Comparing the Cabinetsof ministers

A comparison between Italy’s and Malta’s Cabinets of ministers is doing the rounds. It is being claimed that Italy has 12 Ministers. This is not the case; indeed it is an obfuscation of facts.

At the moment of writing, the Letta Government is made up of 22 ministers and one undersecretary: the president and vice-president of the Council, eight ministers wihout a portfolio, 12 ministers with a portfolio, and an Undersecretary of State.

There were moments when Italy needed more people at the top. For instance, when it resigned in 2011, the Berlusconi IV government had 63 Cabinet members.

The subsequent (Monti) government had more than 50 Cabinet members: ministers, vice-ministers and Undersecretaries of State.

The comparison is therefore factually wrong.

Then again, the comparison was wrong from its inception. Should the composition of a Cabinet of Ministers be proportionate to the State’s population? This is patently absurd.

There are certain functions which have to be carried out irrespective of the size of the territory and/or population.

If the comparison were acceptable, it would be like saying that a 30-member association should have a smaller committee than a 3,000-member association! It is clear that there are functions which are common to all associations: president, secretary, treasurer, PRO and so on.

To return to the Cabinet of ministers, the number of Cabinet ministers does not depend on the size of the country but on the vastness of the work to be done. So whereas Malta (23) and Italy (22) have the same number of ministers, the Italians usually add more undersecretaries and vice-ministers to cope with the pressures of government.