“What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”--Oscar Wilde
Malta-I do not know about you, but I am constantly astounded by the arrogance of most of our political leaders. This is glaringly evident in the top political echelon of our poor country….starting by our Prime Minister with his persistent cynical and sarcastic smile of the ‘big brother’, a ‘non plus ultra’. Moreover, however pitifully, this attitude is permeating throughout the whole governing body. It appears that they have lost all ability to listen, see and reason and that they have been caught in the old adage that ‘power corrupts’.
Why is it that allegations of corruption and of other murky situations are simply being laughed at by our Prime Minister? Incredible lies are routinely passed as truth and the genuine responsibility of government as we once knew it is simply disintegrating. Don’t we, poor voters, deserve better treatment? He should have, since long ago, taken the bull by the horns and had them properly, seriously and independently investigated if he had really wanted to attain and retain the people’s confidence and trust. The ignoring of allegations and accusations of scandals involving Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Heads of Corporations and other public officers…a never-ending list, seems to be this government’s birthright. Is it any prerogative of the government to ignore these in the face of constant broadsides aimed at the country’s Administration? Or is it gross insolence towards the Maltese electorate who once placed them there? But evidently, he never cared and is simply foreboding that if, unfortunately, the Nationalist Party is re-elected, we simply would be having more of the same!
Politicians, especially those who have been in office for a considerable long time following re-elections, tend to become arrogant. Not all, but with politicians who remain past their sell-by date, arrogance appears to be the rule rather than the exception. When they reach this level of comfort within their office, they tend to make decisions and take steps upon what is in their best interest without considering the effect that their decisions have on the voters who put them there. They grow aloof from their constituents and have neither the time nor the inclination to consider how what they do impacts on the lives of those whom they represent.
‘Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ There seems to be something inherent in the holding of power that goes to people’s heads. The resulting misrule seems especially conspicuous for those leaders who were installed in power via the electoral process, in spite of the fact that we assume that elected leaders would be less likely to abuse the power at their command and more accessible to ordinary citizens.
In most cases, they are supported by their henchmen, who they themselves had appointed to high offices. Any citizen unrest and reaction is countered by a new scheme to twist and turn the issue to deceive the public. The political opposition to this arrogance is rare and few. Rather than creating a need to protect ourselves from such government haughtiness, it seems that our response has been one of mindless complacency, an almost ‘do whatever you want’ attitude. Where are the voices of dissent and protest? Where is everybody? Are we so morally lazy, uninterested, distracted, overworked and burdened with debt that we do not even have enough energy to claim what is rightfully ours and sacrosanct to us all – an honest accountability of our governance? It seems that we are not only gutless, but most likely complicit!
We must hold all elected officials accountable. They represent you and me, not their inner circles. We must question the waste, the patronage! Public officials may ignore public concern at their peril. People power will definitely finally triumph!
Blinded by arrogance and hubris, the Prime Minister isn’t even trusting his own political team but is spinning the PN electoral campaign round his personal ego! Are the PN candidates so timid as to stand so stupidly silent on this manoeuvre? Is it diffidence on their part or are they waiting in earnest to see him going over the cliff?
There’s an old Indian saying: “When you grow, grow like rice, for as rice grows, it bends forward; do not grow like grass, for as grass grows, it grows straight.” The essence is that humility is the key to development.
If I have learned anything, it is the fact that ‘pride always comes before the fall’.
“When a man is wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty small package.”--John RuskinJoseph Cachia is a freelance writer in Malta
