The first 100 days of a political party in office set out the underlying tone for the entire legislature. In these first crucial weeks, the electorate will have looked towards the new Labour Government with hope and expectation. This is especially so when one considers Joseph Muscat’s well-orchestrated electoral campaign and the messages it was founded on.
It is the precise tone that a new Labour Government was expected to set that has been most disappointing
Muscat promised us all that standards of governance would be improved, that all appointments would be based on merit and that a new Government would change and get its priorities right. Hand on heart, can you say that these commitments have been honoured in the first 100 days of a new Labour Government?
In our view, it is the precise tone that a new Labour Government was expected to set that has been most disappointing. All too often, Muscat has shown that he is willing to lower standards of conduct in the name of political expedience. That is the greatest cause for concern.
This is not to say that there haven’t been pockets of work that have been positive in these first 100 days.
For starters, we support the pilot project initiated by the Ministry of Education in the field of co-education. This marks a continuation of the line of policy which had been planned in the previous legislature and we have no doubt that it is the way forward in State education.
Secondly, we have backed legislation which recognises the right to marry for transgender people. The legislation introduced in 2004 that granted transgender people the possibilty to change their birth certificate sex to their acquired sex did not go far enough. Put simply, the Nationalist Party was wrong in its treatment of the Joanne Cassar case when faced with conflicting judgments by our courts over her right to marry. We promise to keep Cassar’s story in mind whenever we discuss similar policy issues and proposals.
Indeed, it is our objective as the new PN leadership to be constructive in Opposition, to be more sensitive to the needs of the people and all the while, to continue to provide real alternatives for our country’s progress. It is also with this in mind that we have declared our intention to vote in favour of the first seven legislative bills presented by the Government.
It is therefore truly unfortunate that these positive pockets of work have been overshadowed by an overwhelming disregard for standards of conduct in government, foremost by the Prime Minister.
Is it too much to expect our ministers and parliamentary secretaries to abide by their own code of ethics? Over these past 100 days, we have been inundated with instances where ministers and parliamentary secretaries have continued to exercise their private practice in flagrant breach of ethical standards.
Foremost of these is the case of Franco Mercieca, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly, who continued carrying out routine eye operations rather than serving his new public role, bagging €3,600 in one single morning. We now call on Mercieca to declare his private practice earnings during the first 100 days of the Labour Government during which he was paid a state salary to serve full-time as a parliamentary secretary. This is a matter of public interest.
Is it too much to expect that a new Labour Government abides by its promise to instill meritocracy at all levels? Let’s not forget that Muscat was elected on the platform of Malta Tagħna Lkoll, basing his discourse on the pledge to work with everyone, even those who do not agree with him.
Yet, since day one, Muscat has gone on a veritable rampage in the civil service, axing permanent secretaries and even attempting to dispose of individuals who are fulfilling a constitutional role like the members of the Broadcasting Authority and the Governor of the Central Bank.
The Prime Minister has evidently given his go-ahead to the vindictive transfers taking place at all levels, including in hospitals and elderly homes, where the casualties are patients and the elderly; and most recently, with the announcement of a shake-up to the diplomatic corps, including the recall of career diplomats who are, by definition, loyal bureaucrats.
In their place, Muscat has discarded meritocracy and chosen to promote individuals who featured in Labour billboards during the electoral campaign. You know who they are.
And thirdly, is it too much to expect that a new Labour Government gets its priorities right? In the first 100 days, the Government has spent more time granting amnesties to pay for votes and discussing multiple carnivals than job creation, economic growth and healthcare. All the while, our country has been forced under the spotlight of the European Commission with the opening of an Excessive Deficit Procedure that could and should have been avoided.
While the Prime Minister found more than enough money to create an oversized Cabinet, he chose to discontinue the Emergency Service at St James Hospital and has now announced that he will not immediately launch chemotherapy services in Gozo.
By choosing to discard standards and ethical conduct, its pledge of meritocracy and a clear sense of priorities, the Labour Government has set an unfortunate tone for this new legislature.
Is this what you expected of Malta Tagħna Lkoll?
Simon Busuttil is leader of the Nationalist Party, Mario de Marco is deputy leader for parliamentary affairs and Beppe Fenech Adami is deputy leader for party affairs.