When Eddie Fenech Adami, then leader of the Opposition, used to accuse Dom Mintoff and his successor, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, of institutionalised corruption he was making a statementof fact only the politically blinkered dared challenge.
Corruption was present in practically everything, from land speculation that made people, including senior politicians, millionaires overnight to the purchase of a colour TV set or the installation of a landline.
To add insult to injury, the supposed forces of law and order failed miserably and were rendered impotent. Attempts were also made to emasculate the citizens’ ultimate shield against injustice of whatever type when, in 1981, a law was passed restricting court scrutiny of government action. It was only thanks to the bold resistance of courageous members of the judiciary and of the legal profession that it did not succeed. Thirty years later and another Labour administration, this time led by Joseph Muscat, is upping the ante. Whether he realises it or not he is risking corrupting the country’s system of government.
In a draft working paper titled ‘The principle of good governance’, two legal researchers (Nupur Chowdhury and Corinne Elizabeth Skarstedt) noted that “in general, good governance is perceived as a normative principle of administrative law, which obliges the State to perform its functions in a manner that promotes the values of efficiency, non-corruptibility and responsiveness to civil society… It is therefore a principle that is largely associatedwith statecraft”.
Larry Jay Diamond, political sociologist and leading contemporary scholar in the field of democracy studies,noted in a lecture in 2005 that goodgovernance has several dimensions: the capacity of the State to function in the service of the public good; commitment to the public good; transparency, the openness of State business and conduct to the scrutiny of other State actors and of the public; accountability; and the rule of law.
Governance, Prof. Diamond pointed out, can only be good when it is restrained by the law. That is precisely the point the people of this country should be asking: is Dr Muscat demonstrating he is fully aware of the restrictions imposed on him by law in the way he is governing the country? Evidence points to the contrary.
He often behaves like Superman, flying in to remedy a situation and then out again. Nothing wrong in that per se, but Dr Muscat needs to realise there are parameters he must respect, promote and champion as Prime Minister. These are set by law, best practice, norms, ethics, standards and so on. This is not to say that we should shy away from change just because ‘we have always done it this way’, but there are standards that are compulsory ina healthy democracy where the rule of law prevails.
It would be suicidal for Dr Muscat to think that the huge popular support he won in the last general election is some sort of carte blanche to do as he pleases with impunity.
He must already be realising that the many pre-election promises he and his party made are haunting him. Indeed, several of the ‘somersaults’ he is performing now must have been forced upon him by those pledges.
Good governance makes specific and clear demands on those running a country. A prime minister corrupts that at his own peril.