[ANALYSIS] Technocrats or democrats?

In a memorandum sent to political parties the Malta Employers' Association has proposed the appointment of technocrat ministers as a way to widen the pool of talent in a future cabinet of ministers. Inevitably, it was a proposal that was immediately shot down as anti-democratic by the union confederation Forum.

But the MEA proposal echoed Lawrence Gonzi's private complaint to former US ambassador Molly Bordonaro that he had a limited talent pool from which to choose his ministers, betraying his secret wish to appoint technocrats as ministers.

Malta's experience of unelected officials attending Cabinet meetings is perhaps best illustrated by the General Workers Union representation in the Mintoff government, or former ambassador to the EU Richard Cachia Caruana attending Cabinet meetings as private secretary to Eddie Fenech Adami and later on the Gonzi cabinet.

But the direct appointment of technocrats in ministerial roles would also require a change in the Constitution, which currently strictly limits the PM's choice of ministers to his elected peers in parliament.

First among equals

The Maltese Constitution enshrines the principle that the Prime Minister is a first among equals, to the extent that his designation is that of a minister chosen by the President of the Republic who proceeds to appoint his ministers from among his elected peers.

Giving the Prime Minister the power to appoint ministers outside the restricted pool of elected peers could alter the balance of power, strengthening the hand of the prime minister and weakening that of voters who at present determine the pool from which the PM has to choose his ministers - consequently, it would weaken the bond between ministers and parliament.

In the United States, cabinet secretaries are directly accountable to the President, who appoints them as expected in a presidential system. Technocrats are the order of the day, but they must also be confirmed by the Senate - which means that although the President has a vast pool from which to choose his secretaries, the US Constitution, which prohibits any sitting member of Congress from holding executive office.

But in a parliamentary system like Malta's, ministers are directly accountable to MPs.

Moreover, the Maltese prime minister is himself technically a minister appointed by the president. The Constitution states that it is the president who appoints as prime minister the MP who, in his opinion, is best able to command a majority of the members of the House of Representatives.

The prime minister then advises the president on the appointment of the other ministers from among the members of parliament.

Although in normal circumstances the power of the president is merely ceremonial - in the sense that the president customarily appoints the leader of the party commanding a majority in parliament as prime minister - this power is greatly increased when a government loses its majority, or if no party holds a majority in the House.

In fact, Italy's endemic political instability has greatly increased the clout of that country's presidency, even if it has the same constitutional powers as in Malta.

The Italian model

But one notable difference between Malta and Italy is that presidents can appoint 'technocratic governments' headed by outsiders, like former central bank governor Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who was appointed Prime Minister during the turbulent tangentopoli ('bribesville') years.

Following the collapse of the first Berlusconi government, a government led by another banker and former IMF official, Lamberto Dini, was appointed. Dini later became a politician in his own right, first joining Prodi's centre-left coalition, and than embracing Berlusconi again in 2008.

Last year, following the collapse of the third Berlusconi government and amid a mounting financial crisis, President Giorgio Napolitano appointed former EU commissioner Mario Monti, who leads a government composed entirely of technocrats which is supported in parliament by all major parties.

This has enabled these parties to abstain from hard decisions required to restore the country's finances, although leaving a vacuum of representation: something that could explain the rise of comedian Beppe Grillo's 'five-star movement' Cinque Stelle, which is now Italy's second largest party.

In Greece, disillusion with a technocratic government entrusted with pushing unpopular reforms could have also contributed to the rise of the neo-nazi Golden Dawn Party.

Technical governments in Italy are mostly associated with attempts to construct governments enjoying support across the political spectrum. But some brilliant technocrats (like oncologist Umberto Veronesi) have also served under political governments.

Bring on the talent

Gonzi's complaint in 2008 to then US ambassador Molly Bordonaro echoes UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown's declared policy of appointing a 'government of all the talents' by appointing political outsiders in his Cabinet.

Brown was not reinventing the wheel (since other British prime ministers had also done the same), however it was Brown who turned this into a declared policy to widen the talent pool.

Brown still respected the convention that ministers have to be serving parliamentarians. In fact, the newcomers were granted a peerage to serve in the House of Lords.

Some of these appointments were based on the expertise of the new ministers in a particular area, and some lacked parliamentary experience. These included Lord Ara Warkes Darzi, one of the world's leading surgeons at Imperial College London, Lord Paul Myners - former chairman of Marks & Spencer and Guardian Media Group - and deputy chairman of PowerGen and Admiral Sir Alan West, the former head of the Royal Navy.

Yet the appointment of political outsiders failed to reverse Brown's declining fortunes and growing unpopularity, which led to voters voting Labour out after three consecutive terms by voting in Britian's first coalition government.

Some of the 'outsiders' also left government after a relatively short time. Darzi only served for two years.

Banning MPs from Cabinet

In contrast to Malta (where ministers can only be chosen from elected MPs), in countries like the Netherlands, Sweden and France, ministers are not allowed to serve as MPs.

Ministers are usually given specified seats and given the right to speak, but no right to vote. They still remain accountable to parliament and have to answer questions and appear before committees.

The appointment of ministers from outside parliament is quite common in France (which like the US has a presidential form of government), but most ministers are former MPs who resigned their seats. France also had two unelected Prime Ministers, namely Georges Pompidou (1962-1968) and Raymond Barre (1976-1981) who had never served as MPs before their appointment.