On the 40th anniversary of the republic, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat made some interesting observations in this newspaper that deserve consideration.
He picked up on a theme chosen by Irish President Michael Higgins “on a new form of trust built on a meaningful form of citizenship appropriate for a republic” and expounded his own thinking on it, bringing up arguments along the way that were fitting to the occasion being marked.
Clearly, Dr Muscat did not wish to be controversial. In the way he crafted his thoughts, he made an effort to appear as non-political as possible and to strike a national chord. However, even though he is Prime Minister, it is somewhat difficult for a politically-aggressive type of politician to draw national appeal as he is usually still too confrontational.
There is another problem: the theme he chose for his message is not exactly one that could draw national backing either as his political opponents would undoubtedly expect the Prime Minister and his government to lead by example.
Dr Muscat said that the Irish President was “inviting us to rewrite the republic we inherited for a future in which trust at all levels gels the nation. Let us re-public our form of government, I hear him saying.”
This sounds great on paper but trust is not built overnight.
When, for example, Dr Muscat said before the general election that meritocracy would be one of his party’s guiding lights if it were to be elected, the electorate believed him. Uncommitted voters longed for a time when political parties in government would stop blatantly favouring people from their own political camps for a range of posts.
While it is generally acceptable for parties to appoint their own people to positions of trust when they are elected to government, rampant nepotism usually creates division and also perpetuates a tribal mentality.
Dr Muscat’s government has not honoured the trust placed in it by the electorate in this regard.
Leaving a few Nationalists in their posts in no way served to alter the fact that, contrary to what it had promised before the election, Labour has done exactly what other administrations had done before it. His government has therefore directly contributed to the erosion of trust in the administration and, also, in politicians.
It is said that trust is earned when everyone’s interests are considered and respected. How can those who have been elbowed out of their jobs just because they are of a different political colour trust the government? Trust will only gel a nation if it is reciprocated.
Although, as Dr Muscat said, Malta has no ethnic, linguistic, religious, regional or cultural divisions, political divisions are still strong. Thankfully, the political climate has changed greatly from that of years gone by but outright nepotism is still one of the most harmful effects of political divisiveness. Some would even say we still live in two republics. This may sound like an exaggeration but not to those directly affected by government decisions.
It is difficult to restore trust once it is shattered as experience has shown in the case of the judiciary. Trust also needs to be fully restored in the police force following incidents that have badly shaken confidence in it. And politicians need to see how they can win the kind of trust they ought to have as representatives of the people.
For trust to gel the nation, it has first to be reciprocal at all levels.