Following Minister Austin's Gatt logic, there is no need for Government to have Parliament debate, monitor and vote on its decisions as it enjoys a majority and automatically it can push through whatever it likes. As Minister Gatt was making this arrogant and anti-democratic statement in Parliament, none of his colleagues showed any disapproval at his contempt for parliamentary democracy. In fact, of them actually uttered sounds of approval.
If we were to follow Minister's Gatt position, we might as well have Parliament convene only once, after the general elections results are officially announced. The President of the Republic would read the address to Parliament written by the Prime Minister's office. The President would give a list of what Government intends to do till the next general election and then everyone would go home till fresh elections are called. In the meantime the party in government would do whatever it liked. Parliament would not be there to scrutinise its decisions and raise issues on behalf of the citizens. Citizens would continue to be taxed and surcharged but they would have no one to represent them in Parliament.
We already have a very weak Parliament. For many years now I have attended the commemoration of June 7 riots where Maltese shed their blood to give birth to parliamentary democracy in Malta. On that occasion every Speaker of the House has called for the strengthening of Parliament and the need to take the steps to make it more autonomous of Government to enable it to function properly as a democratic institution monitoring government and representing tax-paying citizens. Year after year these words have fallen on barren ground and died only to sprout for another few minutes in a similar speech the following year.
Parliament today has become weaker as most of its duties have been taken over by the local councils and the European Union institutions, including the European Parliament. Having lost its old traditional roles, Parliament is urgently in need of finding new ones. Becoming just a rubber stamp is not one of them.
We are the only part-time parliament in the EU. We are not given the resources and assistance to be able to do our work properly as parliamentarians. Any research that we carry out to be able to propose better laws and policies is done on our personal initiative, according to how much time our regular profession or job allows us. Parliament costs just over Lm1 million a year, much less than what Government spends on consultants, travel, hospitality, mobile phones and cars for people working in the secretariats of the ministers and parliamentary secretaries that cost over Lm9 million a year.
Minister Gatt's attitude that Parliament is an empty formality, a nuisance and waste of time for ministers who have so much to do is unacceptable and shameful. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi should sack him if he wants to show that his government disagrees with Minister's Gatt contempt for parliamentary democracy.
Two years ago the Nationalist Party suffered a significant defeat in the elections for the European Parliament. A few weeks later it set up a commission to analyse the reasons for its defeat. The commission's report, kept secret by the Nationalist Party and revealed in the daily L-Orizzont, stated clearly that the party has become arrogant and its ministers and decision makers unaccountable. The commission recommended a list of steps to renew the party and reconnect it to its fundamental democratic values.
In the last two years the Nationalist Party and its ministers have become more arrogant. Minister Gatt, not Prime Minister Gonzi, is setting the tone of this government. This is Minister's Gattt government: arrogant, divisive and partisan; it treats with utter contempt all those institutions and persons who want to be active in a fully fledged democratic society where decisions are scrutinised properly by everybody, including a proper parliament which is not just a rubber stamp.