In the correct direction

Last Sunday the three English language newspapers reported details of a PN document that was to be ‘discussed’ by the party’s general council on Sunday morning. Following the time-honoured – but also baffling and curious – way of doing politics in Malta, the party’s own paper, il-mument did not carry the document but informed its faithful readers that a document on good governance was going to be presented to the party general council that morning.

Whether this glitch is the result of some unconscious divide between whoever runs the PN press and Simon Busuttil’s office is not just a moot point. Otherwise one suspects that Simon Busuttil’s office considers the party’s own media as irrelavant since it is just preaching to the converted. Is this just a little detail or a reflection of how Busuttil’s machine runs the party?

Whatever it was, the PN document made the news last Sunday, aided by the fact that there was a dearth of scoops and fresh news on that morning. The three English language newspapers gave the document a lot of prominence, with one even having an editorial about the issue.

And so it should be. Although the document does not pretend to be reinventing the wheel, it is a fresh aspect to the political discourse in Malta. Undoubtedly, it was provoked by the way the current Muscat administration has strayed from the good governance ideal that it had promised when in opposition. Rather than just criticising the behaviour of the administration, the PN, in turn, has laid out plans of what should be done to ensure that the obvious pitfalls resulting from this administration’s manner of governing would be avoided in the future. In this sense, it is a document in the correct direction.

The proposals in the PN document are meant to solve problems that were also identified: lack of respect for the rule of law; discrimination; lack of transparency and accountability; unethical behaviour and conflicts of interest; nepotism, favouritism and clientelism; misuse of public assets; abuse of power and corruption; uncertainty of democratic outcomes; and weak public admistration. The list of problems is impressive and could even sound far-fetched. Yet they are undoubtedly real. Attempting to solve them is no easy task – and the only reply to the malaise that has taken over the current administration is the proposal of concrete steps to avoid these problems.

Many of the proposals – of which there are more than 100 – are easily doable. Others are not so easy. Some are simply pious desires or impossible dreams that do not practically work, such as the creation of a ‘citizen’s rights’ ministry. However, all in all, the document remains refreshingly positive and innovative – for Malta that is!

The public reaction to these proposals has not been very enthusiastic. This says a lot about the rumour mill that in Malta stands for public opinion. Many might even consider these proposals as not leading to anywhere, on the assumption that the politicians are able to go around any legal obstacle in order to get what they want. 

Restoring trust in our political system is a difficult slow process and needs more than just a document. Hopefully, this PN document will be the spark that starts off the big bang that is needed to reform Maltese politics.

The Prime Minister himself reacted somehow by saying that he agrees with the idea that certain public service heads should be scrutinised by a Parliamentary Committee before their appointment is endorsed, and that he will be introducing this system before the end of his term in office. 

The Prime Minister, of course, might find himself in quite some difficulty if he openly opposes these proposals saying they are not needed. That would put him in the awkward position of appearing to be defending the bad governance ‘credentials’ of his administration. 

So for him, the less said the better!

Holier than thou

The government had to find something to divert attention. Suddenly news got out that Busuttil’s driver was suspected of ‘using’ more fuel than his car needed, and hey presto, a magisterial inquiry was launched to investigate this possible misuse of public funds. It seemed a good diversion that stripped Busuttil of his ‘holier than thou’ stance. 

People enjoy gossiping about government employees caught pinching petrol or what not, more than talking about the introduction of a propositive referendum law!

The timing could well have been a coincidence, but nobody believes that. That’s public opinion – vox populi vox dei!

And what about the police? Did they inform the magistrate on duty and asked for an inquiry in order to avoid being tainted with the political brush? Isn’t such an inquiry a gross exaggeration in the circumstances? I reckon that if a magisterial inquiry is launched every time there is a suspected case of petty theft, than the minsiter responsible for justice needs to triple the number of magistrates! 

The amount of money involved – if at all – cannot be a big sum; nothing like the Premier Café or the property in Old Mint Street, Valletta. But then, the ordinary citizen understands the value of €50 more than the value of €5 million. 

Moreover something this close to Simon Busuttil is much more interesting rumour fodder than the way so many millions are wasted in one thing or another.

Good governance, did anyone say?

In the long run this will prove to be a temporary diversion since the problems flagged by the PN document remain to be faced and the day will come when the current adminsitration must come to terms with its shortcomings or face the consequences.

This silly short-term diversion will actually harm the government more than it will harm Simon Busuttil. 

My apologies

In my opinion piece last Sunday, I wrote that Minister Helena Dalli ‘did not condemn Debono Grech’s behaviour outright’.

This is incorrect as the Hon. Minister in actual fact had actually done just that – notwithstanding what was being written and said on the media.

My apologies.