The Mayans were right. The end of the world is nigh. Not that the planet’s going to explode in a puff of sulfur or anything apocalyptic like that, but the world as we know has defi nitely run its course. Economic, social and environmental crises are piling up like tuna fl apping on the deck of a French trawler. And every passing day offers fresh proof, if any was needed, that our political class is fast becoming obsolete.

Its members are so woefully out of touch with the concerns and aspirations of the citizens of this country that they’ve become parasites siphoning off precious resources from us, the host. They’re intellectually and morally incapable of grasping even the most basic elements of the challenges facing the country and world.

If theirs was a normal, honest job, they’d have been made redundant ages ago. It’s a wonder they haven’t seen the writing on the wall and skedaddled while there’s still time. Not that the rest of us are any better mind you. Speak to any tourism operator and you get the impression that December is the second coming of the sky fairy.

There’s something slightly pathetic seeing normally rational people put all their hope in the prospect of one month of brisk business. Beyond that though, they’ve not a clue. Nada, zip. But just like our political leaders, they too failed to heed the countless flashing warning signs along the road they too lacked the courage to state the obvious: the emperor has no clothes and a system based on greed will always eat itself eventually.

The great divide separating our decision-makers from the people was well illustrated in two interviews published on l’express.mu earlier this week. In the first one, the minister of health, Lormus Bundhoo, took sycophancy to a whole new level in a declaration of love that would’ve made Barbara Cartland readers blush. In the other, the chairman of the Forum Citoyens Libres, Georges Ah Yan, explained the motivations behind his issues-based civic engagement. The former is completely blinded by his fealty to the party whereas the latter has been fighting indefatigably to protect the public domain from rapacious developers and political nominees. No prizes for guessing which of the two controls a budget of Rs8 billion of taxpayers’ money.

There’s good news in this too, though. The gravity of the situation means that the time when we had to wait for politicians to act is over things are changing whether they or we like it or not. And it’s about time too. We simply can’t go on with this farce of a political class that’s so utterly absorbed in its own interests that it’s incapable of feeling and sensing the world around it. So roll on December. To quote the much-missed R.E.M: it’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine).

Nicholas RAINER