Anybody would be a better prime minister than Joseph Muscat was, former Member of Parliament Marlene Farrugia said in an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday.
She was asked whether she believes Malta's current Prime Minister Robert Abela is better than Muscat. "I think anybody would be a better Prime Minister than Joseph Muscat. He sold the country, rendered the Labour Party completely alien to the Labourite principles."
Farrugia left politics after the election that was held earlier this year, having opted not to contest. She had started her parliamentary career as a Labour Party MP, eventually leaving the party to become an independent MP, taking issue with the number of scandals the PL was involved in. She then helped found the Partit Demokratiku, becoming its first party leader.
Sitting down with this newsroom for an interview, she was asked about the state of the country, the Labour government and the Nationalist Party, now being able to comment from the outside looking in.
Asked for her views about the state of the country, she highlighted the international challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the war in Ukraine, and the need to look at the changes happening in Malta against the backdrop of what is happening in the rest of the world
"Unfortunately, I do not feel that things are going as well as I would wish in Malta… as much as the majority of the Maltese people, particularly youths, would wish." She made reference to a 2021 survey that showed that almost 60% of youths in Malta would rather live in another European country.
Country’s finances
She strongly criticised the management of the country's finances.
She said that when there could have been enough wisdom to save for such challenges like those being seen today (such as the pandemic or the war in Ukraine), "instead of being wise, there was a complete disaster in terms of the country's finances."
Later clarifying, she said that profligacy with public funds, public contracts manifestly in favour of private entities and not in the national interest, senseless direct orders, high salaries for certain favoured people and other such issues, gobbled up public funds that could have come into good use now and in the future. Farrugia highlighted the rising government debt.
“At economic level, I think we could have done better had we been wiser earlier and ensured that public funds went to the people and not to the few,” she said.
As for the rule of law, she feels that steps forward have been taken, "but we are still too far behind."
She said that there is a lack of will on the part of government to provide information, even to journalists to investigate.
"If the government isn’t ready to be transparent, not even with the people, then how can I expect the rule of law to reign in the country?"
Responding to a question about the state of Maltese society, she said that people are not seeing the leadership they expected to have.
Speaking about 2013, the year when Labour was returned to power, she said there were great expectations that the country will make the necessary leaps forward after having done well even with the financial crisis. “The people expected that, given that we managed to pass through that period, we could build on the good that there was and make a leap forward."
She said that this, however, did not happen. People lost more than they gained when putting in the balance the quality of life, their health, the environment, standards of services and more, she said. "Many might say they have more money in their pockets," she said, however adding that these same people know that the services they take are worse or non-existent, "that many public assets that were once theirs are no longer theirs and the services that are being offered are inferior, among other things."
Robert Abela
Asked whether she believes that Robert Abela is a better Prime Minister than Joseph Muscat, Farrugia said: "I think anybody would be a better Prime Minister than Joseph Muscat. He sold the country, rendered the Labour Party completely alien to the Labourite principles. It is hard for someone to exceed Joseph Muscat as a bad prime minister, who we had so much faith in yet then disappointed us so much."
As for Robert Abela, she feels that he is not free to be the prime minister he could be. "He is either not free, or otherwise he also accepted to be a prisoner of certain behaviour and actions, when he doesn't need to as he has the power of the people behind him."
"I mentioned a small, simple example, that of giving journalists the necessary information in order for them to be able to pass on that information to the people." She said that the Prime Minister didn't do that.
“I believed that Robert Abela had the potential to be a very good prime minister for the country, and I will not compare him to Joseph Muscat. I believe that he is still constrained and cannot act the way he wants."
Environment
On the environment, she said that a large government strategy is announced to utilise €700 million to green urban areas, "yet at the same time one would see permits being issued for developments that are atrocious for the character of the country."
She shot down an excuse used by the government blaming the PN’s 2006 rationalisation exercise for allowing development to take place in those areas. Farrugia said that the PL had every chance. “As we reacted negatively to that rationalisation exercise when we were in opposition, when being elected to government (Labour) should have kept its promise and reversed at least a substantial part of that rationalisation exercise.” She also criticised the PN for not doing anything about it either.
She said, with regards to development in the country, that the government is willing to spend €700 million from taxes to "give a few green patches" in the heart of localities, but that at the same time allows large gardens in village cores, many of which are of heritage value, which are being buried under apartment blocks, as are fields.
Turning to the PN, she said that whatever the differences are within the party, there surely are things that unite. “So for us to again build an opposition, be it a coalition or whatever it is from the bottom up, we need to build on what unites us. We cannot continue wasting time on the differences between us if the country is dying for a serious opposition. If we are not going to serve in this moment, when the country so needs a stable and strong opposition, when will the country be served?"
She said that people who identify with an alternative, sustainable vision for the country, “a vision that nurtures our identity as a nation as we grow in our ability to embrace, integrate and synergistically work with diversity and culturalism to create a socially just and healthy country to live in,” all make up part of the opposition.
"If it needs to rebuild, then so be it, but something needs to happen."
She said that the PN cannot remain a reactive opposition, instead of an opposition that leads, that shows leadership and shows that it can be an alternative government.
Asked about the party's recent internal disputes and whether she thinks this will shadow the PN in the coming years, she said that only the PN can stop it. "The PN can never grow or bear fruit again if it doesn't open its arms wide open to everyone who loves the country and wants to serve the country." Right now, she said, it is in a situation where it is pushing away people, rather than attracting them to it. "This is not the time to fight about differences," she said, but is the time for them to see what unites them.
Unite on the good, not the bad
Farrugia used to be a PL MP. Asked whether there were divisions within the PL, or if it was a case of them just not showing it publicly, she said: "There are always divisions. I'm not saying that people with different views shouldn't be heard, they should always be heard. But then there must be enough common ground to ease the people's minds that, if elected, (the party) would be stable. That doesn't mean that I expect members of a political party in government to unite in support of something bad, as happened in the Labour Party. What happened in the PL was that those people who knew there was wrong were afraid to speak out together at the proper time - as when one speaks out on their own they don't have support. If they spoke out together back then, they could have changed the course of history.”
"What I'm saying is unite on the good, not on the bad."
Asked whether she thinks there is space for a third political party to get elected on its own, she said yes.
"Obviously we would need to change things in the Constitution. As it is now, if a third party receives 5,000 votes it would still not see an MP elected. If an ADPD candidate got more votes than a PL candidate, they still wouldn't be elected," she said, in reference to the gender balance mechanism. She said the changes were made in a way that would leave third party candidates out.
She also spoke of there being a need for a change in mindset. “Many people are tied to the past, to the PL and PN. Not as much as when I was young as there are people who vote both sides. But there are still ties, or that mindset of being either blue or red. We need to revisit that mindset. It is also a question of preparing the people, through education, critical thinking, creative thinking, and being analytical in our thoughts."
A third party must also have enough credible people on its front line, she said, who would convince the public that they could be elected and form a government, or form part of a government. That is what the people want to see, she said.
She said that a third party would also need enough candidates. Many candidates, she said, prefer to stand for election either with the PN or PL, “as they have more of a chance of being elected. That is a factor we need to face. But aside from this, such a party must show that it is capable of forming part of a government, and (then) the people will then start voting for a third party."
Does Farrugia exclude running for politics again?
She didn't exclude running for politics again in the future. "Never say never," she said.
Asked what she would want changed in the country, she has a list.
The first thing is education.
"We have to start from there.” She stressed the need to give the most importance to the formation of the upcoming generation, rather than just thinking about teaching them Maths, English and other academic subjects. She spoke of the importance of teaching values, how to act, how to hold a conversation, how to formulate an argument so that children would be analytical and critical. "That is the most important thing."
Farrugia said that she wants to stop the destruction of the country when it comes to development. “We need to stop, take a step back, define what our vision for the country is, see how to embellish and beautify what was already built.”
She spoke of the need to plan with a wider view.
She said that the environment also has a direct effect on people’s health. "We have too much illness in the country. I'm not only referring to physical illness, of which there is a lot, but also about mental illness, and we are not addressing this issue."
She said that, especially post-Covid, it needs to be addressed. "We cannot continue sweeping it under the carpet."
Farrugia also mentioned people's rights. "If a woman, particularly a mother, feels safe and respected in their country, then all of society will benefit. Just as if a man feels secure, equal and comfortable in a country, then all of society will benefit."
Nepotism also needs to be tackled, she said, adding that it has affected youths who would study and keep motivated to succeed knowing that they would move forward according to how capable they are and how much effort they put in. "Today you speak to them and they say, 'why? To reach a position I would follow a minister and they would give me a job.'"
As for accountability, she questioned what value the people are getting out of what is being budgeted for through government funds. For instance, she questioned why roads flood after hundreds of millions were spent. "Where is the accountability? What is happening to the public’s money? What is happening to the EU funds? I want to know."