Cox complaint

There are times when one wishes that Malta was really invisible, rather than just very small. There is no rebutting Pat Cox in pointing out the extreme case of Maltese polarisation as an example not to be followed by prospective MEPs who hope to succeed in the European parliament. The Maltese Greens exist to challenge the political status quo. We live to defeat polarisation. Still, it makes me cringe to hear my country's name mentioned in connection with the antithesis to be avoided at all costs.

He has a right to talk. Having successfully contested the Irish EP elections as an independent, Mr Cox has earned the respect of his colleagues who chose him to be the president of their assembly. He is the living proof of what he advocates; an individual MEP from anywhere can shine if his or her commitment and skill in consensus-building become evident.

Arnold Cassola from non-member Malta was chosen to head the European Federation of Green Parties as secretary-general in 1999 and unanimously confirmed in his post in 2003. He has just what it takes to be an actor on the European stage; the skill to focus the kaleidoscopic wealth of opinion among Greens and to present workable solutions to the other political families.

There is no government and no permanent majority in the European parliament. It is absurd that any grouping is pitched as dominant because no single grouping can act on its own. MEPs are grouped in political families and can be expected to vote according to their stated political leanings but party discipline is not as rigid as in national parliaments and certainly not as stifling as in the Maltese parliament.

About 50 per cent of EP decisions are arrived at by prior consultation. The motion at issue is discussed in committee and group briefings are prepared. Meetings are held between the different political families and areas of disagreement identified. Half the time a compromise is hammered out before the matter is brought to the vote. This is where talent in bridging gaps begins to show.

It is inevitable that prior agreement is not possible on some issues. Where the vote in plenary will decide the issue, more lobbying takes place. The final decision may remain uncertain until the vote is actually taken. Here the smaller centre parties become crucial. When the larger groupings, the PPE (our PN) and PSE (our MLP), cancel each other out, the Greens and Liberals have a greater responsibility and influence. It is not simply a power struggle. It is an expression of political thought and popular will articulated in far greater detail than can be expected from any system that produces sequential five-year dictatorships where the government's victory is always a foregone conclusion.

Except for the Greens, entry into the EP will be a disorienting shock for Maltese politicians. They are culturally programmed to confront the other side. It is a monopolistic attitude. The other side is constantly portrayed as an object of contempt and the only option proffered to voters is to make total surrender to "our side". When the winner takes all, the contenders must promote themselves as the natural party of government and their alternates as beyond contemplation. Non-Maltese observers of Maltese politics note the lack of mutual respect and are shocked by it.

It is simply not done to call anybody names in any European parliament. In the European parliament it is simply laughable. The EDD grouping of Eurosceptics challenge the EU as an institution from the benches of the European parliament. They may not be the best admired grouping but they are accorded the respect to which every MEP is entitled to enjoy as a representative of an electorate.

The institutional structure is far from perfect and will not achieve perfection through the new EU Constitution. Greens have been insistent on a further democratisation of EU institutions. We are still not satisfied.

It is even less satisfying for Maltese Greens to note that the modus operandi of our own parliament is held up as unsuitable to an audience of the pan-European press. Thank heavens Mr Cox did not have the time to pick out the details of our shortcomings or Malta would have been burdened with further minus points to add to the other parties' capitulation to the hunters and the shame of our waste mountain.

We would have been laughed at if it was told that there was no law regulating the financing of political parties; that Tangentopoli and Mani pulite will not happen in Malta because they are institutionalised. How would the international press take it that two out of three political parties own their very own television stations; that the Broadcasting Authority is ruled by the same two out of three political parties; that the third political party has no representative on the electoral commission?

It is beyond the other two parties to change all this. They are mired in an institutional bog. They remain programmed to monopolise all state power, to be the state, the parliament, the government. They are no-holds-barred majoritarians, Europe's purest powermongers.

Only the electorate can change this. Only voters can break the zero-sum bind of eternal confrontation by changing the game. Getting cross at Mr Cox for showing us up would be further evidence of parochialism. We have chosen to stand as an equal in Europe. It is our good fortune that an accident of history allows us the privilege. It is up to us to show that we can live up to our own pretensions.

Two hundred and two years ago the voice of Europe and the love of the Maltese confirmed Malta's loyalty to the British crown. It made sense for 162 years. Then we successfully snatched at independence. On May 1, 2004 the voice of Malta and the love of Europe will have opened a completely new chapter in our history. Once more we will have exploited the accidents of history and geopolitics to create an opportunity for ourselves. Once again we will find that we must make radical changes to be able to exploit it to our advantage and to contribute to our new home. Only a shift to consensus politics will allow us to engage all our resources in meeting the challenges ahead.

Dr Vassallo is chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika - The Green Party.

www.arnoldcassola.com harry.vassallo@alternattiva.org.mt