Writing in another Sunday paper (30 September), former Finance Minister John Dalli reopened the wound that has anguished the Nationalist Party throughout the preceding three years.

Mr Dalli described the circumstances when he was faced with a camouflaged story, involving the purchase of air tickets by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the reason why he “could not continue in office”. At his suggestion, the Prime Minister instructed the Auditor General to investigate the matter. Three years later, Mr Dalli now laments that the Auditor’s report has been “sitting on the Auditor General’s desk”.

Mr Dalli asked, “What or who is keeping this report from seeing the light of day?” And hastened to affirm, “This is a case where EU standards of respect for human rights are not respected in the least.”

It is pointless at this late stage to enter once more into the allegations made. The fact remains that very serious allegations electrified the Maltese political stage at the time, and that Prime Minister Gonzi was quick to say that he wanted to establish the facts.

In a coup de theatre, he took 10 days or so to take the bull by the horns, at the end of which John Dalli submitted his written resignation.

Political decision

Once he had the elaborate written letter of resignation in his hands, Dr Gonzi took a “political decision” by accepting it, saying, at the same time, that he did not believe the charges levelled at Dalli.

There was no transparent attempt to establish whether the allegations were true or not, before the resignation was accepted. There was no reference to Parliament to trash out the matter. Neither was the matter investigated by the PN party organs before Gonzi took the “political decision” to cut short the ministerial career of the man who had made a bid for the PN party leadership.

And so, yet another round of serious allegations relating to corruption and abuse of office was first sniffed out, and then swept under the carpet.

As in the case of so many previous episodes, and a lot more since then, the political air continues to reek with the odour of corruption – and this because there has been no will to investigate serious allegations, the existence of which corrodes the democratic process.

No wonder that Malta has slid down a number of places in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by “Transparency International”. The 2007 CPI rating for Malta is the lowest since our country was first included in this annual survey. Prime Minister Gonzi was visibly disconcerted when MLP leader Alfred Sant confronted him with the facts during the recent Bondiplus television broadcast show.

Public perceptions

This development has had an impact on public perceptions. In the opinion of seasoned observers of the local scene, corruption will be a defining issue in the coming general election.

Corruption is a serious problem, widespread in many countries. Unless checked at source, it can reach pandemic proportions and could even be institutionalised.

We know the extent to which corruption has infested some European countries. In Italy, its disclosure on a large scale brought down the entire post-war political fabric. The Democratic Christian Party, once described as Italy’s anchor ad infinitum, and the representative on earth of confessional capitalism, was eliminated and laid waste. What happed in the cradle of civilisation, which is Rome, has been variously enacted in other countries, not excluding France and Britain, let alone many Asian and African countries. Our own backyard is not immune from this disease.

Corruption ravages the acceptable standards of public life. It undermines, as we have seen, the institutions of government. It plays havoc with the cohesion of society and the management of the economy. It does particular harm to developing countries, where the political fabric may be fragile, civil institutions less robust, and the economy, by definition, relatively in its infancy.

Economic costs

It is a heavy tax on economic activity. It raises costs and blunts competitiveness. It distorts the management of the economy.

Corruption warps development and policy-making in many other ways. Just as concessional financing may entice governments to undertake big projects, so too can bribes. Reform measures may also be delayed by the fear of regulators that the loss of their powers could result in the loss of income they may sustain from their entrenched positions.

Corruption may deter sensible investors from risking their money. At the very least, the scale of corruption will be regarded as a hazard to be weighed against any assessment of rates of return.

Seen in this light, corruption is a political irritant and a destabiliser of regimes.

It is easier to get away with in authoritarian economies. But the existence of a free market does not necessarily put a stop to it. Deregulation and privatisation, carried out in a half-baked manner, can and sometimes do result in more corruption, not less.

When State-owned assets are sold, or when previously State-owned activities are franchised, the potential pickings can be large. The purchaser or holder of the franchise may be induced to pay for his acquisition. Secondly, if the government retains discretionary powers in the sectors it is selling off, the opportunities of pocketing bribes continue. Every act of discretion can prove lucrative. This is why transparency is of the essence, and why democracy takes the added precaution of submitting transparent government to parliamentary scrutiny.

The rule of law

It does not automatically follow that the introduction of democracy is the ultimate antidote to graft. Democracy has not prevented corruption in India or in the United States. On the other hand, corruption is more likely to be detected and exposed in an open, democratic society where there are free elections.

Allegations of corruption have led to the downfall of ministers, and even governments, where independent investigations established the facts in the light of day.

A marketplace, free and fair to all, and an economic system purged of, or at least resistant to, bribery are far more likely to take root when a free society cherishes its most essential software – the rule of law.

This prevails where everyone, but everyone, is subject to the law, however mighty he or she might be. It has been well said that the rule of law is not some sort of convenient justification for coercion by the powerful, a legalistic cover for the arbitrary manipulation of government authority, or a blank cheque authorising ministers to usurp the powers of judicial investigation.

Euripides (431 BC) said, “The gods are moved by gifts, and gold does more with men than words.” That kind of gold operates with stealth and in darkness. It works best when it undermines the law, and it succeeds most when it makes mincemeat out of justice. Yet, the more successful it is, the more it drowns in its own shame.

That is why it dares not spell its name. And that is why democracy seeks to expose corruption to the light of day. Unless it is smoked out and forced into the open, corruption continues to be a sinister threat that rots democracy.

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