I waver in my attitude to my country between love and scorn. Today is a day for scorn. The anti-Spring hunting referendum was a test of Maltese civic responsibility. That the vote removing a bad law from the statute books has failed is a dire reflection on Malta’s political immaturity. The barbarians won.

There can be no solutions to social, economic, environmental and political problems in Malta that do not involve civil society exercising its rights in pursuit of the common good. The abrogative referendum represented the ultimate expression of the role of civil society in telling our politicians in an irrevocable manner that the derogation granted by successive governments has proved wrong in principle and objectionable in practice.

Malta’s only test of direct democracy has failed. This country deserves the bad governments it gets.

For better or worse, the referendum on hunting is now behind us.

The results of the 34 local council elections are still to come. What matters here is whether there will be any political movement between the Labour government and the Opposition Nationalists.

The numbers to watch are: 19 Labour, 14 Nationalist and 1 hung local council went to the polls. Will the results show any swing from Labour to PN? With three years to the general election, what will they mean for Prime Minister Muscat and Opposition leader Busuttil?

Two years after his landslide victory in the general election, the shine has gone off Muscat’s promises. It has been a roller coaster two years of some notable achievements, as well as some of the worst governance and administration that I have witnessed in the last 20 years.

One of the most common complaints about political leaders is that the deals they make are invariably sleazy or shoddy because they involve sacrificing their principles. They are willing to do this because their primary interest is to remain in power.

The point, however, is that Muscat was convincingly elected promising to change that. He promised that “For us, Malta… does not belong to a clique. Malta does not belong to…a particular party. That time has gone. This is the promise I make to you. That your country is going to be yours. You may not agree with us, but you can work with us.”

Even allowing for the intrinsic need to compromise in politics, Muscat broke his promises on meritocracy from day one of his election, not simply by tinkering here and there with some top posts but by sweeping away virtually every senior appointment in the civil service and every top post in the Armed Forces of Malta, the Police Force and almost every public entity.

“We are the masters now,” with its arrogant implications, appears to be the overriding mantra of this government. And it is an extremely worrying concern in a government that was overwhelmingly elected on a platform of changing the polarising mind-set of Maltese politics with a promise that individuals in society should be treated not on the colour of their politics, but on what contribution they can offer to Malta.

After two years, Malta Tagħna lkoll represents a major betrayal of trust which will haunt Muscat up to the next election and beyond. The lesson to learn is that political ambition being wielded by Muscat on this scale should be tempered by the overriding imperative to serve the people if it is not to become utterly toxic.

It has been a roller coaster two years of some notable achievements, as well as some of the worst governance and administration that I have witnessed in the last 20 years

Elected leaders with a relatively large majority should not become autocratic rulers. Electoral might is not always right. Popularly elected leaders cannot govern as they please. But Muscat has certainly tried to do so. And, consequently, public trust has been eroded.

Public trust in government after the Oil-gate scandals and cases of corruption of the last PN government should have been rebuilt. It has not. Promoting transparency, accountability and openness are essential to building trust in government. This government has failed to do that.

There have been niggling abuses of power: for example, the expansion of positions of trust; involvement of Members of Parliament in executive roles; appointment of a patently unqualified “soldier of steel” to a sensitive job in Brussels and another unqualified person to organise the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting; and shameful pre-electoral promises to the Monti hawkers, hunters and others.

As to the more serious aspects of poor governance, the government’s appalling performance on the environment must take centre stage with an environmental planning picture which remains organisationally abandoned and a planning authority letting the construction industry have its head.

The reports by the Auditor General on the Café Premier deal and the Socar hedging agreement with Azerbaijan leave an unpleasant whiff hanging in the air.

The sale of Australia House is similarly unsavoury. The question marks over individual ministers’ registers of interests and other incidents involving ministers or their partners also serve to undermine trust in the integrity and honesty of those we have elected to govern us.

Muscat’s two years in government have been marked by poor governance, a lack of transparency and accountability and an impression that turning a blind eye to blatant acts of lawlessness can be condoned. While these do not seem to have undermined his public support, they could come back to bite him in three years’ time.

What about the achievements? Despite inept governance, there have been many. The vigour and drive of this government compared with its lame-duck predecessor cannot be questioned.

The economy has gone from strength to strength. Inheriting a good economy from PN, but making it even better.

The deficit is under control, unemployment is down, employment is at record levels. Affluence (with some serious pockets of poverty) is all around us. There are still major elephant traps lying in wait, such as a Greek exit from the Eurozone and the future viability of Air Malta. But, overall, the sun is shining on Malta’s economic prospects.

Secondly, despite the broken promise over the new gas power station, the energy picture has been transformed. Charges have been dramatically reduced. The massive public debt built up through years of inefficiency over several decades by Enemalta has been reduced. The interconnector with Sicily has been completed.

Thirdly, major steps are being taken to improve Malta’s judiciary with a root and branch plan for improvements being put in hand after decades of inactivity in this crucial field. It remains to be seen whether the government can exercise the political will to overcome well-embedded vested interests.

Taken together with the introduction of Civil Unions and other important social improvements, such as the Gender Identity law, free child care and new drug laws, long-awaited social change is being implemented. The health sector is about to be transformed with the arrival of Barts in Gozo, the revival of St Luke’s Hospital and a new private hospital at Smart City.

What, therefore, is the current state of Maltese politics? Despite the pratfalls and broken promises, a clear majority of the electorate has established a social bond with Muscat.

He is a youthful leader who promised a more modern country and a new politics. Expectations in him were over-inflated. But the bubble has not burst yet, making the failure of Busuttil to connect with the electorate the more marked.

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