Outgoing President George Vella could not bring to a successful end his mission to hold a constitutional convention having the people’s input.
Nationalist MP Ivan Bartolo was luckier. He and his team from the Nationalist Party have just organised a successful conference in parliament, which heard directly from those suffering social injustice. It was addressed by members of civil society facing issues such as housing, the widening social gap and homelessness.
Uncharacteristically for a politician, especially after having managed to push through such a commendable initiative, Bartolo opted not to speak. Instead, he observed, listened and, no doubt, noted what action now needs to follow.
Regretfully, the State broadcaster – true to its policy of being solely its political master’s voice and avoiding any sort of embarrassment to the government – only reported what politicians and representatives of constituted bodies said.
The only exception was Isabelle Bonnici, Jean Paul Sofia’s mother. Others – like homeless Ramona Vassallo – did not feature, lost among the “people without housing, pensions and disability”, as the TVM news bulletin put it.
The best people to speak about social issues that, at times, make one’s daily life hell, are, of course, the ones who are suffering, their families and those that work so hard to help them.
As the chorus sings in the musical Evita, “the voice of the people cannot be, and will not be, and must not be denied”. More so if it is the voice of the less fortunate, the most vulnerable, those who suffer the loss of a loved one and lack closure.
Whether the suggestions and the cries for help emanating from the conference will be translated into meaningful action now depends on politicians. One hopes Bartolo and Social Solidarity Minister Michael Falzon will strive to implement the more urgent changes.
Just as important, they can work together, as a cross-party team – Falzon may prefer to delegate another Labour MP due to his cabinet position – to make such initiatives a standard feature of parliamentary work. A good beginning would be to, say, ensure at least two such sessions are held every year, always focusing exclusively on social issues.
They could also lay down some ground rules, like having MPs and constituted bodies attend only as observers, not speakers.
A resolution could also be approved at the end of the conference recommending specific action. That can then be communicated to the parliamentary social affairs committee with an invitation to formalise a course of action, whether in the form of new laws and/or regulations or amendments to existing legislation.
This successful experiment cannot be allowed to simply fizzle out, as, regrettably, happens to similar initiatives. The idea needs to be nurtured and grown. The country’s economy is still going strong notwithstanding all the odds, within or beyond our control. However, the threat of more people falling below the poverty line remains a stark reality and the number of vulnerable people keeps growing.
Talk is always very cheap. It is action, solid, robust action on the ground that really matters. Politicians will always continue to have an easy-accessible platform from where to make their bombastic speeches. People in pain do not enjoy such an opportunity and most continue to suffer in silence.
Political bickering and hard-headedness cannot be allowed to do to this latest initiative what it did to the president’s constitutional convention efforts to ensure the people would have an important role and that nobody would be dominated by the influence of political parties.