If any further evidence were needed to prove the irrelevance of Malta’s politics and its political leaders in modern Europe, the recent spring hunting referendum provided that evidence well beyond any reasonable doubt.
The question put to the electorate was simple enough. Should the Maltese community become responsible environmental European citizens and bring to an end the barbaric slaughter of birds during the breeding season?
The result favouring the No vote is beyond comprehension, but the fact that it was strongly assisted by the respective support of the Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition brings mind-numbing shame to our nation. There can be no logical support for spring hunting or indeed for any type of hunting, given the fast dwindling populations of most species of migratory birds.
In politically polarised Malta this was never about logic – there is very little of that in local politics, it was always about strategy and political expediency.
It was about maintaining voting support for interests strongly supporting the No vote, most particularly by the PL, as the issue was deemed to have more relevance to Labour supporters.
This is an interesting facet of local politics, as Labour parties or Labour-oriented parties in the UK, Australia, North America and others are ferociously pro-environment. This question would have been a no-brainer for the rank and file in such countries.
The only controversial issue to receive bi-partisan support in recent times by the two Maltese political leaders was one supporting the slaughter of migrating birds, a policy demonstrably bereft of statesmanship, riddled with cynical political expediency and widely ridiculed overseas.
As long as Malta’s electorate is bisected between PL and PN, self-preservation of the two respective parties will always win against the general interests of Malta and the wider population
Very clearly this is not the only issue to be cast aside on the scrap heap of untouchable issues due to perceived potential harm at the ballot box. The unsustainability of the mushrooming car numbers on our roads rising exponentially year by year, increasingly producing choking congestion in our lungs as well as our roads; the unpoliced and ever-increasing pollutants blatantly dumped in many of our once beautifully pristine coastal bays by toxic fish farms, causing severe widespread contamination; the indiscriminate pillaging of fish stocks by skin divers (supposed to be illegal but many restaurants openly display large fish clearly showing evidence of deep water spear fishing) and other fishing practices banned in most western countries to protect collapsing stocks and species... The list is endless.
As long as Malta’s electorate is bisected between PL and PN, self-preservation of the two parties will always win against the general interests of Malta and the wider population.
A generation ago the late Australian senator Don Chipp, who abandoned a successful ministerial career within the Australian Liberal Party to forge what at the time turned out to be a potent third force in Australian federal politics, The Australian Democrats, was asked what was the role of a third party holding the balance of power in the Senate.
He famously growled back in typical Australian vernacular: “To keep the bastards honest” (with obvious reference to the two major parties) a caption widely and successfully used in the 1982 election and now adopted by the Greens in Australia.
The emergence of a third force in Malta may be a long time coming, but the system undoubtedly needs it badly.
A credible third party, one which rationally supports sustainability and can deliver a sharp, clear and concise message to the younger section of the population may succeed.
It will need young, articulate and dynamic leaders who care more about the real interests of Malta than the status and other significant benefits of a successful political career and liberated from the historic political baggage of their forebears.
A new and credible party, possibly a renewed and re-energised Green Party which is able to demonstrate responsible policies, will attract the emerging young swing vote in Malta, as well as attracting vital funding and widely based voter support.
If resources are focused on vulnerable seats with upside it may only need to win two or three seats to hold the balance of power and create a vastly different and new horizon for the future of this island and its people.
It’s time to consider other options and a new beginning.
Anthony Trevisan is a businessman passionate about environmental issues.