The battle for ideas

The start of this year's political season has been marred by controversies across the political spectrum. This does not bode well for the future. Many also feel that accession to the EU has not delivered the panacea promised before 2004. Frankly, accession on its own will not deliver real change. Malta will only move to the next level of prosperity if political parties and the social partners provide strong leadership to channel limited resources to deliver change across all aspects of life. It is time for local politics to move away from rhetoric and focus on a healthy and competitive battle to identify the best ideas and policies, which can propel Malta to new heights.

It is acknowledged that some constructive debates are being held on some aspects of health, transport, energy and enterprise promotion policy. However, more public engagement and alternative proposals need to be considered in these areas too. To enable meaningful change the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition should lay out their time frames wherein major policy decisions or proposals will be made.

The rest of the article focuses on four areas wherein change and new ideas are required during the course of this legislature, which, I hope, can help shape a new political agenda. Education and children is an area that requires attention. It is time to take stock of the results achieved by state schools, beyond the visible improvement in school buildings. For instance, has the introduction of the state school colleges started to deliver benefits or are there more effective ways of ensuring a level educational playing field for children being educated in state schools?

New ideas should be considered for failing schools such as change in leadership, bringing in private sector management or even requesting support from successful Church educational institutions.

We should also be considering whether the school-leaving age should be revised upwards to 18 and also see whether children from poorer backgrounds are being appropriately supported to enable them to maximise their potential. We need to ensure that no children are left behind and instil ambition and aspiration for social mobility in all children.

On a family front, the Labour leader and policy think-tanks have been at the forefront to advocate the need for the introduction of divorce, while the Prime Minister acknowledged the importance of holding such a debate. The time for unstructured debate is over. If we are to move forward, the Prime Minister should establish a commission that would have the task to recommend policy and legislation which reflects Malta's circumstances while also recommending ways to strengthen families. Such a commission should report on its recommendations within a set time, within which consultation and debate would be undertaken.

Another area that requires urgent attention is the public service and its lack of vision for change. This has to be a priority if we are serious about addressing the government deficit. In the run-up to EU accession we had witnessed the creation of a wide array of non-departmental government organisations, authorities and agencies, which are not conducive to value for money.

The rationalisation of such agencies and improving productivity in the public service will enable a sustainable reduction in our deficit and also minimise government-induced costs on industry. Such a drive to cut costs and channel savings to front-line services is clearly missing.

The final area I will focus on is immigration, which instigates emotive reactions from the public, especially in a small country like ours. Strong leadership from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition is necessary to look into options for addressing the challenges we face, objectively rather than emotionally.

In this instance, I recommend a bipartisan approach to policy formulation wherein the Prime Minister and the Labour leader should jointly appoint a commission to conduct a fact-based review to determine the impact of immigration on Malta's economic and social development and our public services. The commission should propose concrete measures to address the challenges we face and come up with facts in order to support the country in making its case for solidarity from the EU.

We should applaud the role of our armed forces in conducting search and rescue operations at sea. In this respect, I propose that a bipartisan commission reviews our SAR operations with the objective to develop further our capability in order to meet our international obligations and deliver best-in-class search and rescue.

EU support to invest in training and equipment should also be sought. This is an area where we cannot abdicate either our assets in terms of maritime area or our international and moral obligations.

In view of the need of a wide-ranging change in Malta, I appeal to Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat to engage and compete in wide-ranging policy debates wherein options are considered through a process of effective public consultation and wherein the public will be part of this journey.

At the next general election, the government, with its superior resources, will be judged against the strengths of its ideas and delivery results whereas the opposition will be judged by the extent to which it can demonstrate vision and new policy ideas that are well thought through and costed.

There is no more time to waste; let the battle for ideas commence!