Disillusioned youth: Young people and our lack of political choices

Young people are seen by some, or many, as the drivers of change but despite the political crisis unfolding around us surveys continue to confirm that youths remain disillusioned with the political class. 

The latest MaltaToday survey shows that 39.5% of respondents in the 16-35 age bracket say they will not vote. This is a worrying statistic. At face value it may show that young people are not interested in having a say on who will define their future - but is this the case? 

To understand why young people, seem disinterested in politics we must look at the options available to them. 

A ‘stick to the script’ Labour Party  

With the government reeling from the Vitals inquiry fallout, Prime Minister Robert Abela’s knee-jerk reaction was to slam the timing on when it was presented to the Attorney General. He then called out the “establishment” and blamed it for wanting to drag the PL through the mud. 

Forget the side letters, the deals behind government officials’ backs and the dire state Malta’s government hospitals were left in, for Robert Abela it’s the timing which is tarnishing the government’s reputation. 

What is even worse is the way the line-up of MEP candidates has reacted to the allegations. Working off the PM’s script, they continue to pit the “establishment” against the PL, choosing to appeal to the grassroots, ignoring the concerns of people who genuinely look at parties for solutions to problems they face. 

You would expect such a reaction from the seasoned politicians, but to see the young guns like Daniel Attard and Alex Agius Saliba sticking to the Abela script is downright uninspiring. Earlier this week Daniel Attard went as far as saying the PN wants to carry out a coup d'état - is he for real when the PN couldn’t even organise an MEP campaign launch without having the livestream cut-off midway through its leader’s speech. 

Young people like me expect the fresh faces of politics to push the envelope and propose policies and ideas that address our needs, difficulties and aspirations. Instead, we are faced with a line-up of party soldiers set on one thing – demonising the opposing party.  

From conversations I have regularly, young people are fed-up with candidates toeing the party line, not to disappoint their ‘leader’. 

They are also fed up with the constant stream of politically appointed unqualified persons holding well-paid jobs for simply supporting the party, while they must grind their way through their education and long hours of work for miserable pay to make ends meet. 

A solution-less Nationalist Party   

On the other side of the coin, we find a disoriented and disorganised Nationalist Party whose strategy seems to be based on one thing: reacting to Labour’s mistakes.   

The inquiry findings are damning, and to see current and former government officials dragged to court with serious criminal charges warrants a reaction from the Opposition party. But we have seen this happen repeatedly - the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry, the 2019 political crisis, the Jean Paul Sofia public inquiry, the Transport Malta scandals, the benefit fraud scandal - it all seems like déjà vu. 

Young people know these are all damning findings for government, but the question remains: What will you do differently if elected to government? What would you change? The PN doesn’t seem to be able to answer these questions, and the surveys show this clearly.  

Despite the mainstream parties’ poor showings in the surveys, Labour still has continued to edge the PN. And you can understand why. Despite all its faults and leaving much to be desired, it has trailblazed topics ranging from abortion to cannabis possession and consumption, from civil rights to the introduction of Vote16, IVF and PGD-M testing.  

While these are not issues which might affect our daily lives, they still are on young people’s agenda, and the PN seems to commit to its conservative stance, while criticising the government for “buying the youth vote.” 

The PN also voices the concerns faced by young people on low wages, entering the property market, environmental degradation, traffic and cost of living, but it stops there. If it has presented its solutions to these issues, it has failed to do so efficiently.  

By presenting its ’10 economic pillars’ and forcing on a couple of buzz words like Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing and video game production, it does little to inspire the youth vote. Young people ask themselves: Will a PN government make it easier to enter the property market? Will I spend less time in traffic on my way to work or lectures? Will I be paying more reasonable prices when I go out to eat with my friends? Right now, that option is not there, and if the PN has the solution, it is failing to convince people otherwise.  

The memories of Eddie Fenech Adami’s pro-European PN are also becoming a distant memory for us youths, and while many would agree we continuously benefit from accession, the party needs to create a new vision with which to inspire. Reminding us of past success does little to overcome the problems it finds itself in today. 

An outdated and uninspiring ADPD  

At a time when the mainstream parties are more unpopular than ever, one would think it would be high time for third parties to make inroads among young people. This has not materialised.  

The ADPD saw fit to elect Sandra Gauci as its leader, and while one cannot doubt her commitment towards the cause, she has done little to inspire young people. MaltaToday’s candidates survey showed Ralph Cassar and Sandra Gauci polling at 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.  

The ADPD’s principles are aligned with those of many young people – stricter regulation, a more liberal approach, and human-centred politics. These are all values which inspire young people, but people entering the political arena must understand that social media fame and cracking (sometimes outdated and lame) jokes does not cut it in politics. 

Young people want an alternative to the status quo, but that alternative must be presented within a wider package, and complaining is just the first step. What is the ADPD economic roadmap? Will my life be any better with the ADPD in parliament? Those questions might be answered on some electoral manifesto buried deep inside the ADPD website, but they are yet to be understood by most young people. 

Young people’s disillusionment with politics is not just a Maltese phenomenon, and follows a European and Western trend, but that does not mean politicians should give up on us just yet. 

Maybe the writing is on the wall and this time it’s the independent candidates who will provide a home for these disgruntled young voters.