Are we going to keep our political circus in business?

The state of political debate in Malta is reminding me more and more of a circus: acrobats, contortionists, clowns, and lions jumping through rings of fire and the whole lot.

The timing of the revelations on Simon Busuttil’s fuel guzzling driver is diabolical to say the least. I’d go further: it’s depressing. And this has nothing to do with the alleged delinquency, or who is making the accusations. Beyond the hall of mirrors, this latest shenanigan highlights the country’s level of political maturity. 

Instead of discussing the ideas put forward by the PN on good governance, the discussion has been nipped in its bud and the messenger shot before the electorate can discern the proposals.

But it’s high time Malta had a good look at what this country is and where it wants to go.

Political leaders, with Joseph Muscat at the forefront, are hell-bent on transforming Malta into another Dubai or Singapore. But will this come at an irreversible environmental cost? Will we sacrifice freedom of speech for burgeoning wage packets?

We are experiencing a democratic capitalist system characterised by one-party governments, unrestrained consumerism, unquestioning loyalty towards authority and the worship of profit that however cannot be sustained forever. If there ever was a utopia it’s the dream of perpetual economic growth.

Malta, like many other Western countries, is a democracy where decisions are not taken by the people’s representatives but by the lobbies and businesses which sponsor parties and politicians.

Most of the proposals put forward by the PN – such as the idea to introduce propositive referenda, the introduction of electronic and overseas voting, banning MPs from sitting on government boards and detailed declaration of assets for ministers and spouses – are commendable.

Others – including the proposal to create a citizen’s rights ministry and a mandatory 50% quota for women in public appointments – are questionable and deserve serious debate.

And they are only the starting point. Our so-called democracy urgently needs a complete electoral system overhaul, more stringent party financing laws, the introduction of state funding, a truly independent national broadcaster and a clear division between State, government and parties.

But confusing the proposals’ validity with the proponent’s credibility is a grave error which would only preserve the status quo. Despite promising a cultural revolution, the Labour government’s good governance record is as respectable as Donald Trump’s view on women. Similarly, given the PN’s track record I doubt Busuttil will implement what he is promising.

However, circuses survive because adults and kids alike keep flocking to the big red tents, and similarly the political circus survives thanks to every vote that goes to the two big parties. The system will not be changed unless the parties change. And the parties will only change themselves and the system if the electorate demands it.

The two big parties’ biggest enemy is a critical and discerning electorate.

Their biggest allies are reverent voters, opportunist lobby groups and greedy businesses which bankroll parties to guarantee that their profits (at times originating from illegal sources) never dry up. 

In the most recent case, instead of having a healthy debate on pink quotas and parliamentary scrutiny of public appointments, we have Labour trying to discredit the Opposition by accusing the PN leader’s driver of theft. 

Following Speaker Anglu Farrugia’s over-zealous action, Labour went as far as calling for Busuttil’s head in what it bizarrely termed as “the most serious allegations ever leveled at a leader of the Opposition.”

At the same time we have a Prime Minister who is extremely reluctant to sack a junior minister who oversaw the theft of public land and funds by a party sponsor. 

Instead we have to do with parliamentary debates which are as intellectually stimulating as Moira Orfei’s dancing monkeys, party loyalists juggling information to conceal reality and one-trick ponies showcasing their talents on TV.