George Vella’s last Republic Day speech came as a heartfelt lament against the prevailing malaise pervading our political class and that part of society that blindly follows it. Pity that it comes so late in the day when Vella is about to end his term as president.

Like Alfred Sant and Evarist Bartolo, Vella is rightly appalled at the way with which the two major political parties, in particular the one in government, have kidnapped and captured the whole system, and engineered it to their own specific advantage.

Now that they have just retired, or are about to, from active politics, this trio of Labour septuagenarians are starting to say things as they are, and no longer fearing retribution by the party leader of the day, who holds all the strings of power. Unfortunately, they have had a change of heart far too late. They did not act in the prime of their political life when they wielded real power. 

They could have called for Konrad Mizzi to be immediately investigated for his Panama illegality and other misdeeds. But they didn’t.

They could have objected to the Vitals-Steward multi-million deal concocted by Keith Schembri and Mizzi, with the backing of Joseph Muscat. But they did not.

Luckily for them, they were not subjected to the collective humiliation imposed upon them by Prime Minister Robert Abela when he forced his MPs in parliament to blindly obey his orders and to vote against the setting up of a public inquiry into the tragic death of Jean Paul Sofia.

Yet, on the present background of a whole group of subservient political yes men and yes women, who are scared to speak their minds for fear of being called traitors by the party machine, the present declarations of the Sant-Bartolo-Vella trio, liberated from the shackles of forced leaderbootlicking, come as music to the ears of us free-thinking politicians and activists.

Finally, it seems the president has realised why so many people have lost interest in Maltese politics. He says he was prevented from working to reform the constitution. One wonders what these reforms would have been.

They should be about opening up to the representation of people who want other parties in parliament but are disadvantaged by the current system tailor-made by the two main political parties to favour themselves.

I fully understand Vella’s frustration. Politicians of my generation have been duped for the past 30 years with the setting up of useless and ineffective fora, supposedly to bring about reform, like the Gonzi and Galdes commissions in the 1990s, the constitutional reform committee under former president Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, and the constitutional convention under President Vella. Nothing has ever come out of all these smokescreens, designed purposely to fail by the PL and PN.

They did not act in the prime of their political life when they wielded real power- Arnold Cassola

Instead, the two main political parties have continued strengthening their now 58-year-old duopoly, ensuring not only that all power remains in their hands, but also that they could continue flouting the law by not paying their VAT, taxes, and electricity and water bills, together with other debts, costing our nation millions.

So, who was it that really prevented Vella from working to reform the constitution?

The Labour Party never understood what the EU is all about, and so it simply gloated at selling EU passports. It never understood what freedom of speech is, or what real freedom of press is, or real political freedom.

Unfortunately, the Nationalist Party does not offer much hope. After the shocking statement made by Vella, that he was prevented from working on constitutional reform, the party did not react or issue a statement, once again choosing to remain silent.

How is it possible that a party that fought so hard for EU membership and its principles is apparently now in cahoots with Labour on limiting people’s right to fair representation in parliament?

In fact, it wholeheartedly voted in favour of a mechanism to completely eliminate women who are free thinkers and who are not ready to join the PN or PL to get co-opted.

Why does the PN not support the president of Malta in advocating for a desperately needed constitutional reform? 

The Maltese people deserve better politicians who are genuinely willing to stand up for a better future and are free from the narrow-mindedness imposed by their political party.

We deserve presidents who are not constrained in what they say during their whole tenure, waiting for the very last occasion on Republic Day to really speak their mind as free-thinking individuals.

No wonder young people are giving up on the PL and PN.

They are not willing to fall for their lies once again. Older generations have also had enough of being duped through empty deceptive political speech.

June 8 could be the right occasion for Maltese citizens and residents to reclaim and shape their own destiny, after 58 years of PL-PN manipulation.

Arnold Cassola is a former secretary general of the European Green Party and an independent MEP candidate.