Green party calls for regulation of political revolving door

Alternattiva Demokratika (AD) has called for a legal framework to regulate the practice of politicians joining private companies after their term in office has ended.

Speaking in front of parliament, AD chairperson Arnold Cassola said that the recent Lowenbrau case has exposed the underlying problem of when politicians end up working for companies they were meant to be regulating.

"This is giving priority to the interests of the private sector at the expense of the country," he added.

Cassola said it was unacceptable that politicians were able to use information they obtained during their time in office, to help private companies. He insisted that this should be regulated.

While AD was not against former politicians working in the private sector, deputy chair Carmel Cacopardo said that there should be a law that bars politicians from joining private companies for a period of time after their end of term.

"After Joe Borg left his role of EU Commissioner and joined a fisheries lobby group, the Commission established rules that prevent commissioners and people holding certain roles from joining companies and lobby groups within two years of them leaving their position," he said.

Cacopardo argued that a former politician may be not necessarily be engaged with a company because of his or her expertise, but because they would have insider knowledge and can still exert a certain degree of influence.

"We have had a number of instances when this has happened such as the John Dalli case as well as Karmenu Vella who was engaged by the Corinthia Group," he said.

Dalli, recently thrust back in the spotlight over the Lowenbrau saga, has rejected suggestions that he was involved in a revolving doors case: During his term as economy minister in 1990, Dalli had proposed to Cabinet the transfer of land in Qormi to Lowenbrau, which was approved by Cabinet. In 2004, he took up a consultancy role with Marsovin. In 2009, Marsovin became the legal owner of the Qormi site.

AD called for parliament to include a provision in the Standards in Public Life bill that is still being discussed in parliament. 

"It’s disappointing that this bill has been left pending for over two years. It’s a shame that this law does not include any provisions for these types of conflicts of interest," Cacopardo said, arguing that such dubious practices needed immediate regulation.

In addition to this, AD reiterated their belief that politicians should be engaged on a full-time basis in order to further reduce the risk of conflicts of interest arising.