The European Union is all for doing business with China and the Chinese, and is as we speak seeking to establish further sound institutional platforms in order to enhance and consolidate this ancient practice of exchanging goods , services and cultures with this fascinating Eastern giant.

On the forefront of this push towards tapping  on what this aggressively blossoming economy can provide, is Germany, the biggest economy in the EU, a country that has not only weathered the financial crisis with flying colours,  but was and is instrumental in preventing the fragmentation of the Eurozone.

It is also a country which has just ensured a decent and reasonable minimum wage for all its workers. Germany can also boast of being the creator and perpetrator of well over 50% of all the commerce and business that is currently happening between China and Europe. 

This formidable nation is and has been led for a very long time now (in political terms)  by a female scientist , turned politician  hailing from what was once Communist East Germany. She is conservative but heads a coalition which includes her 'opponents' (if such a view still exists) from the other end of the political spectrum. This arrangement of Conservatives and Socialists working together for the benefit of their nation is functioning more than well under the steady, strong will of Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

Merkel knows what she wants, and gets it without compromising her country's (and Europe's) sovereignty, pride or principles in any way. 

In a recent visit to China, she was invited to lecture at Tsinghua University in Beijing and as the woman of substance that she is, she did not hesitate in bringing up the subject of Human Rights that her host , the Authoritarian capitalist/Communist Chinese Government likes to avoid.

Needless to say, she was not reported by the Chinese Press, but the body of admiring students and the world at large know that she went as follows: 

“It is important that the citizen can believe in the Power of The Law, not in the law of the powerful. It is important to have laws in this regard that function as a guardian of principles. You need an  open , pluralistic and free society in order to shape the future successfully.”

With those words, coming from an individual raised in Communist East Germany, Merkel was and is trying to bring to China the kind of holistic wealth that China  and the Chinese, really need. Not only didn't she act servile to the Chinese authorities for fear of losing business, but made it her business to tell them what their business should be.

I wish I could say the same for my government.

Unfortunately,  on such occasions, the Maltese Government is failing to predicate Malta's standing where human rights issues are concerned and consolidating what we have obtained and what our democracy now stands for.

But not only. Our government is depriving Parliament of basic, crucial information for consideration, prior to being called to vote on an issue that may irreversibly compromise our sovereignity in the energy  sector.

It is manifesting signs of a slide into a closed authoritarian mode of governance , which in turn might be a symptom of the insecurity within itself, stemming from doubts in what were its own convictions.

The consideration of doing away with the next Local Council Elections in 2015 is another such sign. I remember clearly the huge (justified) fuss we made when PN under the destructive hand of Joe Saliba failed to field candidates in a couple of locations  to avoid elections for political expediency.

I keep asking myself ( and others) the same question : Has  our Labour Movement and what it believes in, changed so much in such a short time? 

Are we sliding back into the deplorable 1970s mindset when it had become justifiable  to eradicate our intellectual anima by annihilating the teaching of Humanities, under the flimsy excuse that it was a waste of money ,or that money could be better spent? All this, while listening to the government boast on the ‘phenomenal’ growth  of our economy, all day, every day?

If it wasn't so tragic I would say it’s downright hilarious. Black Comedy all along.

In the meantime if any of you are wondering about my behaviour under these unfortunate circumstances, I will just say that in my role as an MP, I only recognize  my obligation to do what I think is right, and am not ready to resign my conscience to deciding on issues presented to me  in a deliberately shady manner.

Now I  know that the eternal teacher Socrates’ actions and inactions led him  to having to drink hemlock in the end , but I  still prefer his ways in many ways....especially this one: “The greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”