Lobbying must become transparent and regularised

'Lobbyism’ is a term known to have been coined by American President Ulysses S. Grant in the 19th century. It is said that President Grant came up with the expression due to a fondness he had for a particular hotel lobby in Washington DC where people would approach him to discuss personal concerns.

Since then this ‘line of business’, in which someone who represents a cause thrusts the matter forward, is now very much part of the self-governing system. Such pursuit has influenced to no small degree the direction that policy takes. Lobbying in the US and in the EU establishment is nowadays considered a profession with all the applicable legitimate rights and is part and parcel of how our societies are being designed and the political direction that ensues.

However it seems that the public is still unable to fathom this activity. They often ascribe lobbying to a way of elbowing out other ‘legitimate’ interests rather than having a regulated, lawful and rightful duty that is interested in the ‘person’s development’.

If one were to have a look at the amount of money that is dedicated to this activity, it would be seen that it is simply staggering.

To have an idea of what we are talking about, in the US, the Center for Responsive Politics that based its data on the Senate Office of Public Records quotes a total lobbying spending of over $3 billion with some 12,000 registered lobbyists who have been actively engaged (opensecrets.org/lobby/). These lobbyists represent just about every interest group, ranging from unions to corporations, charities to churches, environmental groups, senior citizens NGOs and all the like.

These statistics are comparable with what is happening in the EU institutions with an estimated 20,000 lobbyists representing some 1,450 formal interest groups.

Now back to base!

It is an open secret that in Malta trying to influence decisions is a bug that is endemic and prevalent in all stages and phases in our communities. People are always hoping that ‘xi hadd jghaddili kelma’ (someone endorses me) whether it’s for a job interview, a tender or a hospital appointment.

As one would expect this leaves us with an aura of mistrust in the system – sometimes it’s vindicated, at times it’s off beam. The suspicions are brought about because of political allegiance, family links, friendships, funders of political campaigns, proximity to the party among others.

The way I see it, the difficulty in Malta lies in the fact that there is very little one can do to clear this doubt. We are a small insular society making it virtually impossible to guarantee realness. And while politicians have come a long way in trying to talk us into ‘selection according to merit’ there is always a shadow cast over this contest. 

Having said so there are various social and human rights issues that in these last years were spearheaded by well-organised interest groups, namely, the anti-hunting lobby, the pro-hunting assemblage, pro-environmental supporters, the disability and the LGBTi minorities among others. My point is that lobbying should not only be construed as negative but it needs to be ordered.

What I am proposing is that, while as has been argued it will be very difficult to change perceptions, we should consider emulating the US and EU lobbying model on a micro-level.

This would involve: legislating lobbying (that should make provision in which lobbyists may not accept gifts whether it is gratuity, favour, discount, entertainment, hospitality or any other item having value); ensure access to varied interest groups; regularising and registering all organisations, interest groups or individuals that are lobbying; lobbyists should file regular reports of activity; and, a lobbyist register is set up to ensure that decisions are taken in the public domain, making certain distinctive interests in the decision-making process are represented.

This might be a way of avoiding on-going speculation that social changes are happening because of bribery and sleaze!

While government tenders and the sort remain a concern, my major worry lies in the social policy sector. We need to do all that is possible to avoid having our social policy stained by commercial, money- and profit-making interests, and pledge that the needs of the vulnerable and voiceless are represented.

Formalising a national lobbying system may perhaps take us a long way towards improving transparency without losing sight of the fact that the public and private interests have a rightful and important role to play in the policy string.

Andrew Azzopardi is a broadcaster and senior lecturer at the University of Malta