through both parties’ manifestos, six months down the line, those already-forgotten documents gathering dust.
They are a testament to the short-term, vote-grabbing mentality that has gripped our politicians and dominates our politics. True manifestos are merely salespeople’s pitch to sell the product. They come with the caveat: ‘buyer beware’.
True, ultimately the representatives chosen, more often than not, mimic the values, opinions and ideas of the electorate. But, once the election is over, should that remain the case?
Sadly, the evidence shows it does.
Today, we can claim to have a lot more data that would allow us to understand the impact of various decisions and, yet, the researchers and policymakers are nowhere to be seen.
Instead, we have politicians giving us quick-fix solutions. Traffic jams? No problem. Just build more roads!
Illiteracy and poor exam results? No problem, construct state-of-the-art schools and give them tablets.
No green spaces? No problem, build ‘gardens’ above car parks. Never mind the plan effectively makes the garden a roundabout. And how many trees does it take to absorb car fumes, not to mention the incessant noise?
Buildings sprouting up everywhere? Just blame the 2006 ‘rationalisation’ process and refuse to discuss the outdated planning laws which have uglified the country.
Some will say this is a manifestation of our immature democratic process, still based on the short-term, grab-what-one-can mindset of the electorate. And there is some truth in that.
After all, the smaller parties, such as ADPD, the Green Party and, now, Volt, have all put time and effort into coming up with policies which are based on research and, yet, they have never made any headway.
But it is finally also dawning on the electorate that, to misquote Shakespeare, something is not quite right in the state of the republic.
Perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the sometimes dreary business of parliament and question how representatives are using their allotted time.
Perhaps it is time to remind our representatives that they are not there to pontificate or grandstand for hours on end. They are not there just for the benefit of the few constituents from their electoral district in the hope of getting re-elected. Neither is their primary loyalty to their political party. The purpose of parliamentarians is to seek the betterment of society as a whole.
In other words, perhaps it is time to remind them to do what they were elected to do: conduct business for the benefit of the nation, after serious consideration of the issues in hand and consultation with the experts in the field. The House needs fewer stooges and more thinkers whose motives go well beyond serving another term.
MPs need to look at the future of this country rather than the petty needs of their constituents.
Past experience predicts nothing will change but that should not stop us taking a closer look at what actually happens in our parliament.