The risks of political minimalism

Many dislike politics because they resent the fact that it invades all phenomena - economic, cultural and ethical. Yet, many others are worried about political minimalism or, to put it more simply, the inability of politicians to go beyond stating superficially their vision for improving people's lives.

With the decline of ideologies, political minimalism has become more diffuse. The traditional confrontation between left and right wing strategies that was at the root of the dialectic of democratic politics has disappeared.

Parties of the left, the right and the centre no longer have a clear brand that the electorate can associate with. The labels of the past remain, but it is difficult for many voters to identify what a particular party stands for.

Political parties have invested heavily in building a slick communications strategy that is very focused in targeting particular interest groups. The reading of opinion surveys on specific issues has become more important than intellectual debate on the merits of specific political policies on economic, social, ethical and cultural subjects.

Many are rightly asking whether in Malta we too are experiencing political minimalism. Below the shallow surface of the local political debate that is often animated and apparently confrontational, there is a lack of political substance on how the different parties intend to address the major issues that will challenge our society in the next two or three decades.

I see evidence of this in the recent Fitch Report on Malta. When reviewing the possible effects of population ageing, the report comments: The EU judges that Malta's pensions reform has not improved long-term sustainability of public finances and the government appears to agree with it, although it is not rushing to do anything concrete.

Yes, we are capable of discussing political trivialities until the cows come home, but we shy away from debating strategies that will make us a better nation. We likewise fail to address the issues that threaten the wellbeing of our society. This is political minimalism at its worst.

The risks that we take by adopting this strategy are serious. We need to discuss openly and honestly concrete strategies to tackle the issues of climate change, the deterioration of our environment, economic under-performance, our health and pensions system, and the quality of the education we are giving to our young people.

The electorate wants to know the different strategic directions proposed by our political parties that need to go beyond the "what-you-can-do-I-can-do-better" shallow attitude that seems to characterise today's political debate.

The best way to manage these issues will not be found in some old book about socialist or capitalist political theory. But it can certainly be hammered out through an honest and civil debate on how to optimise the use of our limited resources to promote social harmony, economic prosperity, and equal opportunities for all.

Malta suffers from its small size. We are the size of a small European town, and yet we are a nation that has to plan its own destiny. As any other nation, we need strong political leadership to promote the wellbeing of our people. This is where our Achilles heel is. It is not inconceivable that such a small country can often experience weak political leadership for one, or even two, generations.

Leadership is about showing the way ahead not through slogans, buzzwords, or sound bytes, however important these elements are in modern political communication. It is about weaving social justice and economic pragmatism in political strategy to kindle the imagination of the electorate that will ultimately make a choice on who to trust to lead it ahead.

Expecting to win the electorate's confidence by betting on a slip or two by your political adversaries is no leadership at all. It is a few thousand electors that ultimately decide who leads our country and they can certainly see through political minimalism.

While many electors can be swayed with pre-election practices that are based on political patronage, there are also many who scrutinise what the political parties are proposing. They look for the substance that will convince them on whom to trust with their votes. Political parties will do well to acknowledge that political minimalism will not win these voters over.

johncassarwhite@yahoo.com