The first law of political dynamics is the law of winners and losers, which says that those to whom the government gives offer no thanks and those from whom the government takes, scream like mad. This means that no ruling administration can afford to rest on its laurels.

The pronounced improvement in the quality of life of the Maltese electorate in the immediate post-independence years has been taken for granted, particularly by the young generation, which was spared the experience and stress of the siege economy of the l970s. On the other hand, thousands of citizens who benefited from the rewards of upward mobility have been quick to join the squeamish multitude at the first smell of the increased tax burden and austerity measures.

The second law of political dynamics states that no Opposition party, presented with the opportunity to embarrass the government, will turn it down – and this, most especially, when the Opposition is in the right and the wind blows in its sails. The entire world over, opposition MPs have a democratic duty to perform. When the party in government is seen to be limping, they perform their task with added relish...

Our vulnerable island state, with its fragile economy, has less than 50 years of independence behind it – which is but a dot in the linear course of the history of the Maltese community. During the 46-odd years that have elapsed since the Maltese people became masters in their own home, Malta has experienced a titanic struggle to change over from a fortress to a market economy. With hindsight, it is now emerging that this exercise has involved the dissipation of resources to a degree well beyond our means. It begins to look as if the national economic interest was sacrificed on the altar of profligacy – which is why Malta is now saddled with mountainous debt and a structural deficit, without having anything like enough to show for it.

There are lessons to be learnt from the painful experience that must be constantly brought home to the young. Many of our politicians, who are high on moral indignation but low on ideas for the nation’s recovery, are no great asset to the community.

Small-brained politicians who cannot rise above themselves, and who have nothing to say beyond bashing their opponents, leave no positive legacy in their trail. Those who focus their attention on partisan objectives, rather than on wealth creation, sow the seeds of national impoverishment. We have seen it happen before our eyes. And the final outcome is an economy that has lost its momentum. A tired government, devoid of ideas and initiative, has been unable to kick-start the economic engine in a meaningful way.

All of this points to the need for the third law of political dynamics: a developing nation that prizes freedom and the liberty of its people needs leaders that are capable of leading the community into the future. For one thing, a nation that does not show due regard to pluralism and tolerance is not one to be trusted. A political administration that operates on the principle that the winner takes all, and relies on the support of its trusted cronies, can never command unanimous support when unanimity is of the essence. But this is not enough. Freedom presupposes an atmosphere that encourages and promotes creativity, as well as wealth creation.

One cannot enjoy the fruits of freedom without freedom, or its efficiencies without its discomforts. This implies loyalty, on the part of politicians on each side of the political divide, to the basic rules of the democratic game. On basic national issues, politicians must be prepared to paddle the same canoe – which means that the second law of political dynamics, outlined above, has strict parameters.

In these times of acute economic stringency, and at a time when crushing burdens impose limits on Malta’s ability to flex its muscles, the country needs politicians with vision and dash and leaders who watch carefully and are not afraid to see what is to be seen.

In short, Malta needs politicians who are fit to meet the moment with a propensity for doing the job that needs doing, rather than wasting time on rhetoric and razzmatazz.

These leaders must inculcate in the electorate the belief that they must help themselves and that Maltese public opinion cannot go on producing tradition when the rest of the world is producing goods and services.

The key to the future is a new covenant under which the government will incentivise people, if they play their part. There is a growing electoral sensitivity that reacts against old-style high spending policies. The electorate is leaning increasingly to the commonsense view that the system that is perceived to allow politicians, and mandarins in control of public corporations, to hand out jobs and patronage to their favourites, at the expense of efficiency and public morality, is inimical to progress. I have said all this before but my plea has become more urgent, and its import more pressing, after the painful, embarrassing and still ongoing episode involving a major public contract for an extension of the Delimara electricity-generating station.

While there is no special cordon around Maltese politics that provides protection against fiddles and flab, our politicians must avoid the traditional dishonest posturing that paints them into dark opposing

corners.

At all costs, they must show the political will to adopt a common cause when it comes to formulating unpleasant decisions involving blood transfusions and, if need be, economic surgery, in the interests of survival.

This is a hard challenge – but it is one that must be faced, if there is ever to be progress. The essential preliminary for success is to bring out for close examination problems that have been swept under the carpet for so many years, some of which, like a cancerous growth, have been sapping the nation’s economic and moral health.

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