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Posted by Edward:
Many people outside Malta are always impressed by the high turnout for elections. They always tell me how good that is, how important it is that the people are so engaged in politics and what a great example we are to the rest of the world where turnouts are extremely low.
They go on to say that those who don’t vote are a threat to democracy, because they don’t take a stand and this can lead to the wrong people being elected.
I always shrug it off and say that it is different in Malta. But never go further and secretly wish that one day we would have a similar situation in Malta, where voting wasn’t such a big deal.
It’s strange how when the turnout is low, like in most countries, “the wrong sort of people’ don’t seem to get voted in. It is true that the rise of the far right in Europe is a danger, and perhaps these people who admire us and our voting habits do have a point. But then why is it that in Malta, with such a high turnout, we have this problem?
I have always believed that the reason for our high turnout is not because of some noble appreciation towards democracy at all. I think it’s because many people are incredibly bored.
Bored of life and their job because they never got the encouragement from parents to take school seriously because they themselves were never given those values. Bored of their life because they aren’t famous or super rich. Bored of living in a country where there is little to do. And boredom is a killer.
The same thing that causes Malta’s high voting turnout, fanaticism and deep loyalty to a party is the same thing that creates religious fundamentalists, gangs and rogue countries. Bored men looking to be given something – anything – to do. All those young men and women with no real job or sense of purpose suddenly get roped in by scheming politicians and are made to feel welcome, protected and important.
With those people flocking to the Labour Party, purely because it is the Labour Party that validates these people’s value systems, the rest of us rush over to the PN while secretly being annoyed with AD for trying to take a middle stand, because we must protect the country from the likes of Muscat and these ignorant people who think they are doing the right thing.
The simple fact is that we all agree that everyone has a right to their opinion. We all wish for a day when we can look at those up for election and chose the party that we feel best reflects our beliefs. But we still can’t.
The reason for this is that we do not agree on the basic fundamental principles of democracy. If we did, there would be no discussion about Mintoff or Cyrus Engerer. The truth is half the country wants democracy and the other half wants an autocrat that is just going to bulldoze his way through things (because the system is in the way in their eyes) and just hand over things.
For example: electricity bills are high, but they are high for a reason – oil. The PN would have loved to keep those bills low. Hell, they would love to be able to say “No more electricity bills”. But they can’t, because they know that nothing is free and the money comes from somewhere.
But to the PL, their inability to reduce bills is all because they want to keep all the money for themselves and oppress the people.
The same way that the PN doesn’t factor in the lack of values and principles in the PL when analysing it, so does the PL not factor in the fact that you can’t just throw money everywhere and that the government was acting fairly.
“There is no money left” was a common comment in the UK after Cameron became PM because Tony Blair had spent it all.
The PL doesn’t understand the whole point of not going to undemocratic governments and asking for money from them because it doesn’t maintain democratic principles itself, so sees no threat in doing such close business with like-minded people, as it were.
The Maltese are not agreed on the matter of democracy at all. That is what I think is the main issue here. The ignorant, who are encouraged to be ignorant by the Labour Party, don’t want a democracy. They want a Labour autocracy. That is the problem. You can see it in every debate. Why fire Cyrus? They just don’t get it. What was so wrong with Mintoff? They just don’t see it.
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The last paragraph sums it all up. Switchers, please note.
So true ! I for one always vote whether it’s the general election, EP election or local council election because I believe in democracy and very well believe that the right to vote is sacrosanct. Perhaps that is why I was always right in voting PN because it this the champion of democracy par excellence.
The Leader of the Opposition has just requested the courts to address the slander being directed at his person on national television.
He also challenged the Prime Minister to investigate the allegations his party in government is making in the Opposition Leader’s regards.
And no, this isn’t in Azerbaijan. And it will get worse.
Malta tac-Cinizi biss.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140516/ep-elections/more-china-agreements-to-follow-pm.519286
I can’t agree with this point of view. It’s fundamentally “un-Maltese” in so many places that I’m at loss where to begin.
Bored? We don’t even know what stimulated feels like.
Democratic principles? What are these? It’s just a matter of us and them. I’m sure that the change in government is regulated by some as yet undiscovered cyclicity in population dynamics.
European philosophical ideals, notions and concepts cannot just be carried over wholesale and forced on our identity in very much the same way democracy cannot be imposed on a Middle East (collective) mentality.
When we talk about “politics” we mean “tribal competions”.
[Daphne – I think you and Edward are actually saying exactly the same thing, Reuben, just putting it differently.]
No. We’re not saying the same thing at all. “Half the country wants democracy and the other half wants an autocrat” means that half the country even knows what democracy is.
I’m sure you’ve heard countless stories of people who “switched sides” because a bit of land was taken from them in order to lay a road, or because they expected a job under a government and weren’t given it. I am not analysing the meaning of property (or even morals) here. All I’m saying is that when we hear such instances we’re not shocked. We think it’s reasonable.
