The more the previous government boasted that we were performing economically far better than other EU countries, even if this hypothetically proved to be true, the more it confirms the urgent need for change that the Maltese people felt last March when the island went to the polls.
It all boils down to the fact that people wanted change not for change’s sake but rather because they had had their fill of arrogance and lack of good governance.
While the Opposition does not seem to have learnt any lessons from the symptoms and causes of its major defeat, having stuck to a negative mode in spite of various public statements to offer constructive criticism, it would be a gross mistake were we to gloss over the causes of the former government’s downfall.
Those who argue that bridging a 36,000 gap is well nigh impossible in one legislature and that two legislatures in a row are almost a foregone conclusion for this administration can only breed complacency and the seeds of its own downfall.
Since Maltese society is so close to developments in neighbour countries, particularly Italy with whom we have always had privileged and strategically close relations in most key areas, we cannot turn a blind eye to the dramatic turn of events that have been unfolding there. Having said this, I am inclined to attribute it more to the system than to any particular individuals.
Many political analysts and observers, and even politicians (local ones included) would be committing a big mistake were they to ignore the excellent book Good Italy, Bad Italy that Bill Emmott wrote some time back. I understand that he also turned his findings into a riveting TV programme.
He gave an excellent account of how normal politics was suspended, and with the support of the main political parties, a technical government had been installed in November 2011 in the hope of launching a reform programme, mainly for the economy but also for political institutions, including the electoral system, the various layers of local government and the justice system.
In Malta, it is a feather in this administration’s cap that in the few days that it has been running the country it has already legislated and set in motion measures that will enhance the mechanisms for good governance among Maltese society. I am convinced of its commitment to ensure that these mechanisms will work as they were originally intended to do. Giving the country – rather than just the government in power – tools it had long been denied. Some claim by default while others argue by design too.
The undoing of the Italian system was that the government inherited a spider’s web of favours and patronage, together with a concentration of media power that was left in too few hands.
Our biggest challenge in the coming months and years is that, while reviving the economy and stimulating economic growth, we need to avoid any distracted attention from the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of Malta’s systems.
We need to avoid any distracted attention from the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of Malta’s systems
Elliott made one important point: other people’s sicknesses do not make you any healthier. No matter what the ‘doctored’ post-electoral analysis might have revealed, what had worried me most about the former administration in Malta is that it remained in denial until the very end, at least publicly and visibly.
According to Emmott, it is 20 years of neglect and complacency that have put Italy in the situation in which it found itself. A country’s biggest ills are those that reflect the loss of its moral compass.
When one talks of the dark or bad side of any country this can best be compared to a parasite, or worse, a cancer. It is not a cancer that spreads and kills quickly, but one that grows bit by bit, gradually weakening its host.
This administration is doing well to look at the positive side of the nation, to try and see what it might amount to, and to think and act in a manner that shows its commitments to make it stronger. To succeed we need to have shared objectives and a shared set of values.
Best practices should be introduced in all sectors, both the problematic ones as well as those that might ostensibly seem to be risk free.
What the author found most shocking was that certain key politicians have anaesthetised their people to each successive outrage. In situations like these, countries need innovators, willing to disrupt the old ways of doing things. To do otherwise will come at a stiff political price.
A recently disgraced politician in Italy had claimed many times to be a liberal and a moderniser, but in reality he turned out to be a protector of the status quo. Any government would do well to look at how institutions like Transparency International happen to monitor them.
One gross mistake the former government did was to ignore this institution’s findings and dismiss them as mere perceptions. The onus is now on us to pass the test. I am confident that we can and should.
The worst thing that can happen to a country is for scandals to blow in, like storm clouds, and the rain they release feels torrential for a while, only for them to eventually pass and become easily forgotten.
Roberto Saviano often spoke of the macchina del fango, or mud machine, that was used to shoot down critics. Malta has had more than its fair share of this, particularly during the months leading up to the last elections.
The undoing of the Italian political class was that politics in modern Italy was not always, or even mostly, about winning elections for the party or implementing any policy agenda, but rather a matter of personal gain and the personal accretion of power.
This is why one cannot compromise with such ways and methods. I am confident that this government in Malta has all the ingredients to not only spark off a one-off adjustment but rather a programme of long-term change.
To do so, we need all the support we can muster, as well as to lead by example. I am convinced that the political will does exist.
brincat.leo@gmail.com
Leo Brincat is the Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.