This is a confusing world indeed. Honest citizens are waking up each morning more confused, more disorientated, isolated and angry.

For nearly two decades, the focus of counter-terrorism has been militant Islamism. The rise of the far-right has been ignored for far too long and now it has festered on soloed chat rooms, on social media and the wider internet, in which false narratives are presented as objective reality. Supporters have pushed these narratives on popular platforms, including YouTube, where they are finding a way how they want to be seen and heard, recognised and feared.

Unfortunately, the terror attack on two New Zealand mosques some weeks ago, which killed at least 49 Muslims at prayers, was the work of a white supremacist conspiracy theorist. As in all such cases, this attack is above all else an immense human tragedy. It is also a stark reminder that the radical right is resurgent, empowered by politicians in western democracies who have shifted the boundaries of acceptable political discourse.

Immigration is not helping at all. Tensions between one country and another are becoming more intoxicated by venom and people have no periods of relative calm where they can take deep breaths to cool down and relax. There is always something terrible happening around the globe that makes the world a damning place.

On the world stage, politicians are aware of the damage this gloomy image can inflict on their communities. Sometimes, they try to talk tough by urging nations to instil good governance, discipline, accountability and law and order. Panel of experts and consultants are roaming here, there and everywhere. They get engaged at various government departments with high remuneration and, yet, nothing is ever changed.

What lessons have we learnt so far from past mistakes, Mr Prime Minister? Did we find who was behind the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia? Was this a political murder?

We have to choose a better way, one that takes us forward and not backwards. We have to make amendments. We have to move beyond our past. We have to avert the most dire consequences of global warming with action and determination in this ever-changing world. We need to start providing answers before it’s too late.