It felt like a breath of fresh air these last few weeks to read about solidarity not in terms of money but in much more practical ways. I’m referring to Mario de Marco’s article ‘Europe’s return to the wall’, (Times of Malta, June 4), and the interview with Helena Dalli (The Sunday Times of Malta, June 22).

We would like our political parties, as de Marco insists, to “actively fight to put the human being at the centre of all our policies” and “invigorate the entrepreneurial spirit without forgetting the principles of social justice”.

We wish that as a nation we are courageous enough to give a part of our country for the greater common good of a united peaceful Europe.

How we wish that social justice is promoted in the curriculum of our schools to create a generation that is sensitive to the needs of all.

We wish that, as Maltese Europeans, we learn to live the values we hear so much about, of tolerance (or rather acceptance) and diversity, peace and security, justice and solidarity. May these values be transformed into a Malta where locals can live happily with immigrants, Catholics can co-exist with atheists, secularists and humanists, gays and straight people feel comfortable living together so that truly “people’s rights and dignity are respected”, as Dalli said.

We would like the idea of having the human being at the centre of all our policies to be translated into putting the needs of children before the needs of the economy; promoting creativity in education to have more students becoming aware of their potential; supporting mothers and fathers, through professional training, to develop healthy stable relationships in order to accompany their children in education, eating styles and happiness.

Leading busy, stressful lives of working-shopping-consuming is producing quantity in our lives, but we also need our political parties to help us produce quality. We want to have more solidarity in our daily lives to have more quality in our life.

Putting the heart in politics might be the way.