Tangentopoli in Malta?

Former tangentopoli magistrate Antonio Di Pietro

In the 1990s, Italy was swamped in a corruption scandal which eliminated an entire political class and two parties with deep roots in Italian society: Christian Democracy and the Italian Socialist Party.

What is striking is that the revolution was spearheaded by magistrates who owe their positions not to politicians but to their individual capabilities. This is because magistrates in Italy advance in their career through public examinations not appointments.

This means that magistrates of the calibre of Giovanni Falcone or Francesco Saverio Borelli were not appointed by politicians, but made it on their own steam. Magistrates in Italy also have the power to investigate politicians on their own initiative - something unthinkable in Malta.

Surely this system is far from perfect and some would argue that magistrates had their own political agenda. Their zealousness is often questioned, albeit mostly when the rich and powerful fall under its spotlight. The elimination of entire political cultures also left a vacuum which was many times filled by dangerous populists.

Still, the greatest merit of the Italian judiciary is that magistrates operate independently from the political arm of the state. On the other hand, investigations on corruption in Malta are conducted by the police. This system creates a concentration of power in the arms of the executive arm of the State, which also falls under the political arm. This could get messy in politically charged cases.

One fundamental reform of the Maltese judicial system would be that of making the judiciary a career open to talent, based on merit and exams rather than appointment. Another would be to set a pool of inquiring magistrates dealing with cases of corruption. In this way such a pool would be at liberty to conduct its investigations on matters like the Delimara power station. Such a pool would be equipped with all the technology required to prove corruption allegation.

Surely the Italian experience shows that this could be risky, especially when power is not used in a judicious way which respects the presumption of innocence. But let's face it: without these powers there would have been no tangentopoli and tapping of the telephones of politicians. Would the police in Malta be able to conduct such investigations on their own steam with regards to the political class?

Finally tangentopoli started because at that time Italy banned private donations to parties which received direct funding from the state. Obviously this system was not working because parties created a parallel system of illegal funding. Not only are such donations legal in Malta, but parties are not even obliged to divulge their donors as happens in most other European democracies.

In absence of a law on party financing and an independent and probing judiciary, I very much doubt that Malta will ever have a full-blown tangentopoli.

James Debono is MaltaToday's chief reporter on environment, planning and land use issues, ...

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Peter Cassar •

The media has a crucial role in exposing abuses BUT Maltese problems are structural and related to the political system and the lack of checks and balances. Ultimately the fact that both big parties show no enthusiasm for a reform in party financing and that both seem happy with the system of judicial appointments speaks volumes...

patrick calleja •

Of course there is no will for change. Too many are happy with the state of affairs. Which political party has had the courage and will to do away with the s'arrangiarsi culture? I think the 2008 election proved beyond doubt that political patronage in European Malta is alive and well to the detriment of meritocracy. In the aftermath of such a close election result, the stream of articles written by stalwarts insisting that the party in power and ministers in particular grant better access to its voter base was quite revealing. It is incredible that such brazenly obscene articles were actually penned. Who could mistake such an appeal as anything but a concerted drive to further entrench patronage? Hats of to the PN, they deserve all the praise for keeping that aspect of Maltese culture safe from extinction. Heck they should include it in any nation branding exercise the MTA embarks upon. I should think that by now they have even bested the Mintoff years. It looks like the majority of Maltese approve of the system, why else do most suffer the ducks in office that will never turn into swans? Incredulously these are entrusted with millions of Euros of taxpayers' money that they flit away in the blissful knowledge that they are untouchables? They are well insulated from harm. One thing the Maltese seem to understand very well is that the Maltese way of doing things tends to reward mediocrity. Hamlet should have really malingered and procrastinated in Malta not Denmark, then he could have had a healthier dose of 'the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit of th' unworthy takes'. It would be interesting to say the least to have an exam-based system for the judiciary but I believe that will remain pie in the sky. Do you honestly think that those who work within that system actually want to change it? Isn't that asking too much of prosecutors and judges? As regards political parties, their representatives, political funding etc. that will require as severe a cultural overhaul as the one which deposed Italian in favour of Maltese and English. So in effect that is even more pie in the sky. Joining the EU certainly hasn't done the trick and no party as yet is willing to wean itself off the benefits of the s'arrangiarsi mentality. One remains hopeful of witnessing a strong sharp peak in decency among politicians eventually, its dead flat at the moment. Something is rotten in the state of Malta but most Maltese go about with pegs on their noses.

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BWSC, Government recieves letter from the commission making serious noises on how Government moved goal posts a few days before adjudication, that benefitted the eventual winner and disadvantaged a rival bidder (who was never informed of desicion), a multi million deal that has an impact on quality of air and our health...floodlights of mideia are turning on Government to get an explanation to these serious matters...and the next thing we know is that media is talking about a resignation of a Mayor over an Euro80 'irregularity'...snowballing to the present day...we need a media as much as we need sturdy checks and balances...for what did the manipulite deliver to Italian society...not much according to some...

carmel duca •

Another difference is that when the tangentopoli scandal broke out in Italy, the public outcry was ferocious. Bettino Craxi was even pelted with 'gettoni' as he left the Hotel Raphael in Rome in 1993. Under similar circumstances, there would be no equivalent outcry in Malta - and not just because, as james dbeono rightly points out, the system of undeclared party donations isn't even illegal. Fact is there is no underlying demand for correctness in Maltese politics at all. People subconsciously expect their politicians to be corrupt, and up to a point even respect them for it.

Peter Cassar •

1. The whole point is that our judiciary lacks a pool of "public prosecutors" entrusted with investigating cases of corruption and compiling evidence as well as conducting interrogations. Public prosecutors in Italy have wide investigative powers and are part of the judiciary. 2. Secondly I reiterate the view that the judiciary in whatever vests, should not be appointed by the political class but chosen on the basis of merit. 3. Thirdly as regards Mani Pulite, keep in mind that Di Pietro himself was not a leftist but a man of the right. His alignment to the left was more a consequence of Berlusconi's conflict of interests. Magistrates like De Magistris also investigated Romano Prodi. There was also a long investigation on the links between banks and the red cooperatives. In my blog I also mentioned the faults of the Italian system for nothing is black and white. It was Berlsuconi's entry in the political fry which changed everything as it turned his own judicial problems in to a political problem. Anyone questioning this mess (including rightists like indro montanelli to fini) is obviously demonised.

Nanette Carbone •

@ James Debono first of all, one needs to make a distinction between what we - in Malta - mean as magistrates and the Italian 'magistrato'. The former is a member of the judiciary, whereas the latter is a public prosecutor. regarding the issue of independent 'magistrati' in Italy, I beg to differ... surely, someone like Antonio di Pietro is the epitomy of the phenomenon which in Italy is known as 'Toge Rosse', in other words, some of the magistrates you define as independent are motivated by their leftist creeds and political allegiances to undermine those who are democratically elected to lead the country.... - unless the government is a Centre-Left. In this latter case - as recent Italian history shows - these so-called 'independent' magistrates where quite conspicous by their absence, only to resurrect when the Centre right government takes over... there are always two sides to every story...

Tangentopoli in Malta?

Some have compared the current epidemic of bribery hitting local councils to tangentopoli (Bribesville). I beg to differ: Malta simply doesn't have an independent pool of magistrates like Milan had 20 years ago.