We want our Republic back

How could I join the President in celebrating our Republic Day when our republic is dead?

Like all other mayors, I have received an invitation from His Excellency the President of the Republic, George Vella, to join him in celebrating Republic Day on December 13. With all due respect to Dr Vella and to the office he occupies, I am publicly turning down his invitation. I am not doing so out of disrespect or partisan politics but solely out of respect for my country, which I call home.

How could I join the President and other government officials in celebrating our Republic Day when our Republic is dead? How can we put on a smart face and pretend that everything is ‘normal’ and business is as usual, when we all know deep down that these are not normal times and we are experiencing a grave moral deficit?

By turning down the invitation, I would like to convey, within my limitations, that I cannot be part of a charade. With a heavy heart I have to confess that Malta has ceased to be a democratic Republic and has been turned into a feudal state.

The word ‘republic’ comes from the Latin res publica, which literally means “public thing” or “public affair”. In short, the term ‘republic’ implies power of and for the people. It implies that the people are sovereign. It means that the common good overrides the interest of the few. It signifies that the ‘we’ ought to take precedent over the ‘I’.

The values of a republic are based on honesty, integrity, accountability, meritocracy and solidarity among other core values.

Politicians, being the guardians of the Republic, are tasked to safeguard and promote the concerns of the many over the interests of the few and not vice versa.

On the contrary, the term ‘feudal’ underlines the supremacy of the few. It implies that a small number of influential and powerful people have direct or covert control over the affairs of the state.

During the middle ages, the circle of friends of the reigning king ruled the day. In those dark years, the word of one weighed more than those of the common citizens. Whatever the lackey of the king wished, it was done. ‘Your wish is my command’, as the saying goes.

Has Malta been hijacked by particular friends of the reigning King Joseph? Alfred Sant, the former prime minister, used to mention a “circle within a circle of friends”. Did these very same ‘friends’, with their new acquaintances, befriend our King Joseph?

Have particular developers, business people, pseudo politicians and chiefs of staff been having the last word? Have they been the power behind the throne pulling strings and planning how they are going to appease their inflated egos? Have we, the people, been taken for a ride thinking we are living in a Republic when in fact we are not? Are our elections a charade to legitimise the pilfering of our nation?

The shocking news of the resignation or self-suspension of two ministers, the arrest of businessman Yorgen Fenech along with the subsequent arrest and release (sic!) of the Prime Minister’s own former chief of staff, and the everlasting sleaze allegations, the bizarre mega planning permissions, the secret accounts and the shady dealings with disputable characters, make my questions more pertinent and urgent.

Although the Labour government won a strong mandate to govern, Muscat has betrayed the trust he was given and lost the high moral ground. How can a nation be truly governed by a Prime Minister overshadowed by a brutal murder while his closest confidants are seriously implicated?

How can he govern with a clean slate when his government’s hands are covered in blood?

The recent shocking revelations made Muscat a liability to our Republic. How could we be assured that the investigations have not been compromised knowing that the Prime Minister himself was privy to the police findings?

We, then, the people of this Republic, must stand up and be counted. It is the right time to be aware that the ‘friends of the King’ and the King himself are highly able manipulators. They know which tune to play and which buttons to press at the right moment.

This entire charade is making our Republic a mockery and our President a fool. He took the solemn oath to uphold the Constitution. It is high time then for him to stop playing the President, step down from his presidential fence and make sure that the Republic and our democracy are safeguarded.

With all due respect your Excellency, your silence is surely not golden. As a former seasoned Labour politician you did your best to convince the Labour Party that Muscat was the right person to be elected as party leader. Now it is high time that you convince him that the right thing for him to do is to resign now and let other Labour MPs take over.

The damage inflicted on our Republic is irreparable. We demand our Republic back!

(This article was published on Times of Malta – 2 December, 2019)