Lately I have been feeling disillusioned about Maltese politics. Not because anything has changed, but because I have been following the American presidential race, particularly the Barack Obama campaign.

This man, who I strongly believe will not only be the next President of the United States, but also, the next great man in history, has inspired me so much that sometimes I feel I want to be an American, simply so that I could vote for him.

What’s so great about Barack Obama? He’s young, fresh, well-spoken, and intelligent. More than that he is a brilliant orator, and he has the knack to inspire the people around him through his message of unity, hope and change. He appeals to both Democrats and Republicans and is not afraid of criticizing members of both parties and asserting his individuality, while finding ways to bring people of all colours, incomes, education and religious and political beliefs, together.

He does not say or do things just because they’re popular, but at the same time his popularity is comparable to that of many rock stars. He is an idealistic dreamer, but he manages to convince the most cynical of people that what he is preaching is actually a very possible reality for the near future. He does this by being the embodiment of his very dream.

I think we too need someone who can stop talking about divisive politics and cynicism, and instead inspire those around him/her to dream, to excel and to be part of a movement that changes the world. Malta needs its own Barack Obama.

Sant and the media

Maybe it’s because I am a media person. Maybe it’s because I believe in politeness even when it is unsolicited. Maybe it’s because I believe that politicians should have an answer for everything. But the point is this, every time I see Alfred Sant “answering” questions at a press conference, I cringe.

Not only does he refuse to comment almost every time someone of the blue or light-blue media asks him a question, but when he does decide to answer, he repeats the same sentence over and over again. I calculated that he said this phrase at least three times consecutively during one particular press conference, and I thought I had to include it in this blog:
“Il-pozizzjoni taghna fuq is-surcharge hija cara. Innaqqsuha bin-nofs ghal-familji Maltin u Ghawdxin.” (Our proposal about the surcharge is clear. We will reduce it by half, for the Maltese and Gozitan families.)

After repeating this reply countless times to all questions directly or indirectly related to the surcharge, the blue media gave up and decided to run a story about Dr Sant’s poor attitude. And as ridiculous as it was to watch, and as useless as it should have been to the campaign, they were completely justified in doing so.

Dr Sant, your attitude not only makes you seem like you have no answers to give, but that you also need to improve your listening skills. This is not coming from a PN supporter, but someone who longs for the day that he can vote for a change, a change I know is better not worse. Malta needs an opposition leader who isn’t afraid to answer questions and who knows how to deal with the media, even the media which is not made up of his elves.

Alternative families and other animals

Unlike most unbiased writers I will not write an equal and opposite section about Dr Gonzi in the interests of equality. Instead I will go back to Dr Sant. This is because I know that Dr Gonzi and I have very different ideas about alternative families so it is useless appealing to him. The truth is that at this point Dr Gonzi has my vote because there’s no one better, and not because I agree with his conservative principles.

Dr Sant, on the other hand, had me at the edge of my seat when I was watching Dissett a few days ago. He said that we need to cater for alternative families because children must never be discriminated against. Children, he said, should have the same opportunities and benefits, regardless of what kind of family they were brought into. I loved that statement.

Excitedly I thought, is he going to openly state that we should have divorce and, lo and behold, maybe even same-sex marriages? The interviewer pressed him for more information.

Unfortunately, the response about same-sex marriages was something like this: Le, le ma tarax, mhux qed nitkellem dwar koppji ta’ l-istess sess, (No, no, as if, I am not talking about same-sex couples), and his response about divorce was that he would be a follower on the issue, and if the people asked for it, he would let the people decide for themselves whether to introduce divorce or not.

A politician saying he would rather be follower than a leader? A leader of the Opposition who does not have his own opinion on divorce? A leader of what should be a socialist party, a party that is meant to be providing an alternative to the conservative ideas of the right not leading on such a basic issue? In 2008 when Malta is the only other country in the world, aside from the Philippines which does not have divorce?

Before his supporters pounce on me and say that in a two-party system it would be political suicide to admit being in favour of such a polarizing issue I would like to make a different, although admittedly idealistic argument:

Politics should not be a popularity contest. Politics is a service, and those who put forward their candidature should do so because they believe that their ideas and hard work could prove beneficial to the country. Therefore, politicians should never be afraid of saying what they believe in, simply because it might cost them votes. Politicians should have a strong enough conviction in their ideas, to say what they believe and to reason things out persuasively with the electorate, even when their ideas are not particularly popular at first. After all, if they are right, it should not be too difficult to get people to agree with them. The point is that in politics, popularity should be a means to an end, not the end in itself.

Therefore, just as Barack Obama has persuaded his voters that taxes need to be raised in order to create a better standard of living, I feel that Alfred Sant, and other Maltese politicians, should not be afraid of saying that they support an issue like divorce, and they should use their positions, popularity and persuasion skills to convince their voters that yes, the introduction of divorce is a necessity in our country. And this argument can be tailored to any other polarizing issue.

I think Malta needs divorce and same-sex marriages, but more importantly it needs politicians who lead rather than follow, who use their oratory skills to bring about change and who see politics as a service rather than a popularity contest which they must win at all costs.

Silly me, we just need a Barack Obama. The sad thing about it is that Barack Obama would be shunned in Malta because lordie lordie, he doesn’t see divorce and gay marriage as the devil!

Even when speaking in front of the most conservative of black Baptist churches, he is not afraid to show his less than conservative ideas on issues such as gay rights and abortion. In fact, he can even make a homophobic, conservative pastor give him a standing ovation, because Barack Obama is convinced of his ideas, he knows how to explain them, and he can appeal to logic rather than capitalizing capriciously on an immature emotion-driven voting population.

Final thought

I hope that Malta can find its own Barack Obama. I hope that this election shows us candidates with conviction and direction; candidates who can inspire thought and confidence in the people without turning politics into a popularity contest.

As cynical as I am, I will use Obama’s own words and say, I think we can.

Christian Peregin is a third year B.Communications (Hons.) student and CEO of InSite, the University student media organisation. www.insite.org.mt