One year ago last Sunday, the Labour Party that had been on the Opposition benches for practically 25 years came back to power following an astounding election victory. The new Labour government was born in auspicious circumstances with a huge political capital at its disposal. But after a year of government conning, bungling and cronyism, that capital now stands to be squandered…

The hoax of saving on ministerial salary spending

During the Nationalist administration, the Opposition had made much of the parliamentary honorarium given to Ministers who sat on the smallest Cabinet in a long time. Until then, a Minister – unlike a Member of Parliament – was not paid both a salary for the full-time day job and an honorarium for the parliamentary duties and, once promoted to Cabinet, lost the honorarium, whereas a backbencher and member of the Opposition retained both. Labour’s negative and politically dishonest campaign was effective and the consequences for the Nationalist Party were devastating.

Labour’s election programme was a remarkably pain-free document. There was only one proposal on how to fund the bonanza it promised: the new Ministers would don hair shirts and, all of a sudden, the country would be awash with money thus saved.

The incoming Labour Ministers did not take the increase in the honorarium (actually, it had already been withdrawn under the Nationalist government). But that hardly matters anymore, when the number of members of Cabinet went up to 23 and when the wife of a Minister gets a €13,000-a-month job. It hardly matters when Cabinet salaries are expected to cost €130 million over a period of five years, far higher than the increase the last Gonzi government had proposed.

It was not only the number of Secretariats that increased – inevitable with the increase in Ministries – but the staff now earn higher salaries, for practically having a lesser area of responsibility, while the Prime Minister still tolerates a part-time Parliamentary Secretary who continues to practice his lucrative profession. In no time at all, the disease had quickly spread to all corners of the public sector with the call for meritocracy turning out to be nothing more than a pre-election hoax.

The Robespierre streak and the birth of the billboard meritocracy

“Appeared on a Labour Party billboard” became the best thing you could have on your CV, as more and more party loyalists were appointed to public posts. And while we may have been spared a Ministry for Silly Walks, quite a few useless government posts had to be created for the benefit of people who had lent their face to the campaign. The chairpersons of public entities and financial institutions with government interests, as well as high ranking officers in the police force and the armed forces were replaced by ones known for their political leanings. The appointment of both the Police Commissioner and the Commander of the AFM attracted ample criticism. Four promotions for the same army officers in four weeks and the increase in number from one to three Deputy Police Commissioners, along with numerous other appointments of new Assistant Commissioners – making the number of our officers exceed that of much larger cities and countries – could hardly mask the intention. And to top it all, the Ministry for the Family has truly become a family affair. Relatives of Ministers and high-ranking party officials have been appointed as board members and consultants to government entities under that Ministry’s remit. This is a far cry from nominating a President from the other side of the political spectrum as Gonzi did when Malta was not Taghna Lkoll and did not belong to all of us.

Before this travesty of meritocracy was born, the “You might not vote for us but you can work with us” Labour election campaign mantra had long been abandoned. The previous Permanent Secretaries were to become the first victims of this Robespierre streak, and were soon to be followed by the previous AFM Commander, his Deputy, the Police Commissioner, the Director General of the Education Department, and the transfer of countless other officials in the public sector.

The sale of Gensna’s soul

Labour’s promised “roadmap” has turned out to be very lean. There are no plans for job creation or economic growth – nothing that was not bequeathed to it by its predecessor. In only one aspect can Labour claim any originality, and that is through the sale of Maltese passports – the plan for which it carefully (and wisely) kept under wraps throughout the campaign.

From the cheap populism of “Gensna” to the crypto-fascist “Malta l-ewwel u qabel kollox”, we thought we were familiar with Labour’s jingoism. That’s all changed with this sale. Just to realise what we are selling off, look around Europe. There are many people to whom history has not been as generous as it has been to us in giving them a nation-state. Basques, Catalans, Scots – they might have their distinctive languages and cultures, their own flags and anthems – regional parliaments, even. What they don’t have is the power to issue that little document, recognised worldwide, with their country’s name embossed on the cover that opens so many doors to the lucky holders.

What does Labour do? It sells that document. And, to add insult to injury, it leaves most of the process in the hands of a foreign company that has recently shown how ready it is to milk the whole situation down to the last euro.

Anniversaries ahead

It’s grim, isn’t it? Not exactly an anniversary to remember. If it is any consolation, remember that we are now one year closer to the next opportunity to change direction. We only have to hope that it will not be too late to set things to right.

Part 1 of this article was published on 9 March

Clyde Puli is the Shadow Minister for Family and Social Solidarity