A mockery of the rule of law

No government can function effectively without the rule of law. Robert Abela’s sycophants, privilege-riddled state institutions, agencies, authorities and departments, together with a poisoned House of Representatives, have degraded these essential principles. Constitutional tenets are regularly corrupted, leading to heinous results that further damage our country. We must redefine the consensus, laying a new foundation for the rule of law.

The rule of law in Malta seems to have passed into a twilight zone, setting up an almost daily drama that pits righteousness against evil. Defining good and evil is up for grabs at the outset.

The rule of law has long been backsliding due to the process through which elected public authorities deliberately implement governmental blueprints, aiming to systematically weaken, annihilate or capture internal checks on power with a view to dismantling the liberal democratic state and entrenching the long-term rule of the dominant party.

Good government requires functioning institutions and infrastructure, with some measure of public acceptance of outcomes within a predetermined, procedural framework. That framework is the foundation for the rule of law in any well-governed society. This is no small point. It is the rule of law and the attendant consent of the governed to be bound by it that provides the foundation for effective governance.

While Malta continues to be confronted with serious challenges at home and abroad, a growing oppression is being felt, inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority.

Most Labour Party voters and a pandering party leadership still act as if former disgraced prime minister Joseph Muscat is still the legitimate victor in a general election decided more than 12 years ago.

Audiences of sycophants at the frequent Labour Party meetings addressed by Prime Minister Robert Abela boo and refute the notion of public accountability for wrongdoing. 

How timely and appropriate it was for Repubblika to publish its Democratic Vision 2050 document that should run parallel to Envision Malta 2050.

It’s about time to revive, adhere to and live the core values of democracy and the rule of law. Being democratic is not enough. A majority cannot turn what is wrong into right. To be considered truly free, we must also have a deep love of liberty and an abiding respect for the rule of law. Malta needs a government of laws and not of men.

While our government leaders continue to declare their commitment to respect the rule of law as the foundation for our country, in practice their performance is perforated with lacklustre results or outright failure. People are losing faith in democratic politics and turning to authoritarian alternatives, or simply tuning out. Now more than ever, strong guardrails such as an independent judiciary, robust civil society and trustworthy elections are needed to stop the slide and build a fairer and more accountable system.

This Labour administration is quite a bit away from its stated allegiance to democracy, rights and the rule of law. Its actions are increasingly underpinned by disrespect for human rights, weakening checks on government power, state institutions run by pro-government cronies and a malfunctioning justice system.

How can we forget the frequent international calls for Malta insisting on all potential incidents of corruption being investigated and prosecuted by the authorities with the necessary rigour and highlighting serious and persistent threats to the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights, including on issues of media freedom, the independence of law enforcement and the judiciary from political interference, and the freedom of peaceful assembly?

On the streets, people talk about the rule of law, but ultimately, there is no tangible understanding of what it is. People fear this juridical concept will leave them going hungry, staying poor, and thwarts their possibility of being given a cushy job.

People still see that they are having to work around rules and legislative structures that preclude them from getting where they need to be, for better or for worse.

The current situation in Malta remains incredibly fragile in terms of where we’re going and the future of our democracy for multiple reasons that are related to the rule of law specifically but that are also related to several issues, including a lack of constitutional reform.