This year’s Budget has endorsed a strong welfare state, lubricated by solidarity, economic stability and growth, even in the face of an unprecedented international recession, and engineered by a solid educational system, a resilient employment sector and a social market economic philosophy. It is the result of sound, responsible decisions and choices, taken over the years.
As the Prime Minister declared in parliament, we have done a lot, but much still remains to be done.
The political environment conducive to this social and economic progress is our parliamentary democracy based on checks and balances between parliament, the administration and the courts. But it also relies on a continuous, unbroken link from the people to Parliament, a link from free civil society to effective accountable government, of which political parties are an essential pivot.
Parliament is not an institution for MPs. It belongs to the people. It is the highest, most representative forum of discussion; it legislates , controls and scrutinises the executive. MPs, while owing allegiance and loyalty to their party, are ultimately representatives of the people, hence the supremacy of parliament and the constitution.
Thus, Parliament requires adequate autonomy, facilities and resources to fulfil its fundamental role, a change in parliamentary procedure, radical amendments to the outdated standing orders, live-streaming of debates, a more informative and user-friendly website, and a pool of researchers assisting MPs to prepare better quality speeches, all contributing to parliament’s dignity.
Parliament also consists of the President. The appointment of the state’s highest office, which currently only requires a simple majority, needs amendment, as not even a quorum is needed. One could contemplate a two-thirds majority requirement, failing which an absolute majority would suffice, even in a second round, rather than a simple majority.
However, by far the most pressing issue of our parliamentary democracy concerns political parties and their funding.
Lack of transparency and accountability have a corrosive impact on public trust in politics. It also breaks a pivotal link connecting voters to their representatives.
The matter had surfaced in the 1995 Galdes report commissioned by then Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami’s administration, but nothing has materialised from the report or the ensuing debate. In May 2008 the matter featured in the President’s opening address to Parliament delineating the government’s legislative programme.
Regulatory frameworks of party financing vary widely, from comprehensive restrictions on donations and heavy dependency on state funding in mainland Europe, to the US’s restriction of donations but not expenditure, to Canada’s capping of expenditure and a ‘mixed system’ of public and private funding.
In Britain, for example, a new regulatory framework was established by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (2000) based on disclosure requirements of donations and loans to national parties in excess of £7,500, restrictions on sources of income, capping national expenditure in elections and entrusting enforcement to the Electoral Commission.
However, even there, the need for further reform has been felt. So the Committee on Standards in Public Life recently launched a public consultation paper as part of a full inquiry, and will report by mid-2011. On September 9, UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced inter-party talks will start immediately after the report.
A recent report, ‘Funding Political Parties in Great Britain: a Pathway to Reform’, by an independent agency, Democratic Audit, while underlining “public hostility and party reticence” to state financing, lists five principles as guidelines for reform: establishing fairness, respecting the diversity of parties, promoting public engagement in politics, restoring public confidence, and achieving sustainability, which could be relevant to eventual local legislation.
The viability and electoral success of political parties should not depend on wealthy donors but on their public appeal, on their ability to expand membership, and their creativity in devising legitimate means of raising money.
However, the Democratic Audit document links the reliance on big donations to a steep decline in party membership, together with a change from activist to professional campaigns in response to the media and communications revolution. The Committee on Standards in Public Life document asks about the reason for falling membership (public engagement) and the consequent effect on finances.
Party funding legislation is urgently needed, taking the 1995 Galdes report as a point of reference, while also looking at other countries’ experience too, aiming at incremental regulation and adjusting the initial legislation’s loopholes and shortcomings.
Dr Debono is a Nationalist MP and parliamentary assistant in the Office of the Prime Minister.