Absolute power mocks at democracy. Without constitutional and parliamentary checks, power can run riot.

That’s why the first rule in the Book of Democracy insists that: “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance”.

The reason for this is that freedom is under constant threat – from politicians, with a lust for power, to greedy and corrupt interests, from mad mobs to state monopolists.

The down-to-earth truth is that freedom is not something that anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free as they want to be. They have the responsibility to defend it when it is threatened.

Our system of government is based on the belief that people can be both strong and free, that our citizens need no undue restraint save that imposed by them against abuse of freedom.

There is also the assumption that government is a trust and ministers are trustees.

Soul-searching

It is in the context of all the above that there has been so much soul-searching of late, in the Maltese political and media forum. The soul-searching has been triggered by repeated manifestations of state arrogance – all indicating a hardening of the arteries of a tired government.

The government is beleaguered. It is strapped for funds and heavily in debt, all originating from its erstwhile money no problem philosophy. It is under duress from Brussels to make amends for its past extravagance by implementing an austerity programme. In consequence, it is constrained to squeeze taxpayers, indiscriminately, until the pips squeak – all of this as we approach the run-in to a general election.

The government is also hastily selling the family

silver, and taking other stiff measures euphemistically code-named “restructuring”.

The electorate squirms. The political gladiators have their respective media as their forum. The uncommitted electorate does not have the same free access to the media and is beginning to talk aloud in the streets.

They have done so with an impact on various environment issues involving state arrogance and incompetence. The most blatant abuse was the decision to open up the development zones, without formal prior consultation, at the Cabinet’s behest. This was perhaps the shadiest act of government since Dr Gonzi assumed the leadership of the Nationalist Party and became prime minister.

It gave rise to more questions than it tried to answer, and many of these questions imply that some people in power – at State or bureaucratic levels – are by no means as white as driven snow.

Rubber-stamp

This spectacular Cabinet move came too close to the equally spectacular performance in Parliament by Investments Minister Austin Gatt on 30 May. Dr Gatt disposed of government property in a privatisation transaction without first

formally referring the matter to Parliament for its approval as required by law. He justified his move by asserting that the government has a five-seat parliamentary majority and implied that he could not be inhibited by formalities. Some interpreted this as a roundabout repetition of the dictum L-estat c’est moi, and that the status of Parliament is equivalent to that of a rubber-stamp!

Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Tonio Borg introduced legislation laying down that, in future, magistrates could not hold inquiries on their own initiative and that they need the authorisation of the Chief Justice to hold any such inquiry, unless one is necessary on the basis of a report or complaint filed by the Attorney General.

All of these moves raised the ante. They are the sequence of a series of previous manifestations of arrogance and disdain for democratic decencies. There have been too many instances where Maltese democracy blushed manifestly when blatantly hostile public criticism was leveled at the Judiciary, the Ombudsman and the Accountant General who were doing their duty.

The public broadcasting services continue to stir public controversy by their partiality in their news and current affairs presentations.

The government’s inability to react with agility, in cases involving allegations of corruption, have also given rise to concern

No wonder the electorate is standing up and taking notice!

This is not merely a case of public opinion being nauseated by the dirty game of partisan politics. Public opinion is experiencing a rude awakening, at the sight of Maltese democracy in distress.

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