[Daphne – I am shocked, and I don’t think it’s reasonable. But yes, I can see that it’s not half the country. If it were, I would not have had to re-evaluate my opinion of so many people I previously liked and even respected. And they so don’t get it that they actually think I went off them because they voted Labour, but the real reason is that I realised how shallow and nasty they are in their reasoning and that this means they reason the same way even in other matters which I wouldn’t want to know anything about, so it’s time to keep my distance. Voting Labour in itself doesn’t bother me at all if the person has always been like that and has a sense of ideology about it. But where spiteful stupidity and narrow thinking is involved in the decision to ‘switch’, then it’s the realisation that this person is spiteful, stupid and small-minded that puts me off them, not the act of switching to Labour for a spurious reason, which is just the symptom. I actually broke off all contact with a couple of people on this basis, because I woke up to the fact that the way they reasoned things out over their vote meant I couldn’t trust them in other matters generally. This is a bit difficult to explain, but I trust you understand what I mean. In other words, the way they argued in the last general election campaign and the way they have jumped on the bandwagon since revealed character traits that I hadn’t noticed before, was oblivious to, or disregarded as insignificant.]
Or “But to the PL, their inability to reduce bills is all because they want to keep all the money for themselves and oppress the people”
It’s not only the PL who saw it that way, but at least 18000 people who voted PN last time round. When “democracy” was at stake – i.e. 1981 and 1987- the PN got 51% of the vote in both cases (= 5000 vote difference = 2500 switchers) And you can rest assured that the main impetus for the switch was the fact that you couldn’t buy chocolate, toothpaste and corned beef.
This alone is enough to show anyone that we can’t be bothered with principles. It’s us and them. We need to “hate” someone else to feel complete. The way we “unite” against the illegal immigrants comes to mind unbidden. England vs Italy. Il-kazin ta’ fuq vs il-kazin ta’ isfel… irkotta vs rikotta. (That was a joke OK?)
How right you are, Reuben Scicluna. Been saying it all along.
Wasn’t the original Al Qaeda (and not the current spin-offs) composed of rich and bored young Saudi men?
Voting for or against Malta’s EU membership was always a difficult one for me. Discussing it inside my head was my Groundhog Day. Everyday the same auto-discussion inside my brain, but this silent self argumentation always ended with a pro-EU result as soon as I arrived at the question:
But why are the MLP so adamantly against Malta’s EU membership:
Answer:
Because the MLP is basically a dictatorial political party and once Malta becomes an EU member their game would be over.
Being members of the EU is a safeguard against a dictatorial MLP regime. Now they have to abide by the democratic rules, even though somehow they are still trying to ride roughshod over us, getting the communist Chinese here, positioning their henchmen everywhere, buying journalists if not whole newspapers, by their lust for money.
We are back to a banana republic, light version (up to now)
Try explaining to your foreign friends/contacts that part of the reason why voting turnout here is (a) around 50% of voters just vote blindly red or blue for life so they typically cancel each other out, and (b) the parties drag old people including senile people to the voting booths by the van-load, and I’m sure their opinion will change.
That’s without mentioning the short-termism of voters that bought the cekkijiet fil-posta, rohs fid-dawl u ilma and other obvious sweeteners and “party giveaways” over the bigger picture – which is what elections are meant to be about.
Aristotle and the rest laugh (or roll in their grave) at our version of democracy (as does Chris Packham).
I am making the assumption that, like me, Edward is an expatriate lamenting the parlous state of affairs in our country of origin.
His comments leave me with a great sense of sadness.
The fact that I disagree with the detail of his analysis hardly matters.
As an expatriate, I deal daily with a sense of guilt, stoked in no small measure when reading through this blog. I am unable to avoid the conclusion that Malta’s current situation is partly my fault because I left. And others like me left too.
If the barbarians have taken over, I have myself to blame. The others who left have themselves to blame, too. If the tenor of political discourse has become infantilised, it is also because I am not helping shape the agenda. Nor are others who left.
We now have a prime minister who is practised at bringing out the worst in people, and who has installed a governmental apparatus with all the makings of a criminal organisation.
The Maltese people have voted, in no uncertain terms, for this mob. Far from voting due to boredom, the Maltese have voted for the same reason people vote in other countries: for self interest.
The Maltese have voted the way they did because they have lost hope, and are therefore ready to accept VAT refunds on car tax as a sop. That VAT refund on car tax is what Malta is worth to them.
And what hope is there if those who could make a difference have left?
You’re assuming that those who left had a choice.
Well, by that same token, those who voted Labour may safely claim they had no choice either.
I mean no choice as in livelihood.
This is tutto il mondo e’ un paese.
The socialists are voted out of government when they run out of other people’s money.
This will take many years now, here in Malta, because these peasants and clowns (in the pejorative sense of the words) have inherited a country with a strong and solid economy thanks to 25 years of serious government.
The comments at The Economist Forum prove my point.
The so-called government is voted in by the post tal-gvern and the post mal-gvern bums.
When these iced buns run out, a real government is then voted in to sort out the mess.
History repeats itself. Unfortunately.
Xi z-zigg tridni nagħmel jekk l-injuranti joħorġu jivvutaw Lejber bi ħġarhom biex mit-taxxi li nħallas jien jaqilgħu il-pjaċiri?
Mhux ikolli noħroġ nivvota?
Well said. I always maintained that voting in Malta is simply choosing between a democratic party and a totalitarian party.
This is primarily why I find that Malta is such an annoying and boring place to live in. My surprise is why so many foreigners are oblivious to this pitiable situation.
Then how do you explain nearly 25 uninterrupted years of PN in government? Are we getting dumb and dumber?
[Daphne – Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Alfred Sant.]
We may have had 25 years of PN, but that was not exactly an easy thing to achieve. Don’t you remember the struggle every election to get PN into government?
And that is why many people my age (28) are afraid of being brainwashed. We supported the PN so strongly because our parents were around when there was no democracy, but were too young to understand it all.
As someone mentioned here, many people who kept the balance left Malta, and now all we have is this blog and maybe a few others where we can help support democracy. Many of us who have left want to forget it altogether. This makes the ignorant back home the majority.
I don’t wish to sound melodramatic and fulsome, but this blog is really all that’s left to us.
To some of us, it never was about parties, or even about politics. The War, such as it was, was a War Against Stupidity. And we lost.
Whoever was in power, the War went on regardless. When the Nationalist Party was in power, nothing changed on that score. Because in the end the thought processes never really changed. All that changed was that more and more people had more and more money, and a louder and louder voice. So now they’re everywhere. They dominate the cognitive space.
I despair. I do. We are living on the cusp of history. For the first time since Man stood upright, parents can no longer guarantee a better future for their children. That’s how bad it is. And yet here we are, oblivious to everything, doing politics as it was business as usual, and indulging in trivialities. Even worse, they are the trivialities of an island micro-state.
A few days ago some self-righteous wordsmith writing in the Malta Independent accused some us of us claiming we are superior to the rest. But we are. We are because we have turned our gaze outwards, and because we know there is a entire world outside these 300-odd square kilometres where history is being written.
If we’d stop discussing Malta for a moment, we could all be superior. I’ve never seen such a self-obsessed nation. Except perhaps Israel. But then, we have more in common than we like to think.
Malta has been independent for 50 years. Do the results of the general elections support the view that people are bored and that the Labour Party has some fundamental hold on the electorate?
Bored people are not easily prompted to take an active role in what is of no interest to them.
Let’s stop talking of “the Maltese” as if we are an aberration of humanity. Yes, we have our faults, plenty of them, but I do not think that other nations are all that different.
I disagree. Boredom is not laziness. Some people really do want something to do but have nothing to do.
And it is boredom that can be what motivates people to get involved in something that may not be all that worthy.
When you have nothing else to do, kids and teenagers turn to some other sort of activity like getting friends together and building a home-made bomb for fun and letting it off in a field.
Running around in a park throwing stones at cats, and more importantly creating some sort of war against another group just so that they have something to do.
I’ll come across as terribly patronising, Mr Saliba, but I don’t think you have any idea what the real Malta is like. You probably spent your life among the more intelligent and sophisticated of the Maltese, so you saw the best of the them. You must have, or you wouldn’t be saying that other nations are not all that different. They are different, and the Maltese are an aberration.
I would have to agree with Baxxter here. If you were brought up by professional people, a doctor, lawyer, etc, then it’s likely that you only ever experienced that environment.
Your parents probably told you how certain things are bad, put pressure on you to get your exams done, and valued education and a certain value system.
I am guilty of this too. I spent much of my childhood and teenage years thinking everyone cared about O-levels, but they don’t.
Mr Saliba was a diplomat, Edward. I think it’s safe to say that he saw the better side of the Maltese civil service, and the better side of the Maltese in general. I wasn’t talking about education but general standards.
I would add that it is infinitely worse for those born post-1980. We were born IN the hamallocracy and atavism. Our parents at least had a civilised childhood, and were born into something larger than the self-obsessed speck of rock.
I am hamallu born and bred, and I never realised how bad it was until I turned sixteen and had to choose a path in life. Suddenly, all the avenues were blocked, including the social avenues. I ended up an outcast – unable to communicate with my hamalli and shunned by the professional classes because I wasn’t one of them.
But with foreigners I found I could connect. The barriers seemed to disappear. They would relate to me on a human level, and we could talk about things outside the confines of Malta.
So there must be something weird about the Maltese. There has to be. Arabic-speaking island micro-states aren’t the norm.
Reply to both Baxxter and Edward:
My memoirs state clearly who I am, my background, and my social and professional contacts both in Malta and abroad, including England, Libya, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, etc.
I was a teacher and a trade unionist for 20 years before I became a diplomat. As a diplomat, it was my duty to take note, and report on, local situations. I have seen and experienced riots both in Malta and abroad.
I have seen electoral results that mirror the same faults that we see in Malta. I have seen back-biting and social snobbery, crime, vindictiveness, as well as love and nobility in all countries.
I am experiencing them in the country where I live now, England.
The only difference is that in a small community like Malta the social effects, good or bad, are more likely to be felt than in a far larger community as is likely to be the case abroad.