During this legislature, many expected that it would be plain sailing. The promised bearings were clearly identified and abundantly endorsed by a captivated electorate, prepared to break free from past partisan political shackles. People wanted to put an end to the old style of politics.
However, the recent events have upset the applecart.
We are accustomed to the peaks and troughs of local politics, at times objective and constructive, at others outright partisan and narrow-minded. There is no way we can hide it, politics is a national pastime. The more animated the debate gets, the more the following grows. If our future was not at stake, it would not matter much. But it is.
It has been drummed into our heads that politics is an effective tool to improve the quality of life of all members within our community. It is a service to society.
Is this for real!
The past days were calamitous for the PL administration. Following the resignation of former PS Michael Falzon, the Government was expected to embark on a strategy to limit the damage. In an effort to shift attention from the PS’s resignation, the Cabinet approved the nomination of two lawyers to the bench. This has certainly shifted public attention, but once again for the wrong reasons.
I do not want to believe that the PL strategists, in an effort to shift public attention, have deliberately put two lawyers in a den of political lions. If this is the case, then we have really hit rock bottom.
From a Cabinet shouldering collective responsibility one would have expected that, before announcing the nominations to the bench, the least they would have done is check that the nominations fulfilled the requisites set in our Constitution.
This is not too much to ask for.
As if this was not enough, matters are further compounded with the amendment to the PL Statute. From a distance, I am trying to draw some observations on the fast-tracked PL motion, which was approved last Friday during the PL’s Extraordinary General Conference. The approved motion, floated some days earlier by the Prime Minister, reversed what Dr Toni Abela promised the PL delegates in the run up to the 2008 election of the PL’s Deputy Leader - Party Affairs. The motion moved by Dr Muscat provided that Members of Parliament can now run for the post of Deputy Leader - Party Affairs.
Back then, Dr Abela had put pen to paper, and in a letter addressed to Party delegates, he promised that if he was elected to the post of Deputy Leader - Party Affairs, he would not contest the general election to ensure that his energy and time are dedicated to the Party grass roots.
In this regard, Dr Abela, a Spartan by nature, kept his word. He worked incessantly with the grass roots of the Party and contributed in no small way to the PL massive victory at the polls in the last general election.
But quite unexpectedly, Dr Abela, in mid-term of this legislature, decided to call it a day. We now learn that he wanted to step down and make way for new blood. His request was met and Dr Abela was relieved from his duties, and has been nominated to sit on the European Court of Auditors as the incumbent’s, Dr Louis Galea’s, term of office is coming to an end.
Over time, I have come to realise why political formations can be effective, less effective or disconnected completely from the electoral. Political parties are a reflection of society. They are capable to capture the aspirations and feelings of society in general. Political parties are experts in beefing up such aspirations, wrapping them nicely, articulating the people’s feelings, motivations and hopes. A lot rests on the Deputy Leader - Party Affairs to engage with party grass roots and others. He must be able to move his office from the party headquarters to the streets, cafés, places of work, party’s clubs and every other possible venue.
The Prime Minister’s pitch at the PL’s EGM cannot but be taken with a dose of inconsistency and irony. To my mind, any political party needs to have a resilient party structure, strong enough that, once entrusted with government, it is able to put the brakes on Government whenever it deems that Government is not in sync with the party’s electoral promises. Allowing a Minister to take the post of a Deputy Leader – Party Affairs will kill the purpose and functions of this role.
To my mind Ministers do not have the time to fulfil both duties effectively. Perhaps the true reasons for this change can be found elsewhere.
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