In Malta we often hear it said that the culture of resignations is non-existent. And at first sight this is blatantly true. As a people, on the whole we accept and have always accepted anything without much of a whimper and when resignations are called for there is hardly a public outcry. We should feel empowered to change this status quo.

There have been occasions when this theory about resignations was proven false. Maybe they are not too numerous but some people do act as exemplars of what the act of resignation is all about. Because a resignation, per se, should not be only the end result of a misdemeanour.

Let’s do what common sense requires and study some incidents in the recent and less recent past.

When Chris Said was a minister in the PN administration he fell under a cloud and was charged in court with perjury. He resigned, as all men and women of stature should always do in these circumstances. But he resigned not because any misdemeanour was proved or because he was found guilty; he resigned to be in a better position to clear his name. That is the main reason for resignations.

Said was then charged in court not as a government minister but as a normal man in the street. He defended himself, was acquitted of all accusations and was subsequently, once cleared, handed back his ministerial portfolio. His resignation meant that during the compilation of the case he did not remain part of the Cabinet which appoints magistrates and judges and gives promotions to members of the judiciary. His ministerial position would have been wrong on all counts till he was cleared. He did the honourable and right thing.

The same can be said of a few others who resigned to clear their name: Samuel Azzopardi, Joe Cassar, Giovanna Debono from the PN side and from the same political divide, but quite some time ago, Lawrence Gatt had resigned. Charles Mangion from the Labour camp had also stepped aside when the least whiff of a scandal surrounded them. They all moved out – to clear their name and not to cast a shadow on the government or opposition, whichever they belonged to. That was what honour demanded of them.

Yet, as with all things going belly up in these last years, the art of resignation has completely disappeared. Everyone in the present Labour administration – from top to bottom – seems to just want to forget the very word resignation and hang on to their seat of power come what may.

Everyone in the present Labour administration –from top to bottom – seems to just want to forget the very word resignation and hang on to their seat of power come what may

Common sense tells us that, faced with a multitude of accusations connected to the Panama Papers, Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, the bungled-up compilation of evidence in connection to her brutal murder, the Daphne Project and many other scandals and blatant abuse of power that has come to light, there should have been numerous resignations. If for no other reason, at least so that the name of the people involved would be cleared and confirmed as clean, as was the case before the accusations surfaced.

These shadows and accusations are hardly lightweight ones; they strike straight at what we all value most – life, the rule of law, freedom of speech, faith in our most important institutions and democracy itself.

Nobody resigned to clear their name. Nobody resigned because these misdeeds and obvious misdeeds happened under their watch.

Nobody stepped aside and waited for time and proven facts to heal the problem – heal it properly not just by papering over.

That would have been the sane way, the way of honour, but honour, like common sense, is rather hard to find in this land of ours.

We do not seem to realise the long-term harm that is being inflicted on this country by delivering too much power into the hands of the few – who always happen to be the political parties in power.

If the power of choosing the judiciary, police commissioner, financial guarantors and other pivotal institutions was not vested solely in the prime minister and ministers, the culture of non-resignation would not have such deleterious effects as it has and is having on this island.

Common sense dictates a new spirit with people in power accepting that power comes with an important caveat – that it is never absolute. That there are proper checks and balances and that if anything is abused of, those safeguards mean you have to move out and clear your name, if at all possible.

Either we let common sense lead us or we must resign ourselves to the fact that the parties and their close buddies will enjoy more power while the man and woman in the street will enjoy less freedom.

Compiled and written by a team of people who believe in CommonSense. E-mail them on maltacommonsense@gmail.com or see more of what they believe here: www.facebook.com/maltacommonsense/