It takes courage for a politician who has yet to celebrate his first anniversary in parliament to publicly challenge a system that is based on clientelism, nepotism and cronyism. Hence, kudos to Labour MP Oliver Scicluna.
In a Facebook post, he declared: “I am writing this publicly because I am offended every time somebody seeking my help approaches me with a vote-for-favours mentality. They forget I entered politics to work for a just society in the true sense of the word.”
This is not the first time Scicluna has spoken out publicly about his concerns, though perhaps never so forcefully and clearly.
He had referred to the issue in an opinion piece in this newspaper just three months after being co-opted to parliament. He wrote that, when he used to serve as commissioner for persons with disability, he came across people who went to their MP when he made it clear he would not bend the rules for their sake.
Judging by his latest post, it is evident he still does not like what he sees. Such explicit talk by politicians and even political activists is rare and often quickly shushed up.
A similar daring statement, though on a completely different matter, had been made by another co-opted Labour MP, Clyde Caruana.
Speaking just before presenting his first budget last year, the finance minister said Malta must change its economic model to de-prioritise construction and find new ways of generating growth that do not damage the environment. “We need to change the way we think, we need to change the way our economy works,” he had remarked.
That did not go down well with the construction lobby, even if he made it amply clear he was not saying construction should stop. So, was there need for the prime minister to come forward to reassure the industry about its future? That explains why public statements such as Scicluna’s sound bold.
His attempt to draw attention to the issue of patronage, and perhaps provoke some discussion about it, is a rare breath of fresh air in a political climate choked with the pollution of self-interest. We urge Scicluna to continue hammering home the message.
It will take much more than that, though, to shake the political parties into raising standards. Little has come from the statement by Caruana, or from the stand taken by Labour activist Desmond Zammit Marmarà when he called on Robert Abela to disassociate himself from Joseph Muscat.
Scicluna said it well when he declared in his Facebook post that he will not get used to things that by now have been taken for granted.
Likewise, he was correct when he wrote in his opinion piece that “it would be utterly shortsighted of us to simply go on the media and complain about ‘their’ past ways in order to excuse ‘our’ current ways”, adding that tu quoque (you too) debates are a no-go to him.
Scicluna’s statement casts a fleeting spotlight on a national malaise that urgently needs to be acted upon.
Clientelism and nepotism gave birth to the monster of corruption that has now blighted the country. Could one dare hope that this idealistic politician’s appeal becomes a seed of change in the corrupt culture of granting political favours, big or small?
The politicians know well that it is not the electoral system that is to blame for the entrenchment of this culture in the Maltese mentality but their blatant, disgraceful, ever-growing abuse of the power of incumbency to feed their greed for more power.
Politics has become rotten to the core. But people like Scicluna deserve every vote they get.