In the media this week, a report appeared about an appeal against a decision by the Planning Authority covering the use of a wide stretch of farm land outside the development zone which has been going on for over twelve years. Meanwhile the land is being used for construction and storage purposes in contradiction of all regulations and legal sense.

At the same time, leading trials by jury and serious court cases have remained pending for years, even in murder cases.

Various structural reasons and others related to available resources get plugged to explain why this happens. It is true that there has been over the years some improvement over delays in court procedures. The problem is we're still way way back in standards. Probably we're in the worst position in Europe. It never is made quite clear what's retarding progress over the long term. A challenge of this sort is best met by implementing a long term plan that takes into account all negative features and eliminating them. One would have imagined it was feasible to develop such a process satisfactorily at a time when the island's economic success allowed the deployment of all the necessary resources. Why has it  not happened?

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FRANCE AND GERMANY

They are the two countries in the best position to propose a clear policy for the EU, together; for sure, without their agreement, a wideranging and consistent European policy is hardly feasible. In recent years France and Germany have not been so much in agreement and without having quarelled they cooled towards each other. Since the recent change of German government, their relationshp has improved, become closer, even cordial.

However the governments of both countries are in a weak position. Economically and financially Germany is approaching crisis. France faces a similar situation, indeed much worse. The French government is expected to collapse and President Macron will be running an executive that's not fit for purpose. In both countries, the extreme right is becoming the largest political bloc. It is difficult to see how, as of now, their new found friendship can provide the continent with the policy impetus it needs.

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HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?

When an election approaches, it is natural for political parties in the running to conduct a reflection overall about what they will be proposing to the electorate. Generally this focusses on what voters desire and what as parties they should promise; how they would honour their promises; and what they should do to impress voters with their programme. There is nothing to criticise in such strategies.

Yet too ofter there's an important flaw in how they get implemented. Quite likely no effort is made at self-criticism - an analysis of where and why a particular party, in government or in opposition, got some things wrong or failed to carry out what it had intended to do. On the basis of this kind of review, a party would find it possible to alter, even discard, past proposals because they were either wrong or not so useful. Instead generally, the packet of party election proposals ends up as a programme of more of everything as usual.