Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1536636
HAVING an Opposition is not only re- quired by our Constitution but it is an essential tool for a functioning state. It is a responsibility vested in the party, which does not succeed in getting the major- ity of votes in the general election. The Opposition has a responsibility towards the people to keep the governing party in check. Without an Opposition, there is no real democracy. In Malta's case, unfortunately, the Opposition is simply entrenched in what seems to be a nev- er-ending game of thrones. The events unfolding at the Nationalist Party headquarters, besides teetering on the pathetic, are creating a situation of uncertainty. The light at the end of the tunnel seems to be far away for the Na- tionalists. One has to keep in mind that in 12 years, the PN will have changed its leader five times. That is almost as many lead- ers as the party had from its inception in 1880 until the reign of Eddie Fenech Ad- ami came to an end in 2004. The situation at Tal-Pietà is, to say the least, desperate. There is no unity within the party. Factions oppose each other in a tight civil war, with very little hope of finding a truce. Above all, there is nobody with the right aura to take over the helm of a party in total disarray. Everybody knew that Bernard Grech was not fit for purpose. Even the Blue He- roes themselves knew that. They pushed him as he was the one who could be con- trolled by the extremist faction of the party—the elitists who still believed they were chosen by God to rule over Malta. The deposition of Adrian Delia as lead- er was the first act of civil war. It did not end there. Instead, the rift continued to expand, leading to the resignation of Ber- nard Grech as leader earlier this month. I do not believe anyone in the party ex- pected this to happen less than two years before an election. The PN is leaderless and, above all, has gargantuan debts which leave no hope. Had the PN been a commercial company, it would have been put in liquidation and struck off the regis- ter as defunct. Defunct is a harsh word to use for a po- litical party that has been part of Maltese politics for almost 130 years. Defunct is a hard pill to swallow for all those who dedicated their lives to supporting the Nationalist ideology. As hard as it is, the PN is truly risking dissolution. A split and the creation of two parties are becoming a real possibility over time. The only hope left was in the hands of Roberta Metsola. She chose her ca- reer over her party—the same party that helped her to become what she is today. Do we blame her? Would you throw away a thriving career at the helm of the Euro- pean Union, to return to what is simply a game of thrones? Who in their right state of mind would take over the leadership of a party that is drowning in debt and which is split be- tween moderates and extremists, with no hope of any truce between them? With Metsola refusing to downgrade her career, many are now realising that there is no alternative, so much so, some are even arguing Bernard Grech should stay on. Those who came up with this idea know that the probability of a PN win in the next election is close to zero, and therefore whoever gets chosen as leader will find themselves in a situation where they have to fight a general elec- tion with no resources and within a short period of time. The coming election can make or break any new leader. From a Labour Party point of view, we must take on ourselves this greater re- sponsibility to govern without an Oppo- sition. We must stay humble and close to the people. We must keep our focus; continue to better the lives of all the peo- ple and we should not make the mistake Lawrence Gonzi did when he underesti- mated a young Joseph Muscat. Let us keep our feet on the ground. Let us continue to give the people the sup- port they need whilst others are focused on their games. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22JUNE 2025 6 OPINION The Opposition's Game of Thrones The deposition of Adrian Delia as leader was the first act of civil war. It did not end there. Instead, the rift continued to expand, leading to the resignation of Bernard Grech as leader earlier this month Alicia Bugeja Said is parliamentary secretary for fisheries and animal rights Alicia Bugeja Said Natasha Azzopardi is a primary school teacher and an executive member of Momentum. Luke Fenech is an ethics teacher and lecturer at the UOM Natasha Azzopardi & Luke Fenech Are we getting it right with tech in our schools? YOU see it everywhere. Technology is completely tangled up in our kids' lives here in Malta, and probably everywhere around the world. The big push to get more tech into our schools has us stand- ing at a crossroads. As educators, we have to ask: Is this really the right way to go? You have parents starting to band together, promising each other they'll hold off on giving their kids smart- phones. It's a sign that people are wor- ried. We're all trying to figure out how this new digital life affects our children. Finding a balance is key. We need to be smart and careful, but not fearful, if we're going to look out for our children. Take the parental pledge at San Anton School. It's a great idea. Parents agree- ing to wait until 15 for a smartphone and 16 for social media. That's a fan- tastic way to fight back against the peer pressure that makes you feel like your child is the only one without a phone. But it begs the question. Is just saying 'no' and holding back really enough? Or should our main job be teaching our kids how to swim in these digital waters? That question leads straight back to the classroom; to what we see every single day. Teachers need to talk. We really do. We need a place where we can be frank about what this tech ex- plosion is doing inside the classroom and outside it. How do we even manage phones during school hours? What are the real-world disciplinary headaches? And bigger still, what about the quiet, psychological impact on our students? In our big rush towards STEM, we're worried something vital is getting shoved out of the way—the humanities. Before we hook everything up to AI, shouldn't we have a firm grip on what it means to be human in the first place? And let's not forget, not every kid has a laptop at home or fast internet. We could be making the gap between the haves and have-nots even wider if we aren't careful. So, what's the long-term plan? For starters, the national curriculum feels like it's a decade behind. It needs to catch up to the world our children are actually living in. We also need to get students, teachers, and parents in a room together regularly, just to keep up with how fast things are changing. And we have to answer the million-dollar question: How do you grade a student's work when an AI can write a perfect essay in 10 seconds? Beyond the school gates, it's time to get tough. Social me- dia companies need to be held legally responsible for protecting kids. It's that simple. Features built to be addictive should be illegal. Strong privacy settings shouldn't be buried in a menu; they should be the default. Phone makers need to build in real age-checks and parental controls that actually work. And then there's us—the adults. We have to look at our own habits. Our kids are watching us scroll. They learn how to live with screens by seeing how we do it. The situation is messy and compli- cated. But we can't afford to just shrug our shoulders and say it's too hard. Ig- noring this isn't an option anymore. If we're going to protect our children and prepare them for the world that awaits, we have to act thoughtfully, and to- gether. The alternative is a mess we'll be cleaning up for years to come.