1 week, 2 elections, many changes

As I write this, Pope Francis (I) has been officially inaugurated his Papate following Benedict's surprise resignation last month. Among the hundreds of dignitaries present was newly sworn-in Maltese Prime Minister Muscat, following last week's general election in Malta.  Whilst the first election was meant to be solely driven by divine forces (though many would argue that Maltese politics are at par with the importance of religion on the tiny island), both new leaders seem to have risen to their new posts with tremendous high levels of expectation from their followers...

The first signs shown by the new Pope seem to mark an ideological shift from the traditional Church image of pomp and ceremoniousness, of which the previous Pope was a champion.  I would never expect the Pope to be selling Michelangelo's "Pieta" on e-bay any time soon, but it is obvious that he wants to break away from the Church's 'wrong' association with luxury and grandness.  A welcome break, although in reality this would be nothing more than going back to what the Church really should be like: a continuation of Christ's work in the world, stripped of grandeur and appealing mostly to the needy, the poor, the sinner.  Not necessarily riding a donkey's back, but definitely not adorning more gold than the infamous Maltese man sporting several kilograms of shiny metal who regularly storms the streets of Valletta.

Which brings me to the next election - the Maltese general election 2013.  Following a tiring and sometimes amusing 9 week long electoral campaign, the 09/03/13 election is history: a 37,000 vote majority win (or 12% difference; colossal by Malta's standards) of the Labour party over the Nationalist party.  A break from the 'blues' after 15 years in power (some even argue 25 years, ignoring the 1996-1998 Labour spell).  A new captain who aims to steer Malta for the next 5 years free from traditional partisan politics but with a progressive attitude typically associated with the 'reds'.  After less than two weeks in power, the new premier and his ministers have been quizzed and followed earnestly by the press, almost expectant that the implementation of the electoral manifesto which brought them to power is fulfilled.  Apparently, some are unaware that there are yet another 258 weeks for this legislature to end.

Which almost brings me to the end of this post.  Whilst the Pope's mandate is somewhat beyond his control given that it is terminated when the Maker calls his earthly representative home (although Benedict proved otherwise), the Maltese government has a clear cut-off point (although, again, rebel MPs in the 1996-1998 and the 2008-2013 terms proved otherwise, albeit with a 9 seat majority this should not be an issue).  In both cases, however different in terms of scale and repercussion, the 2 newly elected leaders are expected to bring about significant changes during their respective tenures, ultimately to the benefit of their own followers, us citizens.  However, it is really up to the followers themselves to give them sufficient time and not mount them with unnecessary pressures to realise their agendas, earthly or otherwise, and allow them to steer the 'movements' they lead and efficiently reach their goals, whether they are social and economic ones or even metaphysical, eternal ambitions.