Hardly anyone would have been surprised by the Ombudsman’s disappointment over the government’s lack of transparency and accountability.
Maladministration and rising corruption have dragged the country’s moral standards down to the lowest level ever. Corruption surfaces in any administration everywhere. What distinguishes one administration from another is the extent to which the governing party and the country’s institutions, including the police, are prepared to fight it by taking prompt action, without fear or favour.
Most of all, good governance and high moral standards are best promoted through examples set by those in power. Joseph Muscat’s government, elected on platforms of transparency, accountability and meritocracy, has made an absolute mockery of the very three basic values it had undertaken to uphold.
Not only has it chosen to disregard its own undertakings, but worse, it has itself set the worst possible example by whitewashing or defending its own misdeeds through a haughty attitude that diametrically negates all that it stood for.
That is the crux of the whole argument. The way it struggles to reduce the gravity of faults in governance, even at the very top of the administration, is most disturbing, heightening the causes for the upsurge in national concern about the steady decline in moral values and lack of trust in politicians.
The remarks made by the Ombudsman support this national concern but, judging by the government’s past reaction to criticism over its lack of transparency and accountability, it is unlikely that the country will see any improvement in the short time that remains before this legislature comes to an end. Maladministration has become embedded in the governing party’s psyche.
Clearly angered by the lack of cooperation from the government, the Ombudsman reflected the feelings of most people when he said that transparency and accountability could not remain slogans to be used for political or partisan convenience. They were values that needed to be translated into real, tangible criteria that could guarantee good governance.
His office was facing reluctance and, on occasion, even refusal, by the government in giving the information it requires, notwithstanding the wide powers the Ombudsman has at law to exact the information. This is a direct affront not only to the office of the Ombudsman but also to the people. A political party is entrusted by the people to govern on its behalf in the country’s interest, not in that of the political organisation or of its members.
The Opposition party is not free of blame when it comes to transparency and allegations of corruption either but its overall past and present record is far from being as robust as that of the Labour government.
Labour has lost the moral high ground it pretended to occupy when it contested the last election. It will not reclaim back one millimetre of it before it gives evidence of a willingness to reverse its attitude and, with an election round the corner, there is not enough time now to cleanse its record. It is essentially a problem of its own making.
As the economy passes through an exciting economic cycle, the country is also experiencing, mainly thanks to the Labour government, the sharpest decline in moral standards ever.