There is life beyond politics

Quite obviously, between the time of writing and the date of publication of this article, a lot has happened. The Maltese electorate has voted to choose the government it wants for the next five years. It was a short but tense election campaign, although probably more acrimonious than those of more recent elections. 

The PN leader, Simon Busuttil, turned this campaign into a negative and vindictive attack on anything and anyone that had any connection to the PL. In the last four years or so, Busuttil has sought the resignation of the Prime Minister as well as practically all Cabinet members. He had no problem resorting to lies and to calling for demonstrations against the Prime Minister and the government as a whole.

Nobody condones any wrongdoing whatsoever, but luckily, we live in a country governed by the rule of law. Simon Busuttil, a lawyer by profession, should know better; we are all innocent until proven guilty. The PN leader decided that the sentence should be carried out before the due process at law was followed and before the verdict as to whether a person was found guilty or otherwise. In fact, his campaign or attacks on the government have been going on for over three years.

Busuttil has made it his mission to condemn anything Labour or anyone who has served under Labour. In his eagerness to hurt the Prime Minister and his government, he has hurt the country and its people. He tried to obtain the support of friendly MEPs to criticise the Maltese government and his actions have been very detrimental to the country. This is why a snap election had to be called, to ensure that the damage being done to Malta was at least, contained.

However, the greatest disservice that Simon Busuttil has made to the people of Malta and Gozo, is the clear fact that he again created divisiveness. He has promoted the “us and them” mentality and the unity that the Maltese people had achieved has been put seriously under stress.

Nevertheless, this campaign has come and gone and we must now look forward to this week when a new government is formed and new ministers are appointed to govern the Maltese islands for the next five years. Candidates for this election, some successful and others not, will have to carry on with their lives.

Yes, there is life beyond politics and electioneering. Malta is still the beautiful country that it has always been. We can have our daily walk again, we can enjoy our summer months through swimming and other aquatic activity and we can all enjoy our pleasant summer evenings in more ways than one. We have a lot of culture to explore and a lot of entertainment to enjoy.

But above all, we have a common attribute – we are all Maltese and the government must continue to work hard to ensure that it governs for the whole people and continue to promote the unity that the Maltese people strive for.