The cost of cartels

One muggy, sticky evening in the summer of 1998, I switched on my television set and came across the then Nationalist finance spokesman - John Dalli. He was talking about VAT - the issue which the Nationalist Party claimed cost it the 1996 election.

Now the subject of indirect taxation systems is not usually one which tugs at the heart strings, but this time it did. Dalli spoke in a humble and repentant manner. He admitted that VAT could have been introduced in another way - one which caused less shock to small businesses. He said that the PN could have listened to the voices of protest and given more explanations about the new taxation system.

Dalli even talked about the owner of a mom-and-pop store who had no way of opting out of the administrative and book-keeping burdens that VAT would bring about. The finance spokesman said that his party felt the pain of the electorate and that the PN was listening to people's criticism. The message being conveyed was that the PN had learnt its lesson. This message was echoed in the text of a Nationalist newspaper advert which read, "Last time you may have voted Labour to teach us a lesson. Well, we've learnt it".

Despite not being one of the voters who had participated in this lesson-teaching and had voted for the PN, I was impressed. Here was a historic first - a political party publicly admitting its mistakes and apologising - saying it would do better next time. It was an admission that the Nationalist Party had distanced itself from the electorate and was now ready to gulp down a sizable chunk of humble pie.

Those disgruntled voters who had voted Labour were as impressed as I was. They swung right back to the blue camp and the Nationalist Party won the election with a handsome majority. We hunkered down to more campaigns - the referendum campaign regarding EU membership and the 2003 election campaign.

The EU issue took centre-stage and voters were ready to make concessions for the Nationalist Party as long as the EU goal was secured. A host of issues, ranging from putting a stop to the destruction of Malta's urban and rural environment to the introduction of laws promoting civil rights, transparency and accountability and the reform of unjust laws were put on the back burner. Many voters tolerated what they perceived to be a temporary state of affairs in the hope that accession would change all this. They were in for some disappointment.

Because although it cannot be denied that accession has brought about benefits, we are still quite far off from attaining the European standards of our counterparts. And instead of learning any lessons from past electoral defeats, the PN and MLP seem to have formed an unofficial cartel which has a stranglehold on the country.

It is a cartel whose members maintain a 'protective imitation' policy which they believe is an adequate defence when criticised. So when the Labour Party lambastes the PN for the cost overruns on infrastructural projects, the Nationalist Party can hit back by mentioning bungling in Bugibba. If anybody points out the fact that contractor and PN donor Charles Polidano has been given the go-ahead for a hypermarket outside a development zone, Nationalists will whip out pictures of contractors with Labour sympathies jetting off to Dubai with Labour MPs.

Neither the PN nor the MLP has taken up the suggestion for public disclosure of donations to political parties. If there are questions about the feasibility of the PN's promised tax cuts bonanza, the PN media machine will shoot back a thousand more about the wisdom of Labour's surcharge slashing.

Neither of the major parties' fantastic visions for the Grand Harbour have been costed or studied to see if they are economically and environmentally feasible. George Pullicino squeezed into an electric car on Car-Free Day, and Alfred Sant is now talking about alternative energy as if it's the next big thing, but the timing of this sudden conversion to all things green, while always welcome, is still rather suspect.

Divorce is recognised in certain cases but both the PN and the MLP waffle on about removing the discriminatory state of affairs. A Labour administration authorises a fireworks factory in the vicinity of pre-existing dwelling houses, a Nationalist one issues a Cabinet memo which allows it to continue operating. While the PN is in power, a cliquey few are appointed to choice posts. When the MLP is in office, it's a quick game of musical chairs and Labour favourites land the plum vacancies.

The PN-MLP cartel results in an unproductive stalemate where issues never get discussed rationally and objectively. Sometimes they don't get discussed at all if they are prospective vote-losers for the major parties. There are more cartel costs - people who aren't Nationalist or Labour insiders are discarded - with the attendant loss of valuable human resources input. This, we are told (mainly from people in the PN or MLP camps), is the price we pay for stability and prosperity.

They are wrong. There doesn't have to be this type of trade-off between a more representative and just governing system. We don't need to continue supporting the PN-MLP contractor-financed cartel. We can opt-out of the system and choose a consensual form of government.

A coalition-government which includes Alternattiva Demokrattika as a partner would be a more productive one which is kept in check throughout its term in office, removing the necessity for belated mea culpas on the eve of election day. It would be a guarantee that certain issues which never see the light of day are discussed in Parliament and a national level.

It would translate into adherence to European standards and not creative interpretation so that the Government can wriggle out of its obligations. The environmental agenda would feature prominently on a constant basis and not as an attractive after-thought on a campaign billboard. Voting for AD in a coalition government means that you no longer have to vote with a gun to your head. You no longer vote for the lesser of two evils, thereby condoning evil. If you share a different alternative vision for the country you vote for a coalition which will end the cartel.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt