In the political scene in Malta people from both ends of the continuum are continually on the look-out to claim ‘a victory’. It does sound childish but every time something goes wrong for the opponents the diehards are there to put their hands together. I suppose it’s our way of being in this Country that makes us all ecstatic when the other wrong steps. In this regard, the Government these last months has made it pretty easy for the Opposition to claim one brownie point after another following a never ending list of dim-witted slip-ups partly the fault of strategy and partly of communication.
On the other hand, the Opposition has continued to get organized with internal restructuring and what looks like a strategic piling of pressure. That the Opposition is organized, pushes through the agenda and makes its voice heard is legitimate. The challenge is the overkill which seems to be happening in certain issues being championed by one or two MPs.
Undeniably these last months have witnessed Government flaws on innumerable occasions, taking the wrong decisions or stretching the rules almost to breaking point; the Paul Sheehan case, the Café Premier debacle, the Gaffarena blunder, that keeps implicating new people every day, the way the Government was about to pillage an ODZ site for use by the American University of Malta, the delay in the construction of the new power station, the fact that Government, ‘as a client’, came in to guarantee for Electrogas, amongst other.
What a pity that so much fine work has been tarnished by this misfiring ignoring positive developments that have taken place for example in the civil and human rights agenda, in addressing successfully a number of issues in the health sector, bringing in investment in new areas namely ‘education’, improved exportation and tourism and encouraging economic indicators. All or most of this has gone unnoticed.
True, this Government has tried to hit the ground running. So many issues that had been overlooked because of a sense of procrastination that had crept into the psyche of the Gonzi Government needed to be dealt with. Nonetheless with all fairness the promise of that Government was there because albeit all of the internal strife Prime Minister Gonzi still managed to leave a healthy and diversified economy, an energy program that the current Government has capitalized on, decent unemployment levels and good foundations in a number of key sectors, namely financial and tourism.
On the other hand, the Muscat Government has tried to bypass the system as much as it can so that things get done and promises delivered. In a way that is comprehensible if reasonable and done within the parameters of the law and with the wider interest of the populace in mind. After 25 years or so in Opposition the Labour Party in Government wanted to deliver the message that it is back in business and ready to produce the goods. This mindset is fine but the opposite of ‘a lot of talk but little walk’ is as liable as ‘a little talk and a lot of walk’ – steadiness is the best solution I suppose.
I feel it is unfair to blame the bureaucracy because in all honesty I do think that the rules and regulations imposed by the system have a crucial role in civil society as long as it is in the right doses and if the practices are as they should be. It is thanks to these procedures that we get to know about misdemeanors. If anything we need to strengthen our institutions and get them to be as autonomous, self-ruling and self-directed as possible.
Conversely, one major issue that this country needs to reckon with is that our political class is over-involved in the day-to-day decisions that are being taken.
The way I see it, politicians should be there to provide the program of work, give direction and ensure that the systems are in place for the implementation phase. It is the role of civil service, authorities, agencies and institutions to execute.
For example, if we had to take a good look around us we would soon realize that there isn’t always a clear delineation between the roles of the Permanent Secretary and the Minister’s responsibility. Even though we talk all the time about the need for Government to become ‘smaller’ in terms of rule and to pass on the decision making authority to the policy makers it seems that this is not something the politicians are ready to let go off.
But whilst there are positives in the fact that people can access the institutions so well, it becomes increasingly problematic because as the saying goes, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’. We need to make the big jump and avoid appointing people to sit on boards or to run agencies and other government services because they are close to the ‘party’ in Government. Whilst one could rationalise that in certain key positions Government might need persons of trust I still can’t figure out why our main requirement is not competency (which should include trust anyway). If this Country really wants to take a step forward we need to let go of this mentality whereby we are loyal to the Party first.
Admittedly, it is an open secret that in Malta trying to influence decisions is a prevalent bug in our communities. People are always hoping that ‘xi hadd jghaddhili kelma’ whether it’s for a job interview, a tender or a hospital appointment. As one would expect this leaves us with an aura of mistrust in the system. The suspicions are brought about because of political allegiance, family links, friendships, funders of political campaigns, nearness to the party amongst other.
What I feel we need to consider is legislating ‘lobbying’ (that should make provision whereby lobbyists may not accept gifts whether its gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality or any other item having value); ensure access to varied interest groups; regularizing and registering all organizations, interest groups or individuals that are lobbying; lobbyists should file regular reports of activity; and, a lobbyist register is set up to ensure that decisions are taken in the public domain making certain distinctive interests in the decision-making process are represented.
This might be one way of avoiding on-going speculation that changes are happening because of bribery and sleaze!
But there are positive indicators in politics.
A good example of how NGOs and coalitions set the tone in politics is the issue concerning the proposed development of the American University of Malta on a large stretch of ODZ land. In my estimate the pressure and very well oiled campaign of the Front Harsien ODZ organised did not simply buckle the Government but gave a clear signal that Government exists to make sure it listens and acts on what the citizens are calling for.
A Prime Minister’s job is not easy. Losing this investment would have been ridiculous and doing the sensible thing and trying to find a credible and sustainable solution was the right thing to do.
So the American University of Malta will still invest, will still generate business that hopefully will seep, down, in/directly and help the much needed regeneration of both communities.
Whether it was because Prime Minister Muscat had his arm twisted, whether he realized that it is the right thing to do or a bit of both, the truth is that for once in politics, both sides have won. This is the politics of consensus I would like to see more of, this is sensible politics.