Sociologists conversant with Maltese political history classify the Nationalist Party as the champion of the status quo. Behind the programmes and manifestos brandished before successive past elections, there has been a hidden undisclosed interest – that of faceless, privileged forces, determined to block the advance of new movements with progressive aspirations.

These forces are the guardians of the ancien régime. Their overriding interest is to hold on to State power and, thereby, protect their status and their amassed inheritance.

Inwardly, they have always been convinced that their status has been acquired by divine right. Outwardly, they have to defend their ramparts against the advancing tide of democratic progress. They have been constrained to make use of the weapons of democracy to hold their own against the forces of emancipation.

These weapons are many and various – including the formation of diverse political parties, the manipulation of the parliamentary system, and the bureaucracy. The use of these weapons obliges the combatants to fight in the open. More often than not, the forces of the ancien régime fight their battles by proxy. They pull their strings from behind the scenes.

Tightrope walking

This system calls for sleight of hand and a lot of tightrope walking. It relies on trusted and dependable proxies to mobilise the populace, which must, in turn, be nurtured on the milk known to modern sociologists as “the feel-good factor”. This calls for fragmentary but well-timed concessions, and for bread and circuses in times of social stress.

The game calls for guile and skill. Over the years, the game became, to a certain extent, easier with the advance of technology and the skilful use of the media and other means of communication. The arrival of the spin doctor on the scene has given more power to the elbow of these hidden forces.

Nevertheless, the irresistible advance of the forces of democracy has successfully challenged the supremacy of the ancien régime. In places, the ancien régime has been disarmed and even supplanted, sometimes with violence, substituting tyranny with a form of dictatorship.

Democracy needs liberty as well as transparency, together with the rule of law, and the political intercourse has to be channelled through the parliamentary institutions. It is at this level that State power could be democratically exercised and controlled.

Maltese experience

In Malta, progressive forces have scaled the parliamentary ramparts and are in a position to scrutinise and monitor the exercise of State power, and thereby checkmate possible abuses by the forces of the ancien regime

They have been foiled by yet another stratagem, namely by the artifice of creating a constellation of authorities, corporations and assorted quangos, all separate from the civil service and removed from the close oversight of Parliament – and all staffed by trusted favourites of the ancien régime. Considerable State power has thus been concentrated in trusted hands, operating under the control of ministers but out of sight of the parliamentary Opposition

The ploy seemed to work for a time. But it depended on tight control of the trusted agents by the forces of the ancien régime. In turn this depended very much on the virility and unity of the ruling party.

The organisation of the ruling party is no longer virile now and its higher echelons no longer stand four square.

The Nationalist Party top echelons have been torn asunder.

Internecine strife spilled into the streets. Some ministers started to look after their own. At certain moments, party members started to abandon the sinking ship in droves.

Some of the top trusted agents were sacked because they were considered unruly. Others rebelled and resigned. Others chose to operate as they chose, without as much as keeping the government in the picture.

Even more tellingly, reputable citizens, some of whom held official positions in the Nationalist Party in former years, have publicly expressed their disenchantment or outright disagreement with government policy – as distinct from internal party affairs. These outbursts seem to have become more frequent

Among those who spilled their beans were former MP Ray Bondin; former PN Council President and MP Frank Portelli; John Camilleri, long time personal secretary of Dr Fenech Adami; and Carmel Cacopardo, one time PN Council official. The short-lived public trial of strength between Minister Austin Gatt and former PN Minister Michael Falzon was the most spectacular in the series. The remarkable feature of all these public outbursts was that they reflected disenchantment with the government’s performance.

The outbreak of so many cases involving corrupt practices and abuse of administrative power is a clear manifestation of lack of control and weakened party unity.

The ancien régime thus finds itself at sea, uncertain of its grip, and unable to control the new class it has created.

Meanwhile, many Maltese electors watch with mouth agape. The struggle for reform, for better material conditions, and for the adoption of democratic parliamentary practices, has become more real and valuable to the electorate than the unkept promises that held several electors in awe for so long.

Reality grips the Maltese scene. The electorate is conscious of its power.

[email protected]