A healthy democracy can mature only if it embraces different political schools of thought. Western democracies are robust due to their determination to advocate diversity of thought. Only autocrats feel threatened when challenged with different political outlooks.
Hence, I was baffled when, recently, Prime Minister Robert Abela declared that “they (the Nationalist Party) are conservative”, as though to say “what a dishonour”. However, the term ‘conservative’ is not a dirty word, neither does it refer to someone trapped in a time warp.
Conservatism is a political school of thought that has been present since the dawn of democracy.
As the term itself implies, it safeguards and promotes a number of core values, which are cherished as the cornerstone of civilisation.
Mainly, these are: the value of human dignity without any distinction; the value of life from conception; the advocacy for social justice and solidarity; the well-being of the family; the safeguarding of our environment; the value of education and workers’ rights; the importance of ethical entrepreneurship; the preservation of our patrimony; the value of good governance; and the rule of law.
Are we not obliged to conserve and safeguard such values? Are we not called to promote politics of values, rather than spin?
We do not seek to conserve the status quo. On the contrary, we seek to elucidate these core values while taking into account today’s realities.
Others may label us as being intolerant. On the contrary, mainstream conservatism strongly believes in pluralism and freedom of expression. On the other hand, conservatives who adopt views based on xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny and right-wing populism do a disservice to conservatism.
The Nationalist Party is also inspired by Christian ethos. It is for this reason that I consider myself a Christian Democrat, rather than a conservative. Although our Christian community does not always walk the talk, one must acknowledge the considerable contribution it has given and still gives to the educational, social, cultural and political sectors.
The term ‘conservative’ is not a dirty word, neither does it refer to someone trapped in a time warp- Albert Buttigieg
While I have no qualms acknowledging our past blunders, many were the occasions when the Nationalist Party made Malta proud. Our Independence; the modernisation of Malta; investment in education, social policies and the infrastructure; and membership of the EU and the euro are but a few examples of this. Currently, Roberta Metsola, a Nationalist Party MEP, is making us proud as the president of the European Parliament.
The Nationalist Party’s way forward is to take Malta to the next level, making our island truly a European state. Inspired by our core values, we must strive to make our institutions work independently, adopt a greener agenda, attract new niches of investments (as we have done in the past) and turn Malta into a hub of excellence, rather than a mediocre cheap-labour mafia-like state, as the Labour government has sadly reduced our nation to.
“They only think about themselves; we are different,” Abela rambled on.
Seriously? Who is pigging out? I am sure Rosianne Cutajar can provide us with a detailed catalogue of her former colleagues who are thinking about themselves.
Sadly, the Labour Party is beyond recognition. After years in the political wilderness, Joseph Muscat, in order to obtain power, sold off the party’s soul and principles. The Labour Party betrayed its core values and stopped being Labour. Sadly, Abela is the continuation of this political fallacy.
Currently, Labour is anything but Labour. Today’s version of Labour is an insult to Labour itself.
All the good done during these years in office has been overshadowed and tainted by its own politicians and adherents who sought (and are still seeking) their self-advancement.
The everlasting episodes of sleaze, cronyism, maladministration and rampant corruption, within the highest echelons of administration, confirm this degeneration. Regrettably, under Labour, skulduggery has become the new way of doing politics.
The Labour Party is an integral part of our democratic mosaic, as much as the Nationalist and other democratic parties are, but only if the Labour Party is true to itself and stops acting like champagne socialists and enabling fraudsters and opportunists to flourish to the detriment of the common good.
Yes, prime minister, we are different. Democracy compels us to be so.
Albert Buttigieg is a Nationalist MP and party spokesperson for a better standard of living.