At a time when the autonomy of the regulatory authorities is high on the political agenda, the government has gone about smothering the role of the most important regulatory institution of all – Parliament.

The appointment of a new Cabinet saw the prime minister nominate 17 ministers and eight parliamentary secretaries, making this Malta’s biggest executive.

The government front bench is three times larger than the backbench. Only 10 Labour MPs have no direct role in the government, including former leader Joseph Muscat. There are almost more members of the Cabinet than there are members of the Opposition in the House.

One of Parliament’s key roles is to monitor the government and keep it in check. In fairness, every Maltese government since independence has had total control over Parliament, except for the exceptions in 1998 and 2013 when the governments of the time, which had a majority of just one, were brought down.

But having such a large cabinet in relation to the size of Parliament and the parliamentary groups, upsets the balance in the House between the legislative and the executive. Effectively, Parliament loses its independence and becomes merely a rubber stamp.

The ruling party has a responsibility to ensure that the government – formed of its own MPs – follows the electoral programme and does not resort to excesses. That is one of the roles of its parliamentary group.

But with so many Labour MPs having a finger in the government pie, hardly anyone will publicly stand up in Parliament to hold the government to account. MPs are hardly expected to regulate themselves. We have seen that happen too many times.

The situation is made worse when the few remaining backbenchers of the ruling party are handed jobs on government boards, which they should be overseeing in Parliament. 

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne appeared to acknowledge the anomalous situation, telling the House that there was need to ensure that Parliament’s oversight duty could be effectively carried out so that there were proper checks and balances by government backbenchers and Opposition.

The Labour Party made the situation even worse for itself, five years ago, when it abolished the general secretary role, meaning it does not have a senior political figure, not linked to the government, who can call out ministers.

It was precisely such a situation which created the circumstances where the excesses of the Muscat government went unchecked for so long, causing reputational damage for the country. As an independent state, Malta needs to have a prime minister and ministers to head key areas of government activity.

But having a Cabinet that is disproportionate to the size of Parliament means there cannot be proper checks and balances in Parliament.

The term ‘party in government’ has never rang so true. 

It is not a situation that is unique for Malta. In New Zealand, a solution was found by allowing the prime minister to appoint ministers from outside Parliament, meaning more backbenchers could focus on scrutinising the government. The issue was also the subject of a House of Commons Select Committee report 10 years ago.

It is a delicate matter which could, eventually, require constitutional amendments. But if Malta is serious about having effective regulatory institutions, it should start at the top. For the country’s sake, the ‘new’ legislature cannot repeat the mistakes of the past.