Our democracy is presently bobbing in unchartered waters. An unprecedented moment in which court proceedings are on course to seal the fate of what our state of the nation is and perhaps will be. We are at a tipping point.
The outcome of the VGH/Steward court cases are shaking the foundations of government, the opposition and parliament, obviously for completely different reasons.
We are not in a good place. When the courts become the last bastion and arbiters of politics, we need to take a step back and ask certain questions. Where is our democracy headed?
How can we top the charts of LGBTIQ rights yet we’re still slogging away at rule of law issues?
How can we have the fastest rate of economic growth in Europe and simultaneously fret over how this might be threatened by what is going on in the law courts?
Do you have to be a nationalist to be disgusted by what is transpiring in court? Do you have to be a labourite to acknowledge that unemployment is practically non-existent?
We’re a European democracy in which politics should happen on the territory reserved for government and the opposition, not the courts. When the fate of politics is inscribed in court decisions, the vital signs of our democracy flash sick on the screen, if not moribund.
Today, more than ever, we don’t have religious, ethnic, or epoch-making socioeconomic or ideological divides. Yet, the ferociousness of our political debate is sky high.
Are there any solutions? Yes, there are. For starters, those running public institutions should do so without fear or favour, with loyalty, reverence to the state and with uncompromising patriotism. They are the first bastion of our democracy.
This is what our judiciary, ombudsman and auditor general are doing. Above all, this is what our new president has been doing with genteel brashness since her first day in office.
For politics to return to its rightful forum, these are the shining examples that ought to be emulated by all those running public institutions.
These are the men and women who, with their words and decisions, ensure the state remains the bulwark of the nation. For our nation to heal, we need partisanship to these just, open, democratic and European institutions, not to political parties.
We are at a tipping point- Lou Bondi
What else can be done? Allow me to suggest five proposals for now.
First, there should be more consensus between government and opposition on policy areas which are crying out for long-term planning. It would be a new era in which governing would be more about administering better what has been agreed.
We need more logic and less bluster, politics that does not distinguish between Malta and Europe, politics that looks to the future, not the next election.
Second, to shoulder their responsibilities, parliamentarians, particularly the executive, ought to be remunerated on terms comparable to those in the private sector.
This could help to attract more men and women of substance to politics. Simultaneously, there should be a debate on preventing MPs from sitting in the House for more than two or three legislatures.
Third, party-owned stations should be shut down. In parallel, TVM would be overhauled so that it serves the nation and the state, not the party in government. Political parties would be given a few hours a week on a reborn TVM to promote their message.
Fourth, the number of appointments to key public offices by two-thirds of the House should increase. This should help to make politics and legislation more consensual and continuous rather than tethered to electoral cycles. Elections would become less of a zero-sum game and more win-win.
Finally, the prime minister and opposition leader should meet once a month on their own and without an agenda. The scope would be incremental trust-building. For those interested in such an idea, Francis Fukuyama’s Trust would be a good read.
Admittedly, such a road is treacherous, bumps and potholes all the way. Yet, the destination makes it eminently worth a shot.
Such measures would improve the state of the nation. They would also strengthen the state’s rightful belongingness to the nation.
Lou Bondi is a strategic communications consultant. This article is based on part of his address to the L-Istat tan-Nazzjon conference held in collaboration with the Office of the President.