It is written on an A4 wooden tablet right in front of my bed: “All you need is love.” Given to me as a present two birthdays ago by a veeeery dear and sweet friend of mine, it’s the first thing I see every morning and it reminds me of two other things besides the donor.

First off, Antoine Camilleri, who chose being true to himself over popularity, and always used to say that in anything you do there must be, first and foremost, love. Secondly, it reminds me of the heady days of my youth, when The Beatles and American hippies were spreading a new fragrant vision of a multi­coloured hope for the future, and I was naïve enough to want to change the world single­handedly... and still am, it seems!

Those were the days when young people had ideals and fought for them in the streets of London, Rome and at the Sorbonne. Sometimes I wonder if those of my generation are all dead now. Some of them surely are, though others must still be alive but have forgotten all about a world with no classes or races, wars or religions, where in the imagination of John Lennon, the brotherhood of man reigned.

Many of the ones still around today seem to have given up on their utopian dreams and chosen to become, instead, suited bureau­crats or even ministers, fitting into a system where condoning falsehood and corruption has become the norm – the opposite of what our generation aspired to.

“All you need is love!” we used to chant. Today, at 64, I think I have finally come to understand the meaning of this destined-to-fail battle cry. When love no longer has anything to do with racy desires, girls and sex, it starts to gain a clearer meaning.

“Make love not war” was another popular battle cry, and funnily enough for the ancients, these two extremes were attri­butes of the same deity. May­be it is because one has wage war for what one loves. But a long time ago politicians decided that in running for public office for the ‘love of country’, they must be consumed by a war for power against a hated enemy.

Since the word spread that I was planning to forsake my comfortable private life with my loyal friend Kekettoni in order to try and contribute to the welfare of my country, some people started to look at me differently. I was no longer the likeable presen­ter they enjoyed watching on Madwarna, chased out of their personal Garden of Eden for sinning against their chosen political god-head.

We need to stop behaving like an embittered and uncompromising divorced couple spoiling their kids silly

To others, it was as if I had crossed some red line that should never be violated by common, smaller-than-life citizens and committed myself to a frightful world of power and under­handed dealings that is best left in the hands of corrupt hench­men, who in no time were going to use me and abuse me for their perfidous aims, then dump what’s left of my wasted carcass in gehenna, Jerusalem’s own Magħatab. Or they might turn me into another greedy monster, lusting for power and money.

Funnily enough, these abomi­n­able monsters are the same larger-than-life demi-gods that 99 per cent of us happily flock to elect every five years to deter­mine our destiny and that of our children.

Are we condemned to be ever at the mercy of corrupt politicians who, in the perception of many, cannot be distinguished from one another? Is it such a mortal sin to join the fray and do one’s best to change things for the love of country? Is it such a heresy for a free thinker to choose what I consider the most logical path to ridding myself and the country of a clear and present danger?

Defeatism is a negative, self-descructive reasoning, that in wartime could lead straight to the firing squad. Instead of support from those who want a change I have encountered hostility, not to mention outright, visceral and senseless hatred from the sup­porters of the Labour government. Must we keep planning our future squarely on hate?

I have made a conscious decision to become a candidate for the Nationalist Party, which, despite its shortcomings and varigated past, is certainly not some devil incarnate that loathes Malta and the Maltese. And neither is Labour, as some people make it out to be.

It is about time we started looking at politics not as a war but as a commitment of love for our country, and like newlyweds accept that no one is perfect. We need to stop behaving like an embittered and uncompromising divorced couple spoiling their kids silly.

Some may say that in my attitude towards this government and its leaders there is anything but love. At face value, perhaps. But one must not forget that three years ago, for the love of my country, I voted without any prejudice for Joseph Muscat, his promise of a clean government and for his vision of brotherhood of all Maltese. Unfortunately, these promises not only failed to materialise but within weeks we were lumped with much worse. A country of truth, honesty and justice was promised but never delivered.

I would like nothing more than a public encounter with Muscat, who had promised access for all citizens, where he might explain to me how absolutely wrong I am to be waging war on him, because it is his country that he loves and not himself, as is implied by his actions. I would instantly apolo­gise if he could convince me that Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri are nothing but slandered patriots, whose personal interests come second to those of our comunity and not vice-versa.

In the meantime I find myself the target of senseless, base and unethical abuse straight out of Castille, where a government resides that should be defending all citizens against bullying, not promoting spineless ministers for high office in the EU. I find myself the object of hatred for my public spirit, because I joined the party in Opposition to demand no more than what I was promised and never granted by those in power.

In the meantime, this very bad example of hatred towards an expanding section of our small community has rippled down to inflame and distort the weaker minds in our midst, instead of helping them make dispas­sionate judgements.

This is nothing but a horrible disservice to this country. It seems we have all forgotten how to love.

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