When some journalists were banned from entering the Prime Minister’s excuse of a conference on the catastrophic oil spill – it would be counterintuitive to call it a press conference without the press – the temptation was to shout on the rooftops that this is the golden age of political decadence. That would do no justice to the madness of Mauritian politics in the 1970s. However, now more than ever before, hope that a rejuvenated political class can bring change is slowly fading away.

We could go through the whole list of young politicians making their way through mainstream politics and it would invariably end in disappointment. There was an expectation that someone like Tania Diolle could bring a sense of sanity to the political discourse, regardless of differences in ideology. Fast forward a couple of years, Diolle has fallen into rank, joined forces with an oppressive regime, and now shines with a complicit silence when press freedom is under attack.

In recent months, the social media phenomenon Oliver Thomas has taken the same unfortunate path. Thomas ran one of the most remarkable independent grassroots political campaigns during the 2019 general elections and obtained an astounding 12% of the votes in a difficult constituency. He preached radical change and many young voters headed to the polls for the first time to put their trust in him. Thomas was the prime example demonstrating that voters did not need saving, they just needed faith. In one single move, like an incompetent messiah, he has now led them to the end of faith.

A quick look at his social media shows that a significant majority of the people supporting him feel rightly betrayed. He built his political career on the backs of voters wanting change and rewarded them by joining the source of all current political evil. He is now an accomplice to decades of abuse by the party in power. We don’t even have to go as far as the party’s former leader briefly succeeding in putting the picture of his wife (and mother of the current Prime Minister) on our currency. The party’s president during their last mandate in power was forced to resign as minister for making racially prejudiced comments. In another incident, he was caught on camera threatening to shoot the leader of the opposition. For his actions, he was rewarded with his dream job. It would take a lot more words to go through every controversy attached to the party in the last few years. Thomas is now part of that vicious circle of political entitlement free of accountability. It is the ultimate betrayal.

Like Diolle, his perspective on what being a politician should do is incredibly flawed. After each losing an election, they immediately went mainstream to guarantee survival. It is offensive to all those trying to make the island a better place without giving up on their values and who are happy to exist outside of parliament. We can take for example the activists of Rezistans ek Alternativ, who have never been elected to office but helped coordinate the fight against the oil spill or even Jack Bizlall who spent several decades helping vulnerable communities without the comfort of being a member of parliament. There is no need to be in the spotlight to stand up for the people who believe in you. There is no need to end their faith.

It is almost certain that any criticism aimed at them will not hamper their political careers. The hubris was already visible when Thomas feigned interest while answering questions from a journalist about this betrayal. Picking up very quickly on the tricks of Mauritian politicians, he spoke at length without answering any questions and without saying anything of substance. They are now part of the broken system. They might get elected for years to come from the safety net of the ruling coalition and they certainly have the right to do so. However, we should never allow them again to argue that they represent change. They are the status quo. They are the poster children for political disappointment.