Parliament and democracy in a coma

All the parliamentarians, except the ministers and parliamentary secretaries, are part-timers, working during the day to earn a living and attending parliament three evenings a week where they have very few resources to help them carry out their parliamentary duties at a time when they have to legislate not only for Malta but also take part in the legislative process of the EU's 27 Member States. Our present parliamentary set-up is inadequate to deal with all these challenges. Having a new building, even one designed by Renzo Piano will not solve these problems.

Having a new parliamentary building costing over €80 million at a time of austerity measures and budget cuts in education, health and welfare also sends a very wrong signal and makes it easier for people to think that as parliamentarians we are cut off from the real world.

It is easier for people to see us remote from them and not having their everyday concerns at the heart of what we do in the institution that is supposed to represent them.

The effective role of our national parliament has diminished as its challenges and tasks have increased especially since we have joined the European Union and one of the new tasks is scrutinsing EU proposals and legislation. The Lisbon Treaty has given a new role for national parliaments in the EU political process but we are not carrying it out properly.

The prevailing mentality in Malta is that when it comes to EU affairs, the main stakeholder to engage is government, while parliament is sidelined. Most of the structures set up to deal with EU affairs operate in parallel worlds and hardly interact with each other. As a result parliament is not being effectively involved in scrutinising EU legislative proposals and responding to them after analysing their impact on Malta's economy and society.

We need to create the necessary local parliamentary structures to examine proposals for EU legislation in a structured and comprehensive manner. We need to provide a legislative basis for a structured, focused engagement by parliament and civil society in all EU legislative matters. 

The role of parliament is also weak when it comes to the national political process. Former Ombudsman Joseph Sammut says that in Malta "the Cabinet is free to pursue its policies as it deems fit and practically remains unchecked in terms of accountability until it has to pass the test of a general election".

Writing about "The citizens' right to good governance" in the latest report (November 2011) of the Today Public Policy Institute, Sammut says: "The budget debate is an opportunity to test the government commitment to accountability but with no chance of the government being defeated through a no-confidence motion. With a two-party system the test of accountability lies in a general election rather than on a continuous basis in parliament."

Sammut goes on to say that even if ministers are criticised in parliament "experience shows that if criticism relates to bad administration, ministers do not resign and there is a string collective support by the majority in the defence of the minister's actions... the House is powerless to enforce accountability in a truly meaningful way".

Sammut adds that "to make it worse the Public Accounts Committee which is meant to provide an effective check on the performance and conduct of the executive has been rendered 'sterile' and 'ineffective' because it is controlled by a government majority and ministers also serve on the Public Accounts Committee as members and it is in effect difficult for them to scrutinise and discuss publicly actions and policies taken by the Cabinet to which they themselves belong".

This year things have deteriorated even further in Malta where parliament is concerned. The Maltese parliament has been in a coma from the beginning of the year, since a no confidence vote was taken and the government managed to hang on only after the casting vote of the Speaker, as one of the government MPs had abstained.

Since then government has been terrified of parliament. Since a government abstained in a no confidence motion in government presented by the Opposition, government has decided not to hold any sittings when members of the Cabinet are away from Malta. No bills have been voted on since the no confidence motion vote which government survived thanks to the casting vote of the Speaker.

The bill implementing the budgetary measures for 2012 has not been voted upon in parliament even though the first quarter of the year is over and government has reviewed the budget approved by parliament last year and is introducing cuts of €40 million hurting the most vulnerable in our society.

Another Opposition motion to discuss justice and home affairs has also been left suspended as government is afraid of losing the vote.

The country is facing political instability, the economy is stagnant and parliament is in a coma... meeting ritually but as if it is in a bubble of business as usual.

Parliament is not functioning properly to scrutinise government and to represent the citizens.

The author is shadow minister for education