I bet that you will not find anything similar to what passes for political narrative in Malta. In all the other countries I can think of, political discussion goes on, as it does here, without interruption.

But while they discuss issues, we discuss people.

This assertion must be qualified, which is what I will do in this article.

In a way, other countries do discuss people. Think of Italy at the end of the Berlusconi regime. Think of all the stories in the British press about the peccadilloes of their politicians. Think of the photos purporting to show Francois Hollande on a motorbike.

In our case, while the personal lives of our leaders does get scrutinised, what really constitutes the bulk of political discourse is the appointment of this person or that to a government post and the size of the salary package associated with that post.

For those, like me, like my colleagues here, who work and earn their salaries, this is something that is impossible to conceive of, to imagine. But for a great number of others, I have come to realise, the government is a huge trough at which as many people as possible gather to gorge, to wallow, to gobble up as much as they can in a very short time.

The slogan seems to be: “Iblaghlu”. Grab as much as you can.

And I have also come to realise that political discourse means nothing – all that talk about Right or Left, about ideology, about principles. What counts, in the Maltese context, is getting the majority and after that getting appointed to one of these posts with a lovely package in tow.

That may be why, again in the Maltese context, what counts is getting a majority, going over the goal line of 50per cent + 1. After that, what counts is grabbing a chair and holding fast to it.

Considerations of who is the best candidate for a post matter little. What matters is the closeness to the person who holds the political office – minister or parliamentary secretary. And getting noticed. And chosen.

Some people are then even luckier – they get to accumulate posts. Or they get to demand, and obtain, an absolutely out-of-this-world package.

There is an ascendant curve and a descendant one. The ascendant curve is the first year/s of an administration, when posts are being filled, when people linked to the preceding administration are eased out. The descendant curve is when the details start coming out, such as in replies to parliamentary questions. Then all hell breaks loose – as it is doing now. Diligent journalists pin one PQ to another and tot up the total package that a key person is getting and blow up the total sum by multiplying it by the number of years the administration has been in office so that the end sum nears a millionaire package. And people erupt in anger and resentment at such packages, anger and resentment that are fuelled continually on the radio and TV stations.

Never having had any such package (not that I would want one) I have no idea how such packages are negotiated, how a person’s worth is estimated. I remember one such who compared himself to a super car and said such cars don’t come cheap.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t remember this ball game going on in Eddie’s time. Sant’s time was too short for that. But Gonzi’s small Cabinet seemed an open invitation to appoint consultants as if there was no tomorrow. This government is following suit, maybe with more posts, maybe given to absolutely incompetent persons, maybe for blatantly partisan reasons. The previous administration’s (sham) prurience not to make too many partisan appointments has been pushed aside by this administration with bravado and an in-your-face attitude.

It is accepted that an incoming administration must have people it can trust in key positions, although for some curious reason not all the political appointees of the previous government have been shown the door. I am hearing of at least three Opposition MPs who are still officially working for the government (although in at least one case, they have been discreetly told to keep away from the office and stay at home).

The previous government (and the one before it) declared they wanted to reform the civil service though the introduction of people from outside the service to a supervisory role, such as the Permanent Secretaries of the ministries. That was a signal failure: the few who were recruited from outside the service did not survive, while the PS structure added a new level and became, in the end, a sort of musical chairs in which old and retired civil servants rotated between ministries.

In the end, so few are the people who can qualify for this post that you had a PS from a Labour background in the PN administration and (maybe) a PS or two from a PN background who are still working under the PL administration.

This lack of qualifications does not stop people from trying their best to get it and the pressures they put on the ministers and political post holders is incredible. Even from before the election, these people know what they want and how they will aim for it.

For all that we may think they all manage to get it, especially under Labour, they don’t. At least, not all of them succeed, hence the disappointment, nay, anger, among some or many Labour supporters. Joseph Muscat tells them to be patient, but he may be speaking of people who, for instance, want a house or a job, not necessarily a post.

I would assume that many of the people now flocking around Simon Busuttil are working on the assumption that the PN will win the next time around and they also want to get posts in the new administration. Because that’s the way the system works in Malta.

Labour under Joseph Muscat has milked the system to an incredible degree with precise promises being handed out by Labour before the election. That’s why Labour built up an incredible 36,000 lead. In fact, it was overkill – too many promises to too many people. Many of these promises have been cashed, but some have not. Think of the Monti stall owners, for instance. That was a rash promise, maybe fuelled too by PL anger at Gonzi’s trophy building at City Gate.

We – the entire country, not just the PL, or just the PN – need to reflect more unless we want to drive the country to the wall. In the best circumstances, during any administration, half the country is benefiting and the other half sitting it out. Half the brains are working and the other half are having a rest. Then the wheel turns and the game of musical chairs starts anew.

Some people who are now being targeted are upset to find themselves in the news with packages and all. What can I say? The boot’s on the other foot now – remember all those expressions of scandal at some key packages of the preceding administration?

I repeat: I have no idea how the packages are established and negotiated. In our contest, some packages are huge but then they would be puny on an international level.

There is so much more to say on this subject, so maybe I will come back to it later on. I have no solution to offer. The past election has put paid to the PN mirage that they are the natural party of government, so it has been a painful readjustment to reality. On the other hand, I remember the times when Labour thought it was the natural government and 25 years in the cold should have helped it get a reality check. But it does not seem it did.

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