As we blame the construction industry for the death of Miriam Pace, there’s someone else we need to be looking at: ourselves. What have we done to prevent this tragedy?

The blame will be placed on an out of control construction industry and the reluctance of authorities to properly enforce regulations. But there is a wider context to this, and it starts with us and what we are ready to tolerate.

Whether it’s blue or red, developers have dug their claws into Malta’s political system, and we stood idly by and watched it happen.

We’ve seen public land and assets (and now even the sea) siphoned off to money-hungry private interests, corruption plague both parties, and a journalist blown to pieces. Yet, we rarely demand more from our local politicians, while anger quickly fizzles out.

NGOs and activists have tried their best, but as a nation we rarely listen to them.

We’ve protested, but we move on from civil demonstration to civil demonstration only to see government steamroll over any concerns.

MDA Head Sandro Chetcuti has even proudly admitted that he was a protagonist in getting the Labour Party elected in 2013 and donates to both sides of the divide. However, we still continue to vote for either when the ballot box comes around.

Last year three homes fell, and luckily people escaped unharmed. We quickly forgot about each incident and moved onto the next, somehow acting surprised when a new tragedy reached the front pages.

We moved on even though those same people are still in limbo and without their home (as the Paces will likely remain), while developers and government pass the blame onto one another. It’s of little surprise that the government and opposition have learned to play the waiting game so well. Hang on long enough, and we’ll all happily skip along.

We’ll go protest again and act as if we’re doing a good job, but unfortunately, Miriam will be forgotten while government rolls out a reform that does little to solve the problem to much fanfare.

A change in administration might have calmed the storm following the recent political crisis, but this horrific death shows that the same problems and faces remain.

Regardless, a general election will come, and we’ll vote according to historical ties rather than an informed choice.

Unless either party vows to take the developers head-on, a vote for either is a slap in the face to people like Miriam and her family, who lose a home and the person who made it so.

Some developers have proven that they are reluctant to change, and draconian regulations are the only way to ensure that they fall in line. Less than a year ago, developers promised to change their ways after apartment blocks tumbled.

They had only done so after the third one fell, passing off the first two as critics’ paranoia. And now they’ve proven that it meant nothing. An MDA Council Member was one of the developers responsible for the site next door, and it cannot be ignored.

How can we expect the MDA to come up with a comprehensive register for trusted contractors, as they’ve promised, when one of their own may be partly responsible for the death of an innocent woman?

Too long have the developers run riot over Malta’s decision-making process. They can no longer be trusted.

Just look at Malta’s rent law, we watched as prices skyrocketed and left Maltese people scrambling to find a home. Yet, the moment government attempts to usher into some sort of regulations, developers and other interests rush to find flaws and apply as much pressure as possible to steer thing their way.

Or what about Daphne? There were close to twenty car bombs in ten years that all remained unsolved, but each one came and went while authorities did little find the perpetrators and we remained firmly focused on our social media feeds.

“It doesn’t reflect a whole sector” we’ll hear. But wasn’t that the same thing they told us about the police force until an entire traffic department and its higher-ups were embroiled in an extra-time racket?

We need wholesale change, and we need to start demanding it. It’s time to put our political differences aside and take to the streets in the thousands to finally show our government that the days of the developers’ dictatorship is over.

It doesn’t make a difference whether its Repubblika or Moviment Graffitti leading the way, it’s just important that we’re there, to show the Paces and the many families who have also lost their homes or loved ones, that they’re not alone in this fight.

But it still isn’t enough. We cannot let another pivotal moment just fly past and continue making our voices heard. We need to start demanding what our local politicians, whether that’s a district MP, local councillor, or election candidate plan to do to solve this crisis, and any other issue you have for that matter.

Politicians have failed to deliver, and it’s time to start using the only thing they care about, your vote beyond election season.