A big Cabinet is costly, but the real waste is the unused MPs

Prime Minister Robert Abela’s new Cabinet has reignited a familiar debate about the number of ministers and parliamentary secretaries Malta should have.

In my view, we are debating the wrong issue.

Instead of asking whether Malta’s Cabinet is too large, we should be asking why are government MPs still sitting on the back benches.

Political parties do not contest elections simply to occupy seats in parliament. They contest elections to govern. They present an electoral programme, ask the electorate for a mandate and, if successful, are entrusted with implementing the promises they made.

If that is the purpose of government, then every MP elected on the government’s ticket should have a meaningful role in delivering that programme.

Yet under our current system, a number of government MPs spend five years on the back benches. They were elected by thousands of voters. They campaigned, attended countless meetings, knocked on doors, listened to concerns and earned the trust of their constituents. Once elected, however, they are effectively reduced to spectators while their ministerial and parliamentary secretary colleagues carry the responsibility of governing.

That makes little sense.

An MP elected to government should not spend five years watching government happen from the side lines, propping it up with their votes when called upon to do so.

Every government MP represents a section of the electorate. Every government MP brings different experiences, expertise and perspectives. Most importantly, every government MP was elected to contribute. Why should some voters have their elected representative directly involved in the administration of government while others do not?

My proposal is simple—all government MPs should form part of the administration.

In a government made up of approximately 39 MPs, a possible structure would consist of 13 ministers and 26 parliamentary secretaries, with each minister supported by two parliamentary secretaries. Ministers would be chosen from among the party’s most experienced MPs and proven performers. Parliamentary secretaries would be assigned responsibility within their ministry while gaining valuable experience and exposure to government.

To encourage collaboration, parliamentary secretaries should ideally support ministers elected from different districts. The Cabinet itself would consist only of ministers, ensuring clear lines of responsibility and decision-making, while parliamentary secretaries would focus on implementation, stakeholder engagement and project delivery.

This is not a radical concept. It is how successful organisations operate every day.

No successful company leaves half of its talent idling at a bench. Businesses identify promising individuals, give them responsibility, expose them to leadership and prepare them for future roles. Politics should do the same. Parliamentary secretary positions should be viewed as a training ground for future ministers and future prime ministers.

Some will argue that government backbenchers are needed to scrutinise the executive. That may be true in theory. In practice, government backbenchers rarely function as a check on the administration of which they form part. The responsibility of scrutinising the government belongs to the opposition, and rightly so.

Others will point to the cost. Yet when compared to Malta’s national budget, the cost of additional parliamentary secretaries is relatively insignificant. Better implementation of policy, faster decision-making and greater accountability can easily outweigh the additional expenditure. Being penny wise and pound foolish is rarely good public policy.

Interestingly, Malta’s political evolution already points in this direction. The last Nationalist administration under Lawrence Gonzi involved approximately 40% of government MPs in executive roles. Subsequent Labour administrations increased that percentage to over 60%. Whether by design or instinct, successive Labour governments have increasingly recognised the value of involving a larger share of elected MPs in the administration of government.

I would go one step further.

The Nationalist Party should seriously consider adopting this model when structuring its shadow Cabinet. Instead of appointing only shadow ministers, it should create shadow parliamentary secretaries and organise itself in the same clusters that it would eventually use in government. A shadow minister supported by two shadow parliamentary secretaries would allow MPs to develop expertise, work together as teams and prepare themselves for government long before an election is won.

A larger Cabinet may cost more money. But the greater cost is leaving elected representatives on the side lines when they could be helping to deliver the programme voters elected them to implement.

The real waste is not a parliamentary secretary’s salary. The real waste is an unused MP.