The Price of Our Politics

The sea around our islands has always taught us about balance—how too much of anything, even something essential, can become destructive. This same principle applies to the systems we build to sustain our political life. When I read about political financing tied to membership numbers, I think of the fishermen who once counted their catch by quality, not just quantity. They understood that chasing numbers alone leads to shortcuts, to throwing back what's small and undeveloped just to meet a quota. Our current approach to funding political parties feels much the same—a system that rewards accumulation over substance. In these crowded islands where everyone knows someone, where family names carry weight across generations, the pressure to inflate numbers creates shadows where corruption can grow. It's not just about money changing hands; it's about identities becoming currency, about trust being traded for political advantage. We've seen how this plays out in our daily lives—the cousin who suddenly finds their name on a party roster they never joined, the neighbor who receives benefits meant for someone else. There's a better way forward, one that respects our interconnectedness while protecting our individual integrity. We need financing mechanisms that value transparency over volume, that reward genuine engagement over manufactured support. Like the traditional navigators who read stars and currents rather than just counting waves, we must develop systems that understand the deeper currents of political participation. The state's role should be that of a careful guardian, not an enthusiastic promoter of systems vulnerable to abuse. Just as we protect our reefs from overfishing, we must protect our political processes from mechanisms that encourage exploitation. The solution lies not in abandoning support for political activities, but in redesigning it to serve the public interest rather than political ambitions. Our democracy, like our islands, is both resilient and fragile. It can withstand storms, but it needs careful stewardship to thrive. Building financing systems that honor truth over numbers, quality over quantity, would be like planting new mangroves along our shores—protection for generations to come. — Source fragments: Political parties have to find mechanisms for financing their activities. The current model encourages corruption, abuse and identity theft. The State should not encourage such abuse.