The myopic vision of the political parties currently represented in Parliament is not only leading to institutions not being able to function well but these are being effectively castrated, ADPD-The Green Party chairman Carmel Cacopardo said.

Speaking in Valletta this morning Cacopardo said that the way in which the nominations for these institutions are made showed the myopic vision of the political parties currently represented in Parliament. Many a time only persons within their own circles are proposed at the exclusion of others who may be able to give their beneficial contribution to the country. Indeed civil society should also have a role in such appointments.

The government has also delayed the appointment of the Ombudsman for more than a year to allow it to be able to ‘barter’ it with that of the Commissioner of Standards in Public Life, a role that has become vacant thanks to the Prime Minister’s macchiavellan manoeuvres.
Even where there had been consensus regarding such appointments in the past, their reports and recommendations many a time were either ignored or quietly forgotten about. It has only been thanks to public opinion that we have had resignations such as that of the Minister for Gozo Justyne Caruana and Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar, in spite of clear reports about them.

We are also currently seeing this happen with respect to Interior Minister Byron Camilleri where the Prime Minister failed to take the immediate action to remove him for failing to take timely action to dismiss the Director of Prisons, Cacopardo said.

On paper the proposed amendments to the Standards in Public Life Act are presented as an anti-deadlock mechanism when the required two-thirds of Parliamentary approval is not met. However, the proposals are seeking to remove the primary objective of the current law, that of seeking the widest consensus possible for the appointment of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life by Parliament.

It is not sufficient that the nominee is a person of integrity. The fact that they may not be acceptable for the Opposition may be a sufficient enough reason once there are valid reasons. This also puts the onus on the Opposition to be accountable and to act in a responsible manner too.

The aim behind the two-thirds of Parliamentary approval is for the widest possible consensus to be attained in the appointment of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life. Removing this requirement undermines the whole process, leading to the institutions being effectively castrated, concluded Cacopardo.