Are you voting for the usual arrogance?

Some are going on and on about voting to remove the dirt in politics, guess how? By voting for the Nationalists. Voting to remove the dirt by voting for the dirty. The fact is, that by voting to prop up the system is in fact strengthening the system. A system of kickbacks, a system of politically appointed ambassadors, a system belching the smoke of corruption – from BWSC, to kickbacks on the purchase of oil (the fossil fuel type, just in case you do not remember), to suspicions of kickbacks on the purchase of gas. A system in which more 600,000 Euros of financing for the Nationalists does not seem to cause even a ripple. A system in which a Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, currently the Speaker, speaking of the comings and goings of big business to the Labour HQ hardly raises eyebrows.

Then of course there is the issue of consistency. PN and PL are reported to have fallen head over heals to get Developers’ Sandro Chetcuti to run on their ticket. Excuse me the comparison, but their candidate list is a really huge skip. They shy away from confronting head on the strong lobbies. No mention of taking Manoel Island back and making it a public space again. The PN mention Zonqor – as if the party giving over two million square metres of land over to developers is credible. They do not believe what they say. What’s more they even manage to come up with stupid figures on their crazy Gozo tunnel project. 300,000 million Euros for the tunnel, Simon Busuttil declares. Yes, sure. Go tell that to the marines.

The arrogance and insults from Nationalists coming our way are incredible. They expect all and sundry to join their bandwagon, because – you know – they ‘choose Malta’. All of a sudden PN and Malta become one and the same. Some of these people are those who got hundreds of thousands of Euros in contracts, when the PN was in government. Make no mistake, they are exactly like Labour – they take care of their own. No wonder they insult and panic – they choose themselves and see anyone and everyone who does not subsrcibe to their warped elitist world view as an obstacle to lining their deep pockets. Then of course you have those invoking God, Jesus and sin as the reason to vote PN. Pathetic.

From MPs and candidates involved in fiduciary companies investigated for links to the mafia, to candidate lists with people from JPO to Josie Muscat, to the inconsistent Godfrey Farrugia who did not have the proverbial balls to vote against Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri in Parliament. To Marlene the fake environmentalist on the PN ticket who is in favour of the Gozo tunnel disaster, brags about how she will stand up for hunters and trappers, to how she wants Armier boathouses to be used ‘as public houses’ for everyone. Now what does that mean,really?

The Nationalists will hiss and cackle – we’re used to that by now – and continue with their hyperbole and Labour will continue to refuse that they did anything wrong. What a mess. The only strong message – the only way to keep your vote clean is to vote AD. Vote Green, Vote Clean. 

Ralph Cassar is an AD candidate on the seventh and 11th districts