Former Minister José Herrera said that there were times when the Labour government could have done more on Malta’s good governance and rule of law, but for one to say that it did nothing, it would be an incorrect assertion to make.
Following the 2022 general election, which saw yet another landslide victory by the Labour Party, former Culture Minister José Herrera announced his retirement from political life after not being elected to Parliament for the first time since 1996.
The Malta Independent on Sunday reached out to Dr Herrera to get a take of what his life was like as a politician and also what he plans on doing with his life, now that he is out of the political scene.
‘Politics is a very tough but fruitful and rewarding road if done right’
Dr Herrera described politics as a very rough but fruitful and rewarding road. Politics, he said, allowed him to contribute to his country and its citizens, especially in a way that diffused polarisation.
He said that throughout his political career, he came face to face with many difficult decisions which were on a different level. He said that if he had to choose, the biggest one was that related to the way forward to try and reduce emissions and recycle waste to create a healthier environment.
But the harshest criticism levelled at the Labour government was on other matters. In the last years, Malta performed well from an economic point of view, and it has also worked hard to overcome the difficulties brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the Labour government has often been accused of not doing much on good governance and the rule of law.
Asked on whether Dr Herrera agrees with this, he said that “although one can never do enough in this area, it would be incorrect to say that the Labour Party did not make it a priority nor did nothing to improve it. On the contrary, the Labour Party sought, and did, implement many constitutional amendments which had been proposed a very long time ago, by myself included”.
Dr Herrera went on to mention some of the constitutional amendments proposed, including the separation of the dual role of the Attorney General as both the public prosecutor and state attorney, the way judges and magistrates are appointed as well as the idea of having an administrative court in Malta.
“I once said that the best gift you can give Malta is to create an administrative court,” Dr Herrera said.
He explained that through an administrative court, instead of having people lobby politicians to get something which is theirs, they could go before an independent court and address their injustices.
To strengthen his argument, Dr Herrera said that the Labour government made changes to the Speaker’s Office, making it more autonomous. It also created a Commission for Standards and strengthened the position of the Attorney General as well as the Commission against Corruption.
The Labour Party also redefined how Malta’s President is elected as well as how the Commissioner of Police and the Chief Justice are chosen.
Dr Herrera has been a part of the political scene for 26 years after being elected for the first time as a Labour Party candidate in the first district. Since then, he contested every general election. His first front bench role was as Labour’s spokesperson for the Central Bank, Financial Services and Maritime Affairs. He was a member of the Maltese and EU Joint Committee, as well as a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs.
He was also a member of the Labour Party’s Executive Group. During the 2008-2013 legislature, Dr Herrera served as a Shadow Minister for Justice and actively participated as a member of the Committee for the Ratification of Legislations.
‘One can never do enough against corruption, nor eradicate it completely’
Dr Herrera has worked under both former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Prime Minister Robert Abela. Asked on whether he believes that both did enough to combat corruption and any other scandal that has come to surface throughout the years, Dr Herrera said that “one can never do enough against these things, nor eradicate corruption completely”.
“Corruption will always happen. It happened under both major political parties in Malta,” Dr Herrera said. He noted that the smaller a country is, the more exposed politicians seem to be to their electorate, and the friendlier one is, the more mistakes are going to occur.
“A lot has been done to fight against corruption, such as the strengthening of the institutions and law, but at times, it does depend on who occupies certain positions,” Dr Herrera said. He explained that a country can have the strongest legal framework, but its occupants would be considered weak.
Speaking about the media, which in his view also plays a role in all this, Dr Herrera said that “sometimes it’s unfair, aggressive and too tense in its criticism against holders of public office. This ends up precluding people of certain stature from opting to take over these positions. Therefore, if these positions are not treated with respect, people won’t apply for them and you’d have to deal with whoever applies. Although the media should scrutinise everybody, a bit more investigative work wouldn’t hurt before certain assertions are made” Dr Herrera added.
‘More investment is needed in the culture sector to preserve Malta’s patrimony’
Speaking about the culture sector, Dr Herrera said that this sector is one of the most important ministries, if not more important than the tourism industry.
“75% of tourists come to Malta because of its cultural aspects. Therefore, I believe that it is imperative that more investment is done towards Malta’s culture to preserve the patrimony which exists in this country. It would be the biggest disaster if we had to lose our patrimony because it would be akin to killing the goose that lays the golden egg,” Dr Herrera said.
During the election campaign, the Labour Party promised a €700m investment over seven years to create green spaces in urban places around Malta.
“Although this time round one of the government’s priority is the environment, to preserve Malta’s inheritance and patrimony, we need to eventually do the same thing with the culture sector despite it already having very strong structures such as Heritage Malta,” Dr Herrera said.
“There are so many other islands which have cleaner and larger beaches, so what makes Malta attractive is our patrimony. If we lose this, we will lose all foreign investment,” he said.
Meanwhile, since the Labour Party has been elected three times in a row, always with a bigger margin, Dr Herrera was asked whether he believes that the party will take it easy.
In reply, he said that this risk is always possible with any party, saying that it has happened to the Nationalist Party twice. However, he noted that he does not believe that it would happen with the Labour Party because Prime Minister Abela’s character is not one to go down that road.
“The Labour Party in government now consists of a newer Cabinet, with new ideas and people who want to prove themselves. It is a party that also managed to win over the business sector, preserve its inner core and build a very strong economy, while competing against a weak opposition,” he said.
Dr Herrera said he always looked at the Opposition not as the enemy but as the adversary in the job. He highlighted that “the Opposition is not innovative or organised enough. It is also based on a very strong conservative element which was once popular, but nowadays, this is no longer the case”.
In the last election, the Labour Party continued to renew itself. Asked on whether Dr Herrera felt that the Labour Party favoured younger candidates to the detriment of veterans like himself, he said that he never felt excluded, but was always given reasonable space and the opportunity to speak in public places.
“Spending nine years as a Cabinet Minister is quite a long run, and it is more than understandable that new faces need to join the political scene.” He added that the politics of today is completely different to the politics he walked into in 1996.
“Times have changed, but I still believe that a party requires a balance of people including those who are veterans, those who are in the middle and others who come with new faces and fresh ideas.”
‘Two radical amendments needed to create an efficient justice system’
After not making it to Parliament, Dr Herrera made a speedy comeback in the courts of law just days after the general election result.
Speaking on Malta’s justice system, he highlighted two radical amendments which he believes are needed to create an efficient justice system. One is related to changing the current process of deciding a civil court judgement which tends to be very time-consuming, while the other is related to the processing of criminal cases. “Why do civil court judgements take so long to be decided, especially before the superior courts?” he asked.
Dr Herrera said that the way the evidence is compiled and the way the judgement is delivered is not efficient enough and a new system is needed. He made reference to a system which is already in place in the British Courts, and explained that it operates with an ex tempore judgements. This means that cases are summarily presented before a judge and then that judge hands down a decision straight afterwards without having to draft a very complicated and long sentence.
If in the case a judge would want to prove a point or appeal a case, then one would write a long judgement, but otherwise the judgement would simply and quickly be given just as a sentence.
“We need to introduce a similar system in Malta. If not, the procedure will remain cumbersome.” When it comes to criminal cases, Dr Herrera said that the system of referrals in the compilation of evidence cases has to be drastically changed.
“It is unacceptable and unfair that a person is being processed before the courts and his case drags on for 9, 10 or 11 years. To make the courts more effective, they need to be made more expeditious.”
He also noted that he is totally against the dismantling of the jurisdiction or the competency of the Courts by creating other tribunals.
‘Contesting an election again is definitely not on the cards’
Asked on whether he sees himself contesting the election again or whether he considers this as the end of his political career, Dr Herrera said “contesting an election again is definitely not on the cards. I would like to see more interest in politics from our youths at especially University level”.
Although he understands that there are people who could perceive that politics is considered as dirty, he add: “I still believe that dedicating one’s time to politics is a very noble profession, and if you do it correctly, you can finish your career with a certain sense of satisfaction.”
He also emphasised his belief that a political career should not be done for personal gain but should be done in a way which maintains integrity, giving the person the opportunity to leave a legacy behind and look forward to reinventing oneself in other areas.