These are slogans which have reverberated across the political spectrum over the last 40 years, out of 50 years of independence: Malta l-ewwel u qabel kollox (Malta first); Is-sewwa jirbaħ żgur (Truth prevails); Malta tagħna lkoll (Our Malta); Nagħżel Malta (I choose Malta).

I wish to think these slogans manifest the search of the Maltese people for ways to come out of the colonial mentality and really have a country run exactly by the wishes of the people, for the people and truly reflect democratic principles.

Have the Maltese people found the equilibrium between people and power?  Not really.

The secrecy and omnipotent power of Castille has stifled progress, left people as mere spectators and given rise to several doubts about good governance.

We did achieve economic progress but who says that this progress that we are enjoying today is all that there was to achieve since independence?

First and foremost good governance is to do with transparency. No matter how many claims of good governance there may be, especially during this unexpected and wrongly conceived election time, what the people need in order to really experience a holistic effect of our independence from colonialism is absolute transparency of all decisions.

The concentration of power in the prime minister and the cabinet is effectively leaving the people out, in the same manner that our forefathers were left out in colonial times. Independence was meant to bring about the participation of the people in the destiny of this country.

The election is clearly showing that we have not really achieved independence in the real sense as a people; the independence of discernment

The all-powerful prime minister in a modern society is an institution which needs to be seriously addressed. Since independence we have had this position developing into a personality cult sometimes to the better and sometimes to the detriment of the people.

People think of the prime minister like a horse in a race. They think of the party as a football team. That is where lack of attention to governance since independence has taken us. It has taken all sense of common good away from our minds and all we see is the winner and the winning team; the rest we abandon for the winner and the winning team to see to.

At the point of winning, the people lose all their power on what goes on. As in a football match the spectators go home after having had their 90 minutes of revelling and mass sense of power which dissipates fast on the way back home to normal life; a true anti-climax.

What’s worse, the losing team’s supporters become not only disillusioned because they lost but they immediately fall into disfavour or at least that is the fear or perception. This perhaps explains why people stick to their horse and their team irrespective of circumstances.

Otherwise why would leaders accused and suspected of wrongdoing continue to enjoy the freedom of roaming about and campaign for yet more power instead of keeping heads low until the accusations and suspicions are cleared?

The current election is clearly showing that we have not really achieved independence in the real sense as a people; the independence of discernment. Had we had that power as a people no person entrusted with the stewardship of this country would have gone to an election when his own conduct is so much under scrutiny.

A good steward is expected to prostrate himself in front of those who appoint him and let them find the honest truth and thereafter carry on or make way to the carrying on of the entrusted provisional responsibility clearly mistaken by all of us as power.

This people is in desperate need to have a truly representative government which governs with the people and not away from the people. Such a government would be transparent in everything it and the prime minister does and one that continuously engages the opposition so that all the people feel really represented and comfortable irrespective of who holds office.

This ill-conceived election should be turned into an opportunity for change in the way we run this country.

Mario Galea is a business advisor.