Malta’s institutions are passing through a difficult moment. Parliament is not enjoying the high esteem it used to have before; the judiciary has not yet recovered from the shocking bribery cases that had also involved the chief justice; the office of the Ombudsman, a very important constitutional set-up, had to face a challenge from the same minister that the Prime Minister has just kicked out of Cabinet for failing to do his duty properly in a shooting incident involving his driver; and the police force has once again shown very serious weaknesses.
Why have we reached such a stage? What exactly is happening to competence, ethical behaviour, moral values, uprightness, and propriety? Why are there so many irregularities today? In the normal course of life, impropriety is likely to surface now and again, but it is worrying when this starts to become widespread.
In the aftermath of the shooting incident involving the driver of the former home affairs minister – who ought to have immediately accepted political responsibility and stepped down rather than waited to be sacked – the country is faced with an overall picture that is not pleasant at all.
Of course, there are other parts of the institutional set-up that are still looked upon with respect, such as the Office of the President, but vital organs of the State are creaking due to a partisan approach that is eroding the country’s moral fibre.
The attempt by certain individuals to cover up the incident involving the driver of a former Cabinet minister is just one example of what can happen in such a situation. In the eyes of the people, the harm this has done to the image of the police force and of politicians is incalculable, for it will be taken as the way powerful people in State organs are apt to wriggle out of uncomfortable situations.
This is no light matter and, rather than indulging in political insults against each other, as politicians are constantly doing right now, they ought to be the first to start seeing how this situation can be reversed.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat hardly chose his words wisely when, after sacking his home affairs minister, he said that this was the start of a culture of accountability.
Was accountability not one of the promises that helped him win the election? Does this mean he did not even think about it in the months he has been in power?
For a culture of accountability to take root, politicians, in and out of government, have to be accountable for their actions all the time, not when it suits them or when they are forced to, either by demand from their superiors or from a legal authority.
This is a slow process that has to be nursed and nourished. With its approach to appointments across the board, this government, like its predecessor, has continued to erode the key element that enhances confidence – trust. Political tribalism, the source of so much discontent under every administration, is still flourishing and, despite declarations to the contrary, there does not appear to be any willingness to reverse the trend.
The country needs politicians who are courageous enough to steer a new course, to really work in the best interests of the country rather than to seek prominence and, as in the case of some, to line their pockets.
The country needs to breathe some fresh air.