Give us all a chance

After 32 years since my first foray into politics as a local councillor in Fgura for Alternattiva Demokratika, I do find myself asking why do I keep putting myself through the ordeal of an election. The answer is simple: I still believe that in this country there are enough people of good will that are not hoodwinked into believing that a few wads of cash will keep them happy to maintain the status quo. A status quo characterised by a duopoly that has stifled all the energy and enthusiasm that this country experienced in its post colonial years.
It has never been easy and having been born soon after independence I have lived through the pains of growth that this country had to go through until we were ‘accepted’ as a partner in the EU project.

I was there when tear gas was first fired in the Maltese islands onto a peaceful crowd of tens of thousands calling for democracy at the Xagħra tal-Floriana. I was there when the church schools had to operate underground thanks to the ill-implemented policy of ‘jew b’xejn jew xejn’. I was there when together with other Żgħażagħ tan-Numri we gatecrashed one of Bonġu Malta’s programmes during the dark days of public broadcasting. I had captured on camera an attack on photographer Michael Ellul who was covering another Numri protest when we ‘buried’ corruption at sea. On that day, the Times had used its largest ever point size to proclaim that action on its poster.

But the hopes and aspirations of those of us who wanted Malta to return to democracy and be recognised as a decent country have all but been shattered over the past couple of decades. The ħbieb tal-ħbieb (friends of friends) mantra, very well curated by the PN in government, has been tuned to perfection by the PL, in spite of all that the new leadership had promised.

At the same time the success of Alternattiva Demokratika was not an electoral one, albeit with a number of local council election victories over the years, but the fact that many of its policies were adopted and implemented by successive governments. The list is endless but civil rights immediately come to the fore.

The publication of the Daphne inquiry report was a damning confirmation that all was not well in the state of Denmark. But the country seems to have not learnt many lessons from that dark chapter of our history. We have seen our country being eroded both morally and physically. When my current hometown of Marsaskala once again came under attack with the marina proposal I could not stay put. And that’s when I returned to contribute to green politics.

As my Kartanzjan period of my life looms over the horizon it may be time to hang up my boots and leave it up to the young generation to pick up the cudgels. But I didn’t want to do it before I gave the opportunity, maybe for the last time, for voters to make a conscious choice to make a break with the current state of play in Maltese politics.

Hence why the slogan chosen by ADPD for this election, Ilkoll. It is a call to action for every citizen of good will to say ‘enough is enough’ for the politics of cliques and the pursuit of power at all costs in order to ensure that the ‘friends of friends’ are kept happy. Together we can make the difference and send the message that this country deserves better. Green is the way we believe our country could survive the onslaught of challenges we are facing.

Ilkoll means that we must act in solidarity with one another in order to ensure that this country can sustainably improve the quality of life of all its residents. Ilkoll should have been the mantra that anyone going into politics has adopted as their motto. On the contrary we have seen over the years politics being used for the utmost benefit of the few while the rest received some crumbs to keep us happy.

The change this country needs to make will not be forthcoming if you keep on voting as you have been doing in the past. If you want to make a real difference with your vote this election, then you have to vote ADPD.