Last week, the Daily Telegraph called for the resignation of Lord Sewel from the House of Lords. It said: “One of the glories of the British Constitution is that it is not about a literalist reading of texts and rules. It depends on people following written and even unspoken principles. We do the right thing because it is right, and not because it is written. There are thus no written definitions of honour or honourable conduct. We simply know it when we see it.”
The newspaper also pointed out that by clinging to his seat, Sewel would risk bringing the whole House into disrepute. In a similar vein, the UK Times said that “if he genuinely believes in protecting his institution” he should resign immediately.
Lord Sewel eventually bowed to pressure and resigned, acknowledging that his continued membership might “damage and undermine public confidence” in the Upper Chamber. “Better late than never,” said Lord Hill, Britain’s European Commissioner, who was recently involved in drawing up new guidelines on conduct for the House of Lords.
Tricky definitions of ‘honourable behaviour’ aside, the misguided actions of individual MPs create collateral damage. It is not only their own reputation that is at stake, but the standing of the institutions they represent.
Closer to home, calls for the resignation of Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Michael Falzon, are being made. Following the shocking Old Mint Street scandal, his early retirement package has come under scrutiny. In essence, over four years he is earning the equivalent of two full salaries while he is a minister. If he returns to the Bank of Valletta before June 2018, he will revert back to one salary and his previous post.
These are not the usual conditions granted, therefore the media were right to flag the story. The parliamentary secretary’s presentation in Parliament of personal details of former bank colleagues, who are private individuals, in an attempt to save his own skin was unacceptable. The case has also raised data protection questions on how this internal information was obtained.
These scandals could dog Falzon for some time. He will need to weigh up whether they might damage not only his own reputation but that of the entire Cabinet.
Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice in Wonderland, who became so excited that she forgot how to speak good English. Amid this furore about his early retirement package and the Old Mint Street scandal, last week the Parliamentary Secretary for Planning organised a press conference on Natura 2000 sites. The Minister for the Environment was conspicuous by his absence.
These scandals could dog Michael Falzon for some time
The event launched draft management plans for nature parks which clearly fall under the remit of the new Environment Authority currently being hived off from Mepa. These draft plans are the result of a process begun in 2010 and have been ready since last September. Why were they launched now, leaving out Leo Brincat, when he obviously should have been in the lead?
The environment is a difficult portfolio, full of conflicting demands and frayed tempers. These plans are a ray of light in what should be Brincat’s territory. He has been under fire in recent months, and it would have been decent to let him have the stage to announce a bit of good news.
Whatever the underlying reason, it is wrong that the future of Malta’s Natura 2000 sites should be launched and led by the Planning Ministry instead of the Environment Ministry. Frankly this does not look good from any angle, with its symbolic implication that biodiversity is subservient to planning.
In my neck of the woods in Sliema, the spacious grounds of the Carmelite priory in Balluta are among the last green spaces. I hope that the Church is sincere about paying attention to its environmental footprint, as a development application has been submitted to develop part of the convent garden into a large supermarket.
The proposed car entrance for this supermarket is on one of the busiest roads in Sliema, right next to a bend in the street, with traffic lights in constant use by pedestrians, and a bus stop. The traffic situation is already at breaking point there, so this can only make a bad situation worse. I hope that the people at Transport Malta have their heads screwed on and will explain to the Mepa board that this is not the place for an entrance to a supermarket car park.
A petition opposing this development is doing the rounds and many people are seriously concerned.
The Jesuits did a good job of fending off unacceptable development near their Mount St Joseph complex in Mosta. Are we to understand that the Carmelites will encourage the exact opposite in their own garden in Sliema?
In his recent environmental encyclical ‘Laudate si’, Pope Francis quotes St Francis of Assisi who “asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty.”
It would be wonderful if the Church in Malta follows this direction by planting more flowers in their garden at Balluta, instead of covering it with concrete and filling the air with more pollution. They would set a great example to us all.
petracdingli@gmail.com