A few weeks ago, I wrote an article (‘Malta Tagħna Lkoll lawlessness’) which seemed to strike a chord with hundreds of people who recognised that Malta’s respect for the rule of law – never a Maltese strong point – had slipped precipitately throughout the last 18 months.

The reactions to the article were interesting. One person whose views I respect greatly wrote the following: “I cannot but commend you for your boldness and seriousness demonstrated in your column… You are an inspiration.”

OK. I’ll take the compliments wherever I can find them. But other compliments I found less palatable – not because they were not complimentary but because they stemmed from a perspective which, in my own small way, I have been trying hard to alter since I started writing for this newspaper and The Malta Independent before it. This is that all my training over the years has been devoted to achieving objectivity and suppressing prejudice. It is my duty as an independent columnist to try to give my readers a view which is as informative and politically impartial as possible, even if they don’t agree with it.

I therefore took exception to an e-mail from an old friend of mine living in Gozo, saying: “So happy to read your article”, under the heading ‘Volte Face’. She is not an unintelligent or uneducated woman. She is, indeed, a pillar of the establishment who, with her husband, has done some decent charitable work abroad.

Her not very bright son, however, compounded the comment by writing: “Martin, you voted these criminals (sic) into power, so you can blame yourself for the state of anarchy we find ourselves in. Thank you. We expected a lot better from someone with (sic) your experience.”

In my reply thanking my Gozitan friend for her comment, I pointed out that there had in fact been no volte face on my part. I had been criticising as constructively and objectively as I could a lot of what the government had done since March last year. I had given praise where it was due and criticism where it was deserved.

There had been no volte face either on the issue of lawlessness – which had long been a theme of my writings – or of meritocracy, corruption, the sale of passports scheme, governance and many others.

I had written in March 2013 that I thought it was ‘Time for a change to Labour’. It was an article much hedged about (and much hyped by others) in which I said: “Both parties have competed throughout this campaign to add further costs to government expenditure. They are guilty of over-promising and failing to confront the challenges ahead with honesty. In the face of such irresponsible policies, which is the least worst choice of party to lead this country in the next five years?

It is my duty as an independent columnist to try to give my readers a view which is as informative and politically impartial as possible

“The Nationalist Party makes a perfectly respectable case for a safe pair of hands. Better to place one’s future in a party with proven experience and leadership…

“But an objective observer would have to point out that this is not the whole picture. There is also a dark side... The Nationalist Party has become arrogant after so long in power. It is seen to be clinging to it. Worse, it has made a number of high-handed decisions that have eroded the people’s trust in it…. The feeling that the rich in our society have been getting richer and the poor poorer has exacerbated divisions.

“Overridingly, however… the electoral campaign has thrown up a massive corruption scandal that has raised questions about the government’s competence, accountability and the integrity of many, both in and outside government, who have been very close to it over the last decade…

“The BWSC contract… the unconscionable inefficiency and high public debt of Enemalta and the arrest of top members of Malta’s business establishment on charges of money-laundering and kickbacks for oil purchases add up to a picture of sleaze and maladministration in a vital sector of Malta’s economy which can only be laid at the government’s door.

“But there are wider arguments in favour of a political changeover and above those of the institutional corruption, cronyism, patronage and money-laundering, that oil-gate appears to have exposed… Despite the rhetoric of the last few weeks, the party has become stale and tired. Every effort by Simon Busuttil to stamp a new look on it cannot disguise its jadedness… A period in Opposition will be healthy. It will give the party time to revitalise itself, inject fresh thinking into its policies, heal its divisions and deploy some new faces to its front bench.

“The Labour Party now should have its place in the sun. Let us be clear. A Labour government will not be perfect. It will make mistakes. It will be faced on arrival by all the issues it has failed to address in its road map and the messy business of daily Maltese politics…

“Joseph Muscat has run a skilful campaign… His policies are indistinguishable in their thrust and effect from those of the Nationalist Party and, in many cases, are more imaginative. They are certainly more inclusive of Maltese society as a whole. If Joseph Muscat fails to deliver on his promise of change, free from the pull of special interests and politics as usual, then his administration will last for only one Parliament. But, on the basis of what we’ve seen, it is right that he is given the chance to show what he can do.”

On rereading, I would say that the article stands the test of time. There has been no volte face.

The problem in Malta is that most people are blinded by their prejudices and are unable to see that politics consists of shades of grey and many views. Sometimes our politicians get things right, sometimes they don’t.

Challenged on this issue, my Gozitan lady said that “having followed the track record of both parties since independence…. it was glaringly obvious to me which was the lesser of two evils. I thought it would be obvious to others too”.

So, there you have it. She made a value judgement – with which many would disagree – but felt that her historic prejudices justified her in casting her vote one way but not the other. The cry of bigots through the ages. On such ill-informed prejudices are elections won or lost. But for those who seek to think things through objectively and in a non-partisan way, some people have only disdain.

I shall continue to argue that politicians are not all bad all of the time. And I shall persist in writing for my readers with the object of raising public awareness about issues of the day, stimulating public debate and informing public opinion as objectively as possible, not simply for sectoral interests within this sadly polarised country.

If an independent columnist is not capable of being constructive, open-minded and tolerant, if he or she is not free from prejudice and committed to seeking solutions which are just, fair, equitable and for the common good of Maltese society regardless of background, religious creed or political affiliation, what use do they serve in being mere political mouthpieces of the party they support?

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