It is often that little credit is given to those individuals who dedicate a good portion of their lives to politics. It is also true that fewer still understand what being a politician actually entails.
What many choose to believe is that politicians only turn up on their doorstep when elections come around and the politician makes a token effort to engage with the electorate in an effort to win favour, the vote and subsequently a seat at the much coveted table. Many also believe that politicians are in it for their own gain.
While this could be the case with some individuals who choose to be referred to as politicians, it is completely alien to a growing segment of people who, come rain or shine, at day or night, continue to engage in a meaningful and open dialogue with their constituency.
These individuals continue to speak their mind and make their views known, preferring to think and act on behalf of the wider audience rather than themselves.
Being able to start and maintain a conversation with strangers is not everybody’s cup of tea. It is not for the faint-hearted, especially when you are not in the driving seat and not able to control the direction of the discussion.
The subject of the conversation is often challenging with real or perceived wrongdoings being brought out into the open, or requests to understand what the pulse of the electorate really is and to figure out what is really driving the agenda in households across the social strata.
Organising thoughts and ideas and eventually taking the plunge and speaking up in public to the vast masses is often the most challenging of experiences.
Being able to start and maintain a conversation with strangers is not everybody’s cup of tea. It is not for the faint-hearted
While many may love or hate politicians, in reality they are an essential part of our fabric although most definitely not indispensable at a personal level.
Very few people consider the sacrifice politicians make in their chosen vocation as they pound the streets and have their lives put under the microscope.
Very few people contemplate life without the input of politicians. So, in reality what would life without politicians look and feel like?
Who would lead the country? Who would legislate? Who would represent us in the EU and in the wider world? Who would drive the economy and the greater good? Who would fulfil the role of opposing the politicians in power?
All great questions in their own right beg answers.
In today’s Maltese reality, the need for a strong and well-supported Opposition hasn’t been so strikingly clear since the 1980s. We are facing a situation which cries out for a unified front against the continued onslaught of corruption, for a shield against the collapse of the rule of law, for support against the organised vilification of individuals and thoughts.
The lack of a strong and well-supported Opposition does not present a pretty picture – we will continue to see more of the same; more riding roughshod over people, their hopes, aspirations and dreams; a clear disregard of what is right always remaining right and for wrong somehow becoming right; for a muzzle being applied to the free press and the political Opposition.
This is not what I stand for. This is not what I believe in.
We’ve suffered at the hands of unscrupulous individuals for too long but haven’t yet understood the dire straits we are in.
It’s time to man up and face reality. It’s time to stand up and be counted.
Jerome Caruana Cilia graduated in politics and the EU and hosts a daily current affairs programme on Radio 101.