A couple of University of Malta lecturers have posted a message on social media saying they are not going to vote. Their arguments are the typical non-voter anti-system mentality as they argue that none of the political parties is actually good enough to change the horrors and the problems of our society. They argue that nothing ever changes by voting anyway and the lesser evil principle is morally wrong.
This is the worse position anyone can take, apart from the fact that it is a snobbish stand that can be described in a derogatory way as petty-bourgeois idiocy.
Let’s state a very important fact on elections and the vote. Those who are most compelled to vote are poor people. Basically, half of Malta’s workforce does precarious and low-paying jobs and this segment of society is the one that is mostly incentivised to vote. It is also from this segment of society that Labour draws its core support. Interestingly, since Robert Abela started issuing €100 cheques, support for Labour grew again. My point here is this. If you are privileged enough to have financial stability and good quality of life, a change of government may not change anything for you, but it would impact the lives of many other people. And this is why it is selfish to refuse to vote simply because nothing in your life will change with a change of government. If you felt that a change of government would impact your life, you would be compelled to vote.
However, the reality is that a change of government does bring a lot of changes and those who tell you otherwise are downright incorrect and plain wrong. The only reason why many people get it wrong is that they like virtue-signalling, something most leftists excel at. “I’m not voting because my principles are higher than any of these politicians”.
Here is the reality. Not voting will help Labour gain another term in office and continue wrecking our institutions and rule of law. Labour intends to form a government with literal criminals like Rosianne Cutajar and Edward Zammit Lewis apart from introducing a new barrage of laws that will restrict freedom of speech. Corruption will be normalised and Joseph Muscat will still enjoy protection from his allies in power. Public finances will continue to be raided leaving the economy extremely vulnerable. Indeed, there will be a great difference between a Nationalist government and a Labour government. The choice in the next elections is between living in a normal society or electing a criminal government that will wreck rule of law, normalise corruption and clamp down on freedom of speech. Those who refuse to see this are intoxicated by their own virtues.
And if you can’t vote for the Nationalists, there’s always ADPD or Arnold Cassola.
University lecturers opting for not voting! Is it that difficult to understand the importance of the right to vote? Oh God, and these are the lecturers to whom our children are entrusted for their education!
Yeah right! let’s all choose the better of both evils! …But there are much better alternatives! (that is, if you really and truly want a change for the better) But Nooo! Let’s pretend that they do not exist! Quite obvious that the only change you desire is of self interest and not that of the people!