In his book The Politics of Persuasion my father wrote that being elected to Parliament as a “representative of the people” was the highest honour ever bestowed on him. One cannot but agree. Being entrusted to serve the people is indeed the highest honour and responsibility. It is an honour that brings with it the duty to act judiciously, selflessly and relentlessly in the interest of the nation and people you serve.
As holders of political office, we serve each day in a position of trust. If we break that trust, then our position as representatives of the people is no longer tenable. If we do not leave on our accord, then the electorate will force us out when given the chance.
Take a look at the world around us. We are seeing voters lose faith not just in individual politicians but also in so-called traditional political groupings. This is giving rise to support for populist mavericks. The presidential election campaign in the United States evolved into a battle between ‘the establishment’ and ‘the outsider’ even though on paper it was still a race between two political parties with a long history in serving the country.
Closer to home, Italy’s Movimento 5 Stelle led by comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo is successfully appealing to voters who are disgruntled by the so-called traditional political parties. In the UK’s referendum on membership on the European Union, the ‘leave’ voters represented by the likes of Nigel Farage won despite the leaders of both the Labour and Conservative parties campaigning for the ‘stay’ vote.
The consequences to all these choices will have global impact. Time will soon tell whether the US, the UK, Italy and other nations are throwing out babies with bathwater. If that happens, we should not blame the voters. We should blame the ‘traditional’ politicians who abused of the trust placed in them.
The endless series of scandals that rocked the local political scene over the past four years has also led to a rapid erosion of people’s trust in politicians. This is a sad and dangerous predicament. As a nation, we pride ourselves for popular involvement in politics. Voter turnout in general elections is at a record high even though voting is not obligatory. Politics is in our blood. But events are pushing people away from politics. This is a situation that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.
The endless series of scandals that rocked the local political scene over the past four years has also led to a rapid erosion of people’s trust in politicians
Four years ago, the Labour Party was campaigning for a new way of doing politics, promising a more transparent, accountable government, one that would promote meritocracy and eradicate corruption. The people responded to that call and overwhelmingly placed their trust in the Labour Party. The Labour Party won the trust. The Nationalist Party lost it. That is democracy.
Four years and countless scandals later, the people are rightfully asking who can they trust? Can they trust ministers who open accounts in Panama? Can they trust ministers who put their cronies in sensitive administrative posts and allow them to abuse of their position for months on end? Can they trust ministers who sanction shady property deals? Can they trust a government that enters into energy deals worth millions of euro and that bind the country for 18 years without having the simple decency of publishing those deals? Can they trust a Prime Minister who repeatedly turned a blind eye to one scandal after another? And if they cannot trust this government who else can they trust?
Ultimately, an election is a choice primarily between two parties, two ways of doing things. And while in the past we used to talk about the Left way and the Right way of doing things, it has now become imperative to talk more about the wrong way and the right way of governing. The Nationalist Party wants to give the people a clear choice.
A choice between living in a country that lives up to its European ideals and values as against to living in a fa accomodare country, as our Sicilian neighbours say. Regrettably under Labour we have become a country where connections and protection are the order of the day. This is wrong and needs to change, however hard change may be, however convenient it may be for some that there is no change.
The PN wants to change the direction our country has taken. Rather than wait for the launch of an electoral manifesto, we are putting across our policies months in advance of the election. We want the electorate to understand that we stand for the people, the common good, common decency and respect for all. We want to deliver a government that serves everyone and treats every person with the respect he or she deserves.
We are not talking about roadmaps that lead to nowhere. We are putting black on white our proposals, clearly stating where we want to take this nation and how we intend to get there. This is how we are striving to work, how we are striving to gain back the people’s trust. We have no right to that trust. We recognise that and must acknowledge so. But we do have a duty to seek to earn it and respect it each day, if we truly want to consider ourselves to be deemed representatives of the people.
Mario de Marco is deputy leader of the Nationalist Party.