Don’t do politics for the sake of it

This might seem counterintuitive but, hang on. With local council elections around the corner, I’m meeting with many young people who are deciding to make the bold and brave step to put their name down on the ballot next June. Out of all the advice tips and help I can give (from the bit that I know), I feel like this is the most fundamental, especially in the current Maltese political climate.

Don’t do politics for the sake of doing politics.

Do politics because you believe in something, there’s something you want to change, a genuine set of values you’re willing to stick your neck out for because you want to be of service.

If the above is not the case, pack up because it shows. People aren’t stupid, they will see right through you. Having no solid base for a reply when people ask you why you’re contesting is dangerous. If you don’t know why you’re putting yourself through the massive challenge, that makes you a lump of clay ready to be moulded by pretty much anyone.

The singular moment, at least for myself, where I feel the actual pressure and responsibility of my role is not when I walk into parliament but when I look into the eyes of someone who trusted me with their vote and I promise to make good on that gesture of faith.

Many people know how to fake these things, I can’t because I don’t know how to. Yet, I still believe that people could tell who’s faking it. People could tell when the extent of someone’s activism is a selfie on Facebook.

People want politicians, be they councillors, MPs or ministers to be people on the ground and connected to their roots. If you suddenly only care about your locality a few weeks before an election, don’t bother putting your name down.

Make an effort, go to the każini, attend the festi but not in a shallow vote-catching exercise, for a couple of likes on Facebook, but because you mean it. Do it to know who you’re representing, what they’re going through and what challenges they face.

Not all issues are going to be glamorous national causes or fights against the mafia we call the government.

Sometimes it’s going to be a lack of parking, sometimes its problems with garbage collection. You’re not above anyone or any service, you are responsible to the people, they command your attention, and you don’t get to decide that something or someone is a waste of your time.

No one and nothing are a waste of your time. You don’t get to turn around and say oh, well, they won’t vote for me anyway, no. You are responsible to the country and, therefore, the desperate need for its betterment.

Once you’re in, this country and its people are your priority. You’ll learn certain realities you would not have believed existed. Don’t be surprised when most of the time these come from house visits. It’s a grounding back-to-reality moment every time you knock on a door in your constituency, whether there’s no reply, they slam it back in your face and send you packing or if they invite you in and offer you coffee.

The bottom line: it’s not easy, it’s hard work, be committed and do it because you believe in it, because you believe in something and because you are ready to fight for it.

Once you have that, the rest will come naturally and with time. I promise.

Most of all love it and have fun.

Stand for something or fall for everything. If you stand for nothing, what would you fall for?

“If you suddenly only care about your locality a few weeks before an election, don’t bother putting your name down

Eve Borg Bonello is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on climate change and public cleansing.