The long time it takes for hot and not so hot issues to be played out in the criminal and other courts of this island has rightly been a regular source of complaint by many citizens and institutions of the country. For decades, we have been promised effective remedial action by political leaders and top level judges. Their promises have remained a dead letter and it is shameful that so many cases have remained to gather dust, increasing the perceptions of impunity when instances of corruption or abuse of power are being alleged.
I am one of those who have criticised this state of affairs and will continue to do so. But I get angry when bureaucrats and politicans in Brussels clam onto it to cast significant shadows over Malta’s democracy. We definitely need to improve our ways of doing things, but when you look closely at those who come to preach to us, you will find that they too are living in a glasshouse.
***
THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT
Was/is Draghi right to trigger a political crisis after having obtained a majority vote of confidence in his government? Given recent developments in Europe, likely yes. To face the emergencies that are slated to arise, in the absence of a unity in government that covers the widest possible front, Italy can hardly retain the credibility it has achieved this past year. Still I wonder how such a credibility can be maintaned in the wake of a governmental crisis.
For their part, Five Star politicians have found themselves caught in the worst of cruel dilemmas. By backing Draghi’s government and participating in it they would continue to lose support and votes over the near future. With a snap election, the risk for them would be that of losing many seats in the Italian Parliament.
***
EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS
A red light has been flashing persistently over the educational system of this country. Despite the expenditures on education that in proportion to our population rank among the highest in Europe, the outcomes for a substantial minority of child students have been less than encouraging.
We need a long term programme designed to introduce a well defined teaching project that allows all students to have a strong and real access to the basic disciplines and really get into them. Such an approach would not be popular because it would need to be grounded on incremental measures, which few will understand. It would change the thrust of how education is financed in ways that will provoke resistance from vested interests. These will not keep back from any political, social or cultural manipulation by which to defend their positions.
The prevailing attitude among a section of our population that education amounts to time deducted from the years of gainful employment would help to bolster resistance to reforms. From the viewpoint of teachers, discourse that focuses on their conditions of employment would complicate all reform agendas. The criticism recently made by a prominent academic about how the educational system is unjust was quite correct though I was surprised that the statement had to be made so late in the day.