A free-floating anti-elite mood

Now that the no-to-divorce-legislation camp’s bullishness has died like sparks from a Catherine wheel, we must move on to grown-up politics away from the fiction of winners and losers and think about the terrain in between.

Representing ordinary people’s needs may have been interpreted as pandering to the masses by those who want to hold on to the status quo of institutional power. But one thing the referendum result has shown us is that cross-class and cross-party alliances have brought this country’s major institutions to check.

We saw in the referendum arena the people pitted against powerful political and Church elites trying to deprive them of a right. Thankfully, outside the Nationalist Party’s and the Church’s headquarters’ bubbles, there is a positive vision for the future of politics in Malta, the start of a cure maybe for the political malaise afflicting us made worse by the increasing distrust of citizens in these institutions.

Strong and controlling institutions, such as the government, the PN and the Church, pooled their assets to the extent that high-ranking civil servants were even granted leave so as to be free to work on the no-to-divorce-legislation campaign. The PN party machine was in election mode. Thousands of euros were allegedly donated by the Church to the No camp but we are still waiting for the Curia’s statement on that. On the other side were citizens coming from various walks of life with very few resources but armed with the socially just conviction that the applicability of divorce legislation should be extended to all citizens.

To the refreshing surprise of many, including myself, the latter won. Another thing that this victory shows us is that the old way of doing politics is no longer a guarantee for winning. Those in favour of divorce legislation for all steered away from a head-on confrontation and instead they used their energy to connect with the electorate, listening to its needs and aspirations.

The divorce legislation referendum experience goes beyond the positive result achieved. It is about the powerful institutions losing some of their hold on the people. It is a concrete sign that no institution is greater than those it represents. It is a message that politicians need to listen more. Citizens, as the referendum result shows, are disaffected with old-style politics. The outcome demonstrates a free-floating anti-institutional mood; that there is a yearning for political ideas and action that represent ordinary people’s needs and wishes.

Many have realised that it is no longer acceptable that our society remains divided between a small power elite and the rest of society. Thus, the former have been discredited. It can be said that the political class is in crisis – exacerbated by the Cabinet’s salary increase scandal – leaving many people disenchanted with their elected representatives.

The task ahead now should be to try and transform people’s mistrust of the establishment into a new political programme.

But no, in the face of all this, our Prime Minister - who has spent the last months playing the prophet of doom if “God forbid” people should dare vote yes, and pressuring the electorate to vote no – is instead speaking of “unfair pressure” being put on him and his MPs to declare how they would vote in Parliament on the Divorce Bill. He insisted that we must wait until the final version of the Bill is presented. This is because, he went on, the last draft of the Bill may not reflect the referendum question, which the electorate had voted for. Unbelievable.

I saw and heard with my own eyes and ears, when, last March, Joseph Muscat asked the Prime Minister whether he had a different question to the one being proposed for the divorce legislation referendum. Lawrence Gonzi said he had none and confidently – or shall I say cockily? – went on to say that, regardless of the referendum question, the electorate will be asked to vote for or against the introduction of divorce law in Malta.

The Prime Minister had said that the decision on divorce legislation should not be left to the 69 MPs but must be put to the popular vote.

He had also assured us that his parliamentary group “unanimously” understood this.

He has been reiterating since last summer that the final decision on divorce legislation should and will be taken “by the people”.

Now the Prime Minister has lost much of his impudence. People voted for divorce legislation and Dr Gonzi is dithering, going back to the referendum question, which, only three months ago, he had rubbished as irrelevant since, as he proclaimed, what is of the essence is the yes or the no.

Maybe Dr Gonzi thinks he may still seduce us with his silver tongue. This, when the electorate has clearly said no, not any more.

Dr Dalli is shadow minister for the public service, government investments and gender equality.