The notion of democracy may be a familiar word to most. A word that is used frequently by politicians to ascertain their subscription to the legitimacy of power, whenever this is challenged. It is the most profound value, which guides our aspirations to live free and well guided from the misuse of its absence. A dictionary definition might well be that of “government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system”.

Our Constitution, the very basis of our democracy, and our laws set out clearly the workings of democracy by stating that the functioning of the state is entrusted to three institutions: the Legislative, the Judiciary and the Executive. The office of the Ombudsman, the Electoral Commission and the Broadcasting Authority, among other bodies, in their own right, supplement significantly the democratic governability of our state. Such an environment is not only desired but a pre-requisite for a modern state.

Is the Nationalist government, however, placing all these notions and values in question? They certainly seem to be heading that way, considering that they have attacked all the above institutions in no small way.

Minister Austin Gatt’s assertion in Parliament, on 30 May – read it and interpret it, in whichever way you like – leaves much to be desired in so far as respect for Parliament is concerned. Such statements are even more significantly negative coming from a member of that same Parliament.

The functioning of the Judiciary has also had its fair share of attacks from Nationalist governments. The most serious was that, when after their not being happy with a particular trial by jury, prominent members of government came out criticising the trial by jury system.

Again, is the Bill amending the Criminal Code, being proposed by Justice Minister Tonio Borg, also an attempt to control what kind of inquiries are carried out by our independent magistrates? Among other things, this bill basically proposes that a magistrate should need the authorisation of the Chief Justice to hold an inquiry, unless the inquiry is necessary on the basis of a report or complaint filed by the Attorney General or the police, and forbids magistrates from carrying out inquiries on their own initiative. Immediately the question arises: was this instigated because a recent enquiry had embarrassed the government in so far as the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools was concerned, and in which a magistrate had revealed the “meddling” that had been going on at the foundation?

Truly indeed, the modus operandi of this government leaves much to be desired, when it comes to democratic norms of justifiable diligence.

The Ombudsman came in with a lot of pomp and glory. An institution that had to help regulate the Executive in its dealing with the citizen and offer some transparency in its operations, or so it was said. Why then do we still have a considerable number of rulings by this office, of unjust treatment by the executive, not remedied? Why have they criticised harshly the past Ombudsman, when his report clearly pointed out this administration’s failings?

Democracy means nothing without free and fair elections. For this reason the Electoral Commission has to be fair in all that it does. However, is this what the Nationalist Executive really wants? Recent issues raised by the current Executive tend to point in other directions.

The Broadcasting Authority, too, is also seen not to be fulfilling its mission in its entirety. The fact that Public Broadcasting Services and especially its news and current affairs department are so blatantly partial in their presentation of news and current affairs is evidence enough. Remedies are at times given, but are these enough? What effective remedies is the Labour Party being actually and factually given? Now that both parties have their own TV stations, is balance being done away with? So much for free broadcasting and democracy!

Indeed, the general behaviour of the Nationalist Party in government tends to fail in both definition and substance when it comes to

democracy. The righteous image that the Nationalist Party and the government try to propagate around them is cracking heavily. They are failing us all badly, diminishing our ability as a nation to move forward in an environment, which Abraham Lincoln had paraphrased as “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

In their case, it’s more a government for themselves!

Dr Michael Falzon is

Malta Labour Party

Deputy Leader for Party Affairs.