Many of us had got used to Charmaine Gauci’s press briefings and were quite disappointed when those stopped. A sense of relief was felt when they started again. We also hailed the doctors, nurses, nursing aides and all those who were on the front line in addressing the coronavirus pandemic as heroes. We all wish them well and thank them for their service. They have been truly servants of the people.

However they are not the only servants of the people. There are all those who work for the greater good and have no vested financial interest in the job they are doing. These could be persons who work or give of their time at voluntary organisations. There are those who work in what is referred to as the third sector (not to be confused with the tertiary sector).

There are also those who are employed with the public sector and more specifically with the public service. They are all servants of the people. I want to focus on those who work with the public service in this week’s contribution, the much-maligned, and possibly wrongly- maligned, civil servants. There is a tendency to group all civil servants in one category and attach to them one label – often a negative one.

Very often this is due to an insignificant percentage who give a bad name to the rest. And when one considers that there are tens of thousands of civil servants, covering a range of professions and a range of roles, it would not be surprising that there are a few bad apples.

The unfortunate thing is when those who should know better and who do know what the values of the public service should be, set the wrong example and abdicate from their responsibilities to uphold the common good.

To be a servant of the people presents unique leadership challenges that are unmatched in the private sector

One may ask about the connection between the public service and the economy. For an economy to function well, it needs an effective public service. Without an effective public service there can only be chaos, a breakdown of law and order, corruption. An effective public service ensures a better quality of life for the citizens and ensures a level playing field for the business sector.

It is interesting to note that, although we may attach a very negative label to civil servants, research shows that the public service does enjoy the trust of the Maltese public.

Results of the Eurobarometer show that our public administration is among those local institutions most trusted in this country, more than the media, online social networks, and political parties.

Yet the public service has historically been wrongly seen as somewhat inferior to the private sector when it comes to leadership. We forget that many private sector organisations have been managed and continue to be managed by persons that had been civil servants in their past lives.

We ignore the fact that in seeking to uphold the common good, the public service needs to face different stakeholders, very often with different and conflicting expectations, all at the same time. Apart from navigating a political climate which always has its uncertainties, and facing the disruption of one one-off events like COVID-19, the public service is expected to provide stability while being innovative and flexible, and to provide high- quality services to the public, while making sure it operates within tight governance rules and tight budgets.

Over the years I have come to appreciate greatly the work of civil servants thanks to my direct involvement in the training and development of such persons, their recruitment and appointments, and organisational development work.

Promoting and upholding the common good is certainly not an easy task and to be a servant of the people presents unique leadership challenges that are unmatched in the private sector.