This column first appeared in Malta Today

This week, an expat on a FB group who was trying to understand our politics asked why Maltese people constantly complain but then don’t actually vote to change things.

It’s a question many of us ask as well, not just about politics but about other various microcosms all over the island: workplaces and entities where the blatant mismanagement and dubious practices at the top filter down and poison everything.

My conclusion is that the reason many people moan and whine but hold back when it comes to actually voting for change is down to the adage, “better the devil you know”. Grumbling, especially behind a keyboard, has become a national past-time which, paradoxically, has led to more apathy.  It’s like those who complain but never actually physically attend a protest, hiding behind all sorts of excuses. There are other factors, of course, like party loyalty/tradition, coupled with a tribal “us vs them” mentality (I’ll be damned if I will let the other side win). Let’s not forget the feeling of “obligation” towards a party which has helped them in some way; political favours are so commonplace here they are not even considered unethical any more, but simply the way things are done. If you have a friend in high places, you just give them a call to ensure you skip the queue or push some application forward, mhux ovvja? This mindset is so ingrained that if you don’t use your connections, you are considered a naive fool.

There is also the belief that “both parties end up being the same anyway, so what’s the point?” In fact when it comes to the country’s major issues which plague us on a daily basis, many have come to the grumpy but resigned verdict that it is too late to turn back the clock.  The fact that both main parties pander to big business without batting an eye has caused further disillusionment.  As if to drive the point home that the distinguishing line between the two is almost non-existent, Alex Borg in one of his last mass meetings assured the hunting lobby that their hobby was safe with him. Finally, let’s not dismiss the mercenary, calculating nature of many Maltese people – they size up whoever has the best chance of winning, who has the most clout and power and promptly throw their weight behind them.  It happened when the PN seemed unstoppable for so many years, and it has happened again with Labour.  

It’s probably in our psyche that we just want to be on the winning team rather than be associated with (God forbid!) the losers, because that kind of nomenclature will rub off on us ….and who wants to be labelled a loser?  We are not, by nature, magnanimous in victory, nor gracious when we lose and this will be evidenced once the votes are counted and the winner declared.  For those who are new to the country let me prepare you for convoys of cars driving around honking their horns, fanatic raucous supporters hanging out of the windows waving their party flag and a stream of expletives aimed at the losing side.  As I said, we don’t handle winning (or losing) very well. Let me remind you that when Labour leader Alfred Sant won in 1996 and told everyone to simply go home rather than indulge in carcades, supporters were so shocked and disappointed he is lucky they didn’t lynch him. Oh, and by the way if you are an employer, don’t be surprised if many people simply take Monday off and don’t show up for work, because the celebrations will still be in full force.  Even school transport was going to be suspended on Monday, but the operator had to reverse its decision after the Education department came down hard on this idea, rightly pointing out that the co-op must fulfil its obligations.  After all, the shenanigans of adults should not interfere with the rights of children to their education. 

By the time you read this, we will know the result but I am not about to make any predictions. What I can say is that Robert Abela’s decision not to appear in the Times Talk/Il-Kazin debate was one of his biggest mistakes in this campaign.  It was his duty as the Labour leader and the Prime Minister to attend, because he is asking people to vote for him again. He cannot treat the electorate like his faithful supporters who will parrot everything that is dished out by the party spin doctors, including the fact that “he had already taken part in a debate on the same day”.  So what? Did he lose his voice? Is there some kind of rule against two debates?  Maybe I didn’t want to watch the Chamber of Commerce one but I wanted to watch this particular format where questions were allowed from the public online and the people present in the audience?  I think by not going he looked cowardly, it was disrespectful to us, the electorate, and I am sure it cost him votes. 

What always surprises me when these things happen is that there are actually misguided voters who support this behaviour. One woman even wrote that “he is the PM, he has the privilege to go where he wants.” Excuse me?  Did I blink and he became king? No, there is no privilege when you need votes, in fact you need to eat humble pie, get off your high horse and be ready to answer all the tough questions, not pick and choose arenas where you will be treated with kid gloves.   The days of blind adulation of ‘the Leader’ should be over but sadly, they are not.  And that is Malta’s tragedy.  What many repeatedly forget is that power is bestowed on a politician by those who voted him in, and who continue to prop him up by applauding his every word. If you remove your support, the power is diffused, but as long as you keep claiming that person is too powerful and must be obeyed, you yourself have entrapped yourself in a cobweb from which you cannot become disentangled.

The explanation for his absence, when it came, sounded like a lame excuse.  He had booked other commitments, he said. So why didn’t he just tell them that instead of keeping them hanging?  After all, the debate invitation didn’t come at the last minute; according to Jon Mallia, both leaders were approached three weeks ago.  Alex Borg tentatively reserved two possible dates, but there was radio silence from the Labour headquarters.  The result was that Borg had two hours of valuable media exposure on his own, in which he answered tough questions while the podium next to him remained empty.  In order to try and paint himself as some kind of hero, Abela claimed he could hardly cancel an event with sports organisations and athletes.  Oh, please.  He must think he is dealing with people with nothing between their ears.

The icing on this election campaign cake was the inauguration of the new Bugibba square on Tuesday (all claims that it was perfectly timed for the eve of election are, of course, a figment of our imagination). Let’s just say that for 10 million Euro I would have expected, at the very least, the same amount of large trees providing shade which were shown in the artistic images published by the Malta Tourism Authority in February 2025.   Instead what we got was the Temu version, with a handful of saplings and small plants surrounding a stark, barren area covered by ugly, grey concrete.  As for the bizarre design of the square itself, well let’s just say it’s not going to win any aesthetic awards.   Sharp-eyed observers are already forecasting that the surrounding cafes will probably encroach on the public square with their chairs and tables…and maybe that was the plan all along.  

So what will change after the winner of this election is declared? What kind of Malta will we be waking up to?  Will the traffic, over-population and unbridled construction vanish once we know who has been given the mandate to lead? I would hazard to say that unless a real seismic change happens at the polls, unfortunately, it will be more of the same.