Percolated politics

Yesterday was budget day. Until recently, budget days were meant to be d-day for governments. In line with Keynesian thinking, governments were expected to give an account of the state of the economy and their finances and to expose their policies and plans to ensure sustained economic growth. These days neo-liberal thinking and its emphasis for less government have rendered budget day less relevant in more advanced societies.

This does not seem to be the case in our country. The budgetary process is now spread over several months. With a general election only a few weeks away, it was inevitable that this year's budget became warped in the electoral build-up. The government, of course, tries to convince us otherwise.

Last spring, the Nationalist Party devised a strategy to try and avoid a heavy electoral defeat. The party's strategy group was revamped, bringing back a couple of old-timers. The party realised that the government had distanced itself from the people.

Its perceived win, entry into the eurozone, was the people's loss. As the Prime Minister admitted in the pre-budget 2008 document "...the people who participated helped us realise that we need a renewed national commitment to families growing stronger".

The big challenge for the party was to connect again, especially with its grassroots. It needed to ensure that, on election day, every voter gets to the polls. The strategy group must have decided to emulate George W. Bush's 2004 campaign, adopting what is known as a "community advocacy" strategy, a political variant of "relationship marketing".

The basic precept is to give the people, especially those that have been losing out, a big, longer term, audacious goal. Creating a vision that will help them combat their loss of hope and alienation. Projecting a better, reformed society that will lead to a win-win situation. Winning the general election is presented as just another step in getting people to participate in building a better society. Malta as a centre of excellence.

This strategy offers percolated rather than instant coffee, sweetened by a dose of "feel good" factors such as concerts and notte bianca. Indeed, it is important to have vision. This should not be about presenting a crystal ball picture of the future, nor is it a dream full of nice-sounding platitudes merely meant to pacify, manipulate and mislead. Visions are important because they capture the imagination of people, motivate and can help secure their commitment. In a small, open society like ours, a clear understanding of purpose and direction is needed so as not to end up drifted by strong global currents. Formulating a vision by itself is no guarantee of success. It is the whole ball of wax that counts.

In their book, Built To Last (1997), Collins and Porras propose that a well-conceived vision entails two complementary, yin and yang, forces. "Core ideology" entailing values and purpose. What we stand for and why we exist. These are constant and need to be discovered. Values, such as social justice, accountability and transparency. And an "envisioned future" that stimulates change and progress, and outlines what we aspire to achieve and become. The future has to be created. Organisational and strategic alignment is necessary to breathe life to the vision, to translate it from good intentions to specific targets and concrete action.

Building the future should be more than just about percolated coffee. Neither should it be in compensation for today's poor performance. Visions go beyond identifying a few key sectors and proclaiming them as potential centres of excellence. The emphasis should be on the values underpinning our society. Our vision should start by upholding our values, leading by example. To constantly combat corruption, waste, mismanagement and inefficiencies. Only then can we try to genuinely stimulate progress, to build a decent place and society that makes us proud to be Maltese. The government has finally realised that membership of the EU, by itself, is no guarantee that this will be achieved. The EU can, at best, be an enabling agent in moving towards our envisioned future.

"Community advocacy" starts by the government really getting close to the people, understanding their needs and aspirations and seeking their participation in meeting challenges and tapping opportunities. It builds from where people stand, and not from a report issued by some foreign institution. Community advocacy goes far beyond sending people a nice brochure and asking them to call Castille. It is about empowerment and involvement, which starts by respecting, and not consistently denigrating, political opponents.

As Greaves and Lishman point out: "If elections and the holding of elected office become the sole or even the major part of our politics we will have become corrupted by the very system of government and administration that community politics sets out to challenge" (The Theory And Practice Of Community Politics, 1980).

The Prime Minister should beware that Vision 2015 does not become another Brand Malta.

fms18@onvol.net