Let us save our own skin and to hell with the lot of you

I have tried to stay out of politics, I really have. As a foreigner who washed up here the best part of a decade ago, what could I possibly say about the complex intricacies of a bipartisan country that has been playing political ping-pong for decades? Bu

Iam not going to get into the endless debate of what is true, what is not – not because I don’t want to be served with a libel suit, and possibly end up with my tyres slashed – but because I genuinely believe that we will never know the truth behind these allegations. Firstly, if it is true, I have absolutely zero faith in a guilty party ever owning up to it or any investigation being truly independent and unbiased. Secondly, if any documents are brought forward, there is no real way of us knowing whether they are real or fabricated – it is 2017 – you can fake absolutely anything that you want and no one would ever know otherwise. Lastly, any witness, whistle-blower, or source that comes forward will be completely discredited, rightfully or not, by the accused party in order to save their skin. The powersthat-be do not give two hoots about the citizen on the street at the best of times, let alone a whistle-blower. When power, money, and reputation are at stake they will use all three of those things to complete destroy the lives of anyone that stands against them purely because they have too much to lose.

The second point that I want to address is this issue of proof. Yes, we need proof; no, you cannot just make allegations with not substantiation or evidence, but when you are the Prime Minister of an EU country that is holding the EU presidency, the rules are a little bit different. The average person on the street is innocent until proven guilty, the average person on the street does not hold the whole reputation of the country in his hands, and the average person on the street does not have the power to make or break a country’s economy. What I am trying to say is that yes, Mr Muscat is innocent until proven otherwise, but all I have seen him do over the last few weeks is look out for his own interests. His main and only concern should be protecting this country and all of those who have spent their lives working to create a successful and flourishing nation. Whether it is true or not, he needs to take some serious steps to measure the impact that this will have on the country in the global arena, and take immediate action to resolve it. Whether that means him resigning, or firing half of the Cabinet, so be it because to everyone else it looks like he is doing absolutely nothing.

To me it is just pure selfishness. These politicians are too busy throwing libel suits at each other, writing bitchy blogs, and slagging each other off on social media to pay any attention to the fact that there is more at stake than their reputations, it is the future of the country that hangs in the balance. If you call yourself a socialist party, you need to take a bit more interest in the people that make up your society, than just your inner circle of friends and business associates.

I read an interesting article recently about the situation and I am sorry to say that it rings true – the mentality in this country is very much one of closing ranks when things go wrong. Burying your head in the sand, focusing on personal vendettas and revenge instead of realising that the eyes of the world are upon you and this sort of stuff just doesn’t cut it outside Malta.

This upcoming election is nothing but a farce – we are holding the EU presidency, the Prime Minister is under investigation, and members of his inner circle have dubious offshore companies and structures – calling an election is not the right thing to do. It is throwing this country into even more uncertainty at a time when the eyes of the world are on us. Who is thinking about this impact? Who is thinking about this debacle being splashed all over the international press? The best thing to do would be for Mr Muscat to stand down while the story unfolds and to ride it out until at least November, if not next year. I see this call to the polling booths as nothing more than a selfish attempt to justify his actions, or lack of them, and unfortunately there are thousands that will support him and his party regardless, just because that is what their family has done for generations.

People in power need to realise that the majority of the electorate in this country are not idiots and with each generation becoming more freethinking and savvy than the last, this old fashioned and nepotistic attitude just will not work much longer. The people on the street need to stop blindly following a particular colour and soaking up all the nonsense that is fed to them. Open your minds, you are a part of a global economy now and if you do not want to be the citizen of an international laughing stock, you need to start thinking for yourselves.

This current palaver that is unfolding day after day is an insult to the intelligence of the Maltese people. Look past red and blue, and ask yourself an honest question – do you really think you can say hand on heart that this government cares about you? Because from where I am standing as an outsider looking in, all that they seem to care about is their own personal reputation, and to hell with the lot of you.