The dramatic events of the last three weeks, which saw a breakdown in Nationalist Party discipline by one of its Members of Parliament, has now culminated in a short extension of life for the government. How long the truce will last and whether it is now a lame-duck government after the haemorrhage of bile and strife heaped on one of its MPs (and others on the backbenches) is anybody’s guess. That it now governs on a life-support machine cannot be doubted.
We are in the run-up to a general election as the Prime Minister licks his wounds, tries to put the last few weeks behind him and recovers lost ground in order to choose a more advantageous election date. Whichever the chosen date, election fever is now rampant.
As the parties gear up for the election and consider their election manifestos, it may be helpful for them to focus on the principles which should guide them. The political parties might do well to adopt a “Charter of Principles” to guide them in dealing with the critical issues facing the country and to ensure that riding out the economic storms ahead and raising quality standards of governance in every facet of Maltese life are the overriding benchmarks against which their public policies should be judged.
To this end, I offer below a 10-point Charter of Principles to guide their work.
One Nation. Govern in the interests of the many, not the few – in the long-term interests of the country as a whole, not sectoral interests within it. Seek consensus and cooperation, rather than confrontation. Place a premium on developing our people and enlist all the Maltese talent available in the service of Malta – in our embassies abroad and in public entities at home – regardless of background, gender or political affiliation. Encourage open debate and a free, investigative and vibrant media.
The Economy. Achieve a balanced budget within two years. Lay the foundations for sustainable growth based on further diversification and modernisation. Achieve fiscal sustainability through expenditure restraint and a re-ordering of priorities. Affordability and cost-effectiveness should be the catchwords. Promote competitiveness in business and industry in an outward-looking, non-protectionist manner. Foster entrepreneurship, innovation, venture capital, creativity, research and development and academic/industrial collaboration towards a knowledge economy. Sharpen up the quality standards of our tourism product. Establish centres of excellence in information technology, medical and financial services. Encourage more women to join the work force by opening up greater opportunities and support for them to participate in the labour market.
Social Needs. Address the social needs of society in an open-minded and tolerant way. Ensure that our social security safety-net, including health, pensions and benefits, is fair, properly targeted, affordable and sustainable and that the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society – pensioners, the disabled and mentally infirm – are met. Ensure that public health services meet their growing needs in the most cost-effective manner by eliminating waste and improving efficiency. Encourage an inclusive society that does not discriminate on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religion or race. Combat racism and ensure that those irregular immigrants who are entitled to reside in Malta are integrated into our economy and our society.
Education and National Values. Raise the quality and standard of public education at all levels. Resolve that all those leaving school achieve at least a basic standard of literacy, including ICT literacy for all, to develop future work skills and to create an ICT culture to fit them for modern life. Make public education realistically accessible to all. Review the stipend system in the light of current social and economic realities. Introduce regular evaluation of our education system and our teachers. Promote the teaching and effective use of both Malta’s official languages. Broaden the scope of education and public information to inculcate the spread of courtesy, good manners, civic-mindedness, social awareness, moral values, a healthy work ethic and the discouragement of apathy, indifference and corruption. Encourage a quality leap in the media and enlist their support in achieving these improvements in standards of national behaviour among young and old alike.
The Rule of Law. Exercise the political will to ensure that the rule of law is upheld and that the necessary resources are provided to enforce it. Enforce tax compliance, raise health and safety standards and eradicate littering and dumping, vehicle emissions pollution, illegal hunting and trapping, illegal structures, noise, air and building construction pollution and drug abuse. Combat corruption. Take action to speed up the administration of justice in a cost-effective and affordable manner without diminishing the genuine rights of every citizen to a fair trial or untrammelled access to the courts.
The Environment. Put the environment at the heart of all government policies, embracing economic progress and green procurement while safeguarding Malta’s natural landscape, indigenous architecture and cultural heritage. Control development. Continue to build confidence in Mepa. Drive forward the conservation and re-generation of Valletta. Improve public transport. Develop a future road network that copes more efficiently with Malta’s growing transport needs. Reduce and eventually eliminate vehicle emission pollution.
Energy and Water Security. Take the necessary strategic decisions to ensure that Malta’s long-term reliance on a stable and cleaner energy supply is urgently implemented. Promote energy conservation and efficiency and develop renewable energy resources. Take all steps to ensure the survival of Malta’s mean sea level water aquifer and the long-term sustainability of water supply. Control over-extraction of water. Ensure that the costs of water and electricity are maintained at an affordable level for all.
Governance. Improve the machinery of government, including e-governance, and the proper working relationship between Parliament, the government and the executive. Explore objectively whether Malta’s Constitution remains fully relevant and meets the needs of today’s society, including the clear separation of Church and State. Ensure that there is no political interference with either the civil service or government entities and regulatory and licensing authorities. Commit uncompromisingly to a policy of transparency and accountability in government and free access by citizens to the benefits of the EU. Value public service as well as material wealth. Increase the efficiency of the public service, increasing value for money and eliminating waste.
Arts and Culture. Whole-heartedly support Maltese arts and culture. Encourage the development of young local talent in all the arts and draw up policies that encourage knowledge of and respect for our heritage, language, literature and folk customs. Maintain the Maltese language at the core of our national identity without discriminating against the English language.
National Sustainability Plan. Actively implement a comprehensive and workable National Plan for Sustainable Development which brings together the challenging economic, social and environmental targets needed to ensure the balanced and progressive development of Malta in a planned and well-ordered manner.
If political parties concentrate in their manifestos on presenting populist policies of bread and circuses, rather than facing the economic limitations which confront us, they will – as in years past – be perpetrating a fraud on the electorate. The reality is that they must concentrate on twin challenges: tackling the economic fundamentals of a balanced budget, education, health and welfare reforms; and working towards better governance.