Good governance à la carte

In the past couple of weeks, some major events have taken place that will have a great impact on Malta, but which have largely slipped under the radar. It is crucial to get an idea of what is going on.

For starters, Malta has just been blacklisted by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) for the selling of passports. The judgement of this reputable international organisation may have a harmful effect on our financial services industry, much of which depends on Malta having a good reputation. In financial services, reputation is everything.

Malta has also become the subject of scrutiny by the Council of Europe, which has appointed a special rapporteur to investigate the rule of law in Malta, as well as the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt was chosen to lead this investigation, despite the failed attempts of Labour MP Manuel Mallia to replace him.

This investigation requested an opinion on constitutional law in Malta from the Venice Commission, which is a foremost authority on the subject in the Council of Europe. Shortly after doing so, the Government of Malta panicked, and sent a letter to the Venice Commission requesting its advice on Malta’s legal system. Clearly, the government was attempting to hide the fact that Peter Omtzigt is forcing an investigation into Maltese law. Probably both because the Maltese government is planning on constitutional reform anyway, and to avoid the humiliation of having changes imposed by an outside authority, the government was forced to write to the Venice Commission to give the impression that it is still in control of the situation.

Clearly, the pressure is having a strong impact on the Government, despite attempts to hide this fact. The government has until this point tried to give the impression that there is nothing wrong with the rule of law in Malta. By writing to the Venice Commission itself, the Maltese Government has admitted that there is much to be improved on, and has accepted the inevitable. Presumably, sooner rather than later, Malta may have its Constitutional Convention after all. It may now be a question of packaging it and marketing it. The Venice Commission has already accepted to provide opinions to Malta on constitutional reform and these opinions would probably be formulated by December.

Now that we have admitted that Malta has a good governance problem, let us not stop at broad criticism of the government. Let us look at the symptoms and the causes. After all, the Labour government has instituted certain good governance reforms since 2013. Similarly, although Forza Nazzjonali had proposed a long list of good governance reforms last year, the Nationalist Party has been inconsistent on good governance since its leadership election last year.

The question therefore be- comes, why good governance à la carte? The answer is surprisingly simple. As with most issues, Malta’s progress and success has been hindered by the fact that Maltese politics is defined by eternal and total warfare. That is to say, in the tribal struggle between the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party, the cost of losing an election is far too great for either of the two major parties to risk losing any strategic advantages.

The reforms which are most necessary for good governance are therefore ignored, even when there may be good intentions. Similarly, certain business interests and lobbies receive special treatment in clear breach of the rule of law, because their support is crucial to winning an election. The sort of good governance reform Malta desperately requires would provide us with truly independent institutions. However, truly independent institutions would severely punish both the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party for their excesses.

Key appointments of certain offices like the Police Commissioner are also political. This prevents the Police being impartial and independent, and stops them from investigating their political mas- ters – whether those masters are red or blue. Therefore, the longterm consequence of the failure to institute these good governance reforms is nothing short of the rot and decay of the state.

The pressure which Malta is experiencing from abroad is a direct consequence of Malta’s two major parties being at constant war with each other. What is needed is Malta having a clean political slate. Both the Labour Party and Nationalist Party need to agree to surrender certain strategic advantages on the understanding that they are both doing it. This is how a true democracy works – with a fair playing field.

So long as people vote on tribal lines, or due to clientelism to obtain jobs and favours, then the government will always play dirty. That is why it is crucial to have good governance, so that political parties will be obliged not to play dirty. This is in the interests of both the political parties and the Maltese citizens. If nobody can play dirty, then everyone benefits. The consequences of not reforming are the increasing pressures Malta is experiencing from abroad, as well as criminal elements in our country literally getting away with murder.