Upon taking office as Leader of the Opposition, Simon Busuttil embarked on a programme of strength and renewal, perhaps unequal on the local scene. New party leaders have, and are always expected to bring about change.
But Busuttil has, without qualms, initiated reforms that are set to rattle the status quo. Naturally, change has a cost. A leader knows first-hand that doing the right thing may not please some people. So plucking up courage to take assertive (even unpopular) action is what defines who a leader really is.
It has only been a few weeks since the start of the new year, yet the PN leader has risen to the occasion with decisive thinking, firm action and good judgement. Busuttil is now conceiving a new way of doing politics; doing the right thing whatever the cost, upping the ante on public standards and accountability.
So I was surprised at Martin Scicluna’s opinion piece ‘Boldness in politics’ (Times of Malta, February 4), which criticised Busuttil’s lack of courage in taking a stand against spring hunting. Scicluna argued that seeking a derogation in 2003 was a necessary presentational step to ensure the overriding strategic objective of securing Malta’s entry into Europe. He implied that Busuttil, as one of the negotiators who worked tirelessly to obtain a hunting derogation, was only doing so to deceive the local hunting community in order to win their vote in the EU referendum. Nothing could be further than the truth.
On this issue, Busuttil has shown honesty and consistency. Had the PN leader taken a stand against spring hunting, the justified criticism would have been that he could not be trusted. Scicluna knows very well that politicians breaking pledges constitutes a malpractice many may have become complacent with. The PN leader is breaking away from this trend, and he is earning respect for it. A new way of doing politics is futile if not translated into action.
One thing is for sure, and Scicluna misses this in his analysis. Unlike the Prime Minister, Busuttil did not, prior to the election, enter into any backroom deals with the hunting lobby to ease enforcement. His position with respect to the referendum was not compromised as a result of electoral vote-grabbing opportunism, but as a result of political consistency, akin of the leadership stature he commands.
This brings me to another episode that dominated the past few weeks: the shift of the Valletta hawkers to Ordnance Street, right next to the new House of Representatives.
Busuttil has made it clear that a new PN government will relocate the hawkers to a place that is more advantageous to all. In what transpires to be another pre-electoral backroom deal, the Prime Minister acquiesced to the hawkers’ demands and accepted to relocate them right next the new Parliament building.
The PN leader has risen to the occasion with decisive thinking, firm action and good judgement
I will not speculate on whether Muscat has done this out of spite for Renzo Piano’s project; I hope he would never succumb to such foolishness. But for the time being, we will have to get used gaining access to our capital city by roaming through people negotiating prices and hawkers pitching their sales. Visiting dignitaries will have to get used to this too.
The commodification of citizenship is now followed by the commodifiction of land. Is nothing ‘sacred’ anymore? Truly a sorry state.
In the recent HSBC Swiss Leaks story, which has taken many by storm, the Leader of Opposition has shown and exercised real leadership. High-profile people at the national and international level have been named as having taken advantage of a tax haven regime. Busuttil has once again been blunt and clear. No party member, if involved, will find refuge in the party. Anyone associated will be suspended by the party until his or her name is cleared. Once again, standards are being set and met by the PN leader.
Busuttil is showing that the heavy deficit in Parliament is not hindering the party’s effectiveness in any way. On the contrary, he has relentlessly fought campaigns to restore public trust in politics and national institutions. The new Commissioner for Public Standards is an initiative put forward by the Leader of the Opposition in an effort to increase transparency in our representatives. Honourability is not just acquired at the polls, but earned and sustained all throughout the legislature.
In this respect, Busuttil is leading by example. Surprisingly (or perhaps not so much), rather than supporting such acts of norms and legality, the Prime Minister questioned Busuttil’s judgement of suspending those mentioned by the leaks. What’s behind the Prime Minister’s declaration? The electorate has a right to know.
Boldness and bravery, as one can see, are not rare qualities in Busuttil. It has only taken a few weeks to reassert and reaffirm the Leader of the Opposition’s audacity in decision-making. As a result, new standards in public life are being set in Malta.
Hermann Schiavone is a PN candidate at the next general election